Saint Kitts

Map of Sain Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French)) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The island is one of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is situated about 2,100 km (1,300 mi) southeast of Miami, Florida, and 10 km (6.2 mi) away from Sint Eustatius. The land area of St. Kitts is about 168 km² (65 sq mi), being approximately 29 km (18 mi) long and on average about 8 km (5.0 mi) across.

The first English colony was established in 1623 by Thomas Warner. This was followed in 1625 by a French colony, under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. The British and French briefly united to massacre the local Kalinago (fearing that the Kalinago were planning to massacre them), and then partitioned the island, with the English in the middle and the French on either end. In 1629, a Spanish force sent to clear the islands of the area of foreign settlement seized St. Kitts, but the English settlement was rebuilt following the peace between England and Spain in 1630.

Saint Kitts in 1632

Following the Treaty of Ostend in 1633, the English colony on Saint Kitts was left on its own. Thomas Warner continued to act as governor, since nobody had come to tell him that he wasn't, but he was essentially left stateless. Afterward, Warner managed to convert his colony into a food producer, and it even produced a surplus that was traded to nearby St. Eustatia.

In July of 1635, land south of Sandy Point was leased to the Dutch on St. Eustatia for a period of five years. One of the terms of the lease was that Maarten Tromp and Jan van Walbeeck were to provide Dutch soldiers for use as guards on Saint Kitts. Warner's reasons for wanting this are not recorded, but Tromp and van Walbeeck concluded that it was because Dutch soldiers would be under the Dutch flag, while Warner's colony was no longer under any flag.

In December of 1635, the French under d'Esnambuc made an attempt to push the formerly-English colony off the island. This was repelled, and d'Esnambuc was forced to flee, taking most of the French forces on the island with him. This left Warner in control of the whole island, at least as of January 1636.

Notes

• In 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies the island is consistently referred to by its formal name -- both Saint Christopher and Saint Christopher's are used.

• It is known that some of the French civilian population was left behind, but it is too early to tell how they will be handled or how they will react to being governed by Warner.

References

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