Regions with significant populations | |
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Saint Kitts and Nevis | |
Languages | |
English | |
Religion | |
Christianity, Rastafari movement | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Afro-Caribbean |
Afro-Kittitians and Nevisians are Saint Kitts and Nevis people whose ancestry lies within the continent of Africa, most notably West Africa.[ citation needed ]
As of 2013, black people are the predominant ethnic group in Saint Kitts and Nevis. [1]
The initial arrival of Africans in St. Kitts and Nevis was in the late 17th century as a result of the slave trade. [2] St Kitts, the largest of the two islands, has geography well suited for sugar plantations, but was plagued by colonial warfare in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. [3] Nevis, which has similar geography and was relatively sheltered, became an early center of the slave trade in the West Indies. [4] The first census of Nevis, conducted in 1671, recorded 1,739 African slaves. [5] Six years later this number grew to 3,849, consisting of 1,422 men, 1,321 women, and 1,106 children. [6] In contrast, a census in St. Kitts recorded 1,436 African slaves one year later. [7] Attracted by the stability of Nevis, the Royal African Company headquartered their West Indian slave trade in the port city of Charlestown: from 1674 to 1688 more than 6,000 slaves were sold at auction here. [8]
In the early years of the plantation system on St. Kitts and Nevis, slaves were forced to clear the forests in preparation for sugar production. [9] The difficulty of this work, combined with poor rations, resulted in a slave death rate “that was incredibly high on the two islands during the later part of 17th century”. [10] As the clearing work neared completion, planters tried to combat the high death rate by initiating a one-year “seasoning period” in which newly arrived slaves were supervised by older, trustworthy slaves. [11] By the end of the 18th century over 65% percent of the islands’ slave populations were native born and slave importation had decreased to fewer than 100 a year. [12]
There is little recorded information about the family structures of slaves on St. Kitts and Nevis, but slave “marriages” appear to have been encouraged as they were sometimes recorded by planters. [13] Children might grow up partially in a nuclear family situation, but were socialized as a group. Oral traditions, such as the Anansi spider from West Africa, were passed down. [14] Around the age of 4 or 5 children were first put to work, generally in groups called a “hogmeat gang”. [15] In these “gangs” 5 or 6 children were supervised by a slave woman while they did lighter work such as weeding and feeding animals. At night, children would eat small meals, often prepared by their mothers, consisting mostly of imported grain. [16]
In December the slave population had slightly more freedom and were often given extra beef and pork. [17] The white population on the islands however organized guards to monitor the activities of slaves during their time off. [18] In general, the white population was wary of slaves revolting. [19] In 1639 the French had to dispatch 500 men to put down an uprising on St. Kitts. [20] African slaves resisted bondage in other ways, such as taking food from their masters to supplement their meager rations, and meeting to elect their own officials. [21]
On the eve of emancipation approximately 11% of the population on the islands were freed colored people. [22] Skilled slaves could buy their freedom by earning wages for their crafts, such as carpentry and masonry, on their day off. [23] Freedom could also be gained legislatively and through wills. [24] Children with slave mothers and white fathers enjoyed relative freedom of movement, but were still barred from owning land and thus participating in government. [25] Communities of freed people developed, with inhabitants mostly working trades but in some cases earning a living as merchants. [26] From the 1770s onwards, freed people would often migrate to Trinidad or Demerara to earn higher wages. [27]
In 1833 the British Empire outlawed slavery, but full legal freedom didn't come to St. Kitts and Nevis until 1838. [28] Instead, the government of St. Kitts and Nevis set up a form of modified slavery called apprenticeship. [29] Under this system, former slave holders continued to own all farmable land and slaves had to buy their freedom by working 45 hours a week for a period of 4 to 6 years. [30] Since Saturdays were market day, when slaves had traditionally sold wares for income, having to work 6 days a week was a large hindrance for apprentices attempting to purchase their freedom. [31] Slaves heard that the island of Antigua had granted full freedom to slaves and recognized the change to the apprenticeship system was simply bondage under another name. [32] In addition, some absentee slave owners on St. Kitts freed all, or most, of their slaves. [33] Thus the transition from apprenticeship to slavery was met with resistance, both “quiet and disquiet”. [34] On the day the apprenticeship program was set to begin, August 2, 1834, few apprentices on St.Kitts showed up to their positions. [35] Those that did tended to hold more skilled positions, reflecting the stratification among slaves themselves. [36] The resistance was high enough that the governor of The Leeward Islands, Evan Murray Macgregor, announced that if apprentices didn't return by the 6th, martial law would go into effect. [37] Meanwhile, many of the apprentices were leaving their homes and fleeing to the hills. [38] Planters attempted to quell the revolt by identifying leaders and punishing them with jail time or lashes, but 2 weeks after the apprenticeship program was supposed to start, the majority of workers remained in the mountains. [39] While August was the down season for farming, slave owners were still worried about their unattended livestock. [40] To combat the revolt, planters burned the homes and possessions of absent apprentices. [41] In addition, militia were sent into the mountains to drive resistance members from their temporary homes. [42] The combination of these two actions brought most of the former slaves out of the mountains and martial law was lifted on August 18. [43] There were no recorded deaths or injuries from the revolt, although some of the resistance received jail time, lashes, or were exiled. [44] The remaining 3 and a half years of the apprenticeship continued relatively peacefully. [45]
After emancipation, differences began to develop between life on St. Kitts and on Nevis. [46] Planters on Nevis, which is smaller and has less fertile land, had trouble offering competitive wages to their workers. [47] To combat this, they allowed labourers to share in the profits of the sugarcane they grew. [48] While white planters continued to own land, on Nevis black field labourers had greater ties to it. [49] They thus had greater control over what could be planted. [50] Subsequently, black peasant farmers on Nevis were able to grow more sustenance crops than their counterparts on Nevis. [51]
