Saint Kitts and Nevis

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Saint Kitts and Nevis fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. 🇬🇧 Kingdom of England1623 to 1626

   English settlers under Thomas Warner, joined by the French, took the Kalinago's land. In 1626 the settlers attacked the Kalinago, killing many at Bloody Point, and drove the survivors off the island.

2. 🇪🇸 Spanish Empire1629 to 1630

   In 1629 a Spanish fleet under Fadrique de Toledo attacked Nevis and Saint Kitts and drove out the English and French settlers, who returned once the fleet had gone.

3. 🇫🇷 Kingdom of France1666 to 1713

   French and English settlers shared Saint Kitts and fought each other in every war between their kings, expelling one another in 1666, 1689 and 1690. France raided Nevis in 1706 and gave up the island at Utrecht in 1713.

4. 🇫🇷 Kingdom of France1782 to 1783

   Allied with the American rebels, France captured Brimstone Hill and both islands in 1782, despite a British fleet under Samuel Hood fighting off the French fleet nearby. The peace of 1783 handed them back to Britain.

5. Anguilla1967 to 1980

   Anguillans expelled the Saint Kitts police in 1967 and refused rule from Basseterre. Britain sent troops in 1969, took over the island's administration and formally separated Anguilla from Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1980.

Today

Saint Kitts and Nevis now

Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British and French began settlement in 1623. During the 17th century, Saint Kitts became the premier base for British and French expansion into the Caribbean. The French ceded the territory to the UK in 1713. At the turn of the 18th century, Saint Kitts was the richest British Crown Colony per capita in the Caribbean, a result of the sugar trade.

Capital

Basseterre

Government

federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Head of government

Terrance Drew

Head of state

Charles III

Languages

English

Area

261 km²

Through time

Then and now

• Population46,8002023 · 47,300 in 1950
• Life expectancy72.1 years2023 · 54.8 years in 1950
• Living in cities32%2025 · 26% in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.