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By the time
Christopher Columbus first visited Nevis in 1493
the Caribs who bare the reputation of having been
cannibalistic and warlike already occupied it.
The gentle Arawaks had populated the Caribbean
islands before the Caribs came. (It was not then
called the Caribbean as the Caribs had not yet
arrived and so their tribal name had not made
the hall of geographic fame). Perhaps the islands
should all be called the "Arawakean"
islands. But, in the event, Caribbean it is. Score
one for cannibalistic and warlike. And Columbus
called what he saw "Nevis" because of
the snow on top of the one dramatic peak which
constitutes the island. In fact he was quite wrong.
He saw clouds and believed it was snow. "Nieves",
in Spanish. Maybe he knew it was not snow but
the whole thing reminded him of snow. He called
what he saw "Las Nieves" and today,
as you approach the unique cone, it is not hard
to see the connection.
Jump 134
years to 1628 and enter the English who settled
on the island. Initially the island was cleared
for tobacco plantations, but it was soon realised
that Nevis was no match for Virginia, so the island
quickly gravitated to sugar production. Across
the narrow straights the French had settled on
St Kitts and an Anglo-French rivalry grew and
continued, punctuated with numerous battles and
skirmishes for about 100 years. The two islands
were very valuable to the British in terms of
sugar production. Nevis, in fact, in the previous
100 years had become immensely wealthy as a sugar
colony. They had figured out from the Dutch traders
the Spanish secret of how to crystallise sugar
and thus make it suitable for shipment. In fact
revenues in the late 17th and early 18th century
from Nevis alone exceeded many of the American
colonies combined. This, however, provided the
seeds for future difficulties. Nevis was rich,
"The Queen of the Caribees", and other
nations wanted a piece of it. It attracted the
unwanted attentions of the French, Spanish and
the Dutch. Two serious French attacks in 1706
crippled production and forced the island to be
defended by no less than 15 separate fortifications
by 1750. A decisive British victory over the French
led to a Treaty (Treaty of Versailles, 1783) in
which both St Kitts and Nevis became wholly British
possessions. Nevis was still plagued by marauding
pirates and privateers and the odd attack however,
further denting revenues. Nevis' decline had already
begun. Many farmers in Nevis moved into other
forms of agriculture -particularly cotton production.
Nevis evolved
into a playground for the rich and famous. Many
lavish plantations were built, several of which
today form the Inns of Nevis as well as the Bath
Hotel in Charlestown. The abolition of slavery
in 1838 meant the luxury of free labour disappeared
and this, as in many other Caribbean islands,
significantly reduced the sugar industry's vast
profits. In 1880 St. Kitts and Nevis were formally
put under one administrative umbrella by the English
and thus created the origins of the twin island
partnership.
Like many
other islands in the Caribbean, traditional agricultural
industries have declined in Nevis; cotton, vegetables
and coconuts form the bulk of the remaining agricultural
industry. Tourism has played an increasing role
in the local economy in recent times. Nevis' best
asset in this regard is its relative exclusivity
yet good accessibility. Nevis became independent
on September 19th 1983 and is linked with St Kitts
in a Federation but the national constitution
includes provisions for Nevis to secede from the
Federation.
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