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the stories of our proud and friendly people, our charming and colourful villages, our fascinating ruins, our intriguing rain forests,
and our traditions that span centuries.

Our People

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Inez Barker

 

Written in collaboration with Alphonso Barker Inez Barker Inez Barker was born on the 29th May 1911 and christened Inez Susanna Billinghurst Walker. Her father was Frederick Alfred Walker an estate manager living in Old Road. Her mother was Catherine Louisa nee French, who was born Antigua but who was living in Old Road at the time of her marriage to Walker. Catherine described herself as a seamstress on her marriage certificate The children grew up in...

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Doris Esme Wall

 

Eustace Llewelyn Wall and Doris Esme Wall Doris Esme Marshall was born on the 12th January 1909. She was the fourth daughter of Burchell Marshall and his wife Margaret Cannonier. Marshall was a business entrepreneur who built the firm S.L. Horsford and Co. Ltd and Marshall Plantations. As a child, Doris attended the small, private school conducted by Eliza Wattley. It was here that she started to show her love of music. At an early age she...

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The Runaway of Mount Misery (1639)

 

Mount Liamuiga (formerly Mount Misery), St. Kitts   In November 1639, more than sixty enslaved Africans from the Capisterre region, angered by the brutal treatment meted out to them by their owners, left their plantations and found refuge on the slopes of Mount Misery. They took with them their women and children and built a formidable camp upon the mountainside. It was protected by a precipice on one side and could only be approached by a narrow...

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Our Places

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Buckley’s Estate

 

BUCKLEY’S ESTATE is located on the western outskirts of Basseterre. In 1753 the plantation was the property of William Buckley. His only surviving daughter and heir Jeannette married Abednego Matthew (b. 1724). He was the son of William Mathew who in 1715 had been appointed Lieutenant-General of the Leeward Islands and from 1735 was Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief. His ancestors included other governors of St. Kitts and the Leeward Islands. When Jeannette Mathew inherited the plantation from...

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The Sugar Factory

 

Sugar Factory, St. Kitts   From the time of settlement St. Kitts was developed as a plantation island. At first the plantations were small and produced such commodities as tobacco, cotton, and indigo. Over the 17th century sugar cane started gaining ground. It took a while for it to become the main and only crop because it required a great deal more investment than other crops. Sugar estates developed as self-contained industrial complexes, each with its own...

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Bank Street

 

Bank Street The Road heading east from the Circus is Bank Street. A bank has been at its southern corner where it meets Fort Street for almost 200 years. The first one was probably Colonial Bank which was set up by Royal Charter in 1836 to trade in the West Indies. The former enslavers had been given £20 million as compensation for the loss of their unpaid labour. This meant that there was a significant increase in...

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Our Events

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Disasters in Basseterre

 

Hurricanes Wars were not the only dramatic events to effect the development of Basseterre. Natural disasters played a very significant roll.The 1642 and 1667 hurricanes destroyed all the houses on the island. In 1667 French Governor Laurent reported I hold myself obliged to inform you that this island is in the most deplorable state that can be imagined and that the inhabitants could not have suffered a greater loss, or been more unfortunate except they had...

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St. Kitts Music Festival - end of June

 

The St. Kitts Music Festival takes place every year at the end of June. It was the brain child of then Minister of Tourism and Culture, G A Dwyer Astaphan who wanted to create an event that would attract visitors to St. Kitts in the off season and to expose the creative elements on the island, and the general public to the different genres of music. The festival’s website sets out its objectives as follows: to...

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Flood of 1880

 

Sunday, 11 January 1880 was described as a fine day with some scattered showers.  At about 5.00pm the atmosphere became quite warm compared to the previous few days.   Then at about 9.00pm an intense cold set it.  There was a light shower which quickly came to an end.  By 11.00 pm the rains started falling and continued unabated till 3.00am of 12 January.  The night was very dark. The flow of water in the streets was...

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"In this  bright future, you can't forget your past"

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