While not legally barred from owning land, most blacks were practically barred from owning land through suppressive economic practices. [52] Their survival thus continued to rely a great deal on the whims of the white land owning class. [53] If blacks did manage to earn extra income, they would not find any banks on either of the two islands. [54] Workers would either hide coins in their homes or purchase livestock as an investment. [55] In the last two decades of the 19th century, sugar prices fell after German beet sugar hit English markets. [56] The ensuing depression hit Afro–Kittitians and Nevisians especially hard. [57] As in previous years many migrated to other islands, especially Trinidad, for work. [58] Those that remained were in a state of starvation and in 1896 frustrated workers set fire to several sugar cane fields. [59]
Currently, 92% of the population is African-Caribbean: So, 80% of the archipelago's population is of African descent, either totally or partially (75% black and 5.3% mulatto, partially of Irish origin) and 12% are Afro-Europeans (European of African descent). Only 8% of the population is from other origins (5% of people is of Indian origin and Afro-Indian and 3.3% from other parts of South Asia). The whites are 1% (of British, French, Portuguese and Lebanese descent). [60]
Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla, approximately 16 miles long by 3 miles (5 km) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The territory's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 35 square miles (91 km2), with a population of approximately 15,753 (2021).
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a singular nation state. Nevis is located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago about 350 kilometres (220 mi) east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Antigua. Its area is 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi) and the capital is Charlestown.
Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles. With 261 square kilometres (101 sq mi) of territory, and roughly 48,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population, as well as the world's smallest sovereign federation. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as King and head of state.
Saint Kitts and Nevis have one of the longest written histories in the Caribbean, both islands being among Spain's and England's first colonies in the archipelago. Despite being only two miles apart and quite diminutive in size, Saint Kitts and Nevis were widely recognized as being separate entities with distinct identities until they were forcibly united in the late 19th century.
Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, 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. Saint Kitts and Nevis are separated by a shallow 3-kilometre (2 mi) channel known as "The Narrows".
The history of Anguilla runs from the beginning of human habitation, probably via settlement from South America, through its colonization by the English in the early modern period, to the present day. Following a series of rebellions and a short-lived period as an independent republic during the 1960s, Anguilla has been a separate British overseas territory since 1980.
The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Honduras, British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw was the first Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and previously served as Chief Minister, legislator, and labour activist.
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was a British colony in the West Indies from 1882 to 1983, consisting of the islands of Anguilla, Nevis, and Saint Christopher. From 1882 to 1951, and again from 1980, the colony was known simply as Saint Christopher and Nevis. Saint Christopher and Nevis gained independence in 1983 as the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, while Anguilla would remain a British overseas territory.
The term British West Indies refers to the former English and British colonies and the present-day overseas territories of the United Kingdom in the Caribbean.
West Indies Associated States was the collective name for a number of islands in the Eastern Caribbean whose status changed from being British colonies to states in free association with the United Kingdom in 1967. These states were Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent.
Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, KCMG, is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician who served as the first prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis from 1983 to 1995.
The British Leeward Islands was a British colony from 1671 to 1958, consisting of the English overseas possessions in the Leeward Islands. It ceased to exist from 1816 to 1833, during which time it was split into two separate colonies. It was dissolved in 1958 after the separation of the British Virgin Islands, and the remaining islands became parts of the West Indies Federation.
Gerald F. Schroedl is a professor of anthropology at the University of Tennessee. He specializes in Southeastern United States and Caribbean prehistoric and historic archaeological sites. He is an authority on Cherokee prehistory and the archaeology of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
Migration from Ireland to Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies began in the 1620s, when the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis became part of the British Empire, and continued into the 18th century.
Irish indentured servants were Irish people who became indentured servants in territories under the control of the British Empire, such as the British West Indies, British North America and later Australia.
The Indian community in Saint Kitts and Nevis is made up of Indo-Kittitians, Indo-Nevisians, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin. Indo-Kittitians and Indo-Nevisians are nationals of Saint Kitts and Nevis whose ancestry lies within the country of India. The community originated from the Indian indentured workers brought to Saint Kitts and Nevis by the British in 1861 and 1874 respectively. By 1884, most of the community had emigrated to Caribbean nations with larger Indian populations such as Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.
Betto Douglas was a slave on St. Kitts, at the time a British Colony. What is known of her life illuminates the practice slavery in the Caribbean and the efforts of abolitionist societies to free them. Douglas is an iconic figure of resistance to slavery in the country and her story is featured in the National Museum of Saint Kitts and Nevis. In Britain, she is included on the initial slave register for St. Kitts and kept in the Central Slave Registries at the British National Archives, which are enrolled in the UNESCO Memory of the World Registry.
The primary law governing Saint Kitts and Nevis nationality regulations is the Saint Christopher and Nevis Citizenship Act, which came into force on 28 February 1984.
Ralph Brush Cleghorn was a formerly enslaved abolitionist from St. Kitts who served as president of the Council of Nevis, probably the first black British West Indian to lead a colony.