The Smallest Nation in the Americas: The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

By guest contributor: mom

The federal thing is a bit unusual since Nevis and Saint Kitts together form one country.  They became independent of United Kingdom in 1983 and in 1998, Nevis tried to break off from the federation through a referendum but failed to achieve the two thirds vote needed.  The federation has been a source of great contention between the two islands because the common governing body for the two is also the governing body for Saint Kitts island, creating the perception and accusation that the umbrella administration favors Saint Kitts´ affairs and needs above those of Nevis (Nevis once went without a hospital for ten years).  Most of the arguments are about distribution of funds like who should get corporate taxes for Nevis businesses headquartered in Saint Kitts (Nevis is a big off-shore banking/accounting haven), departure taxes for Nevis tourists departing from Saint Kitts airport, custom duties of Nevis cargo entering Saint Kitts, education and health expenditures, police/defense/coast guard allocations, foreign aid and so on.

In the late 17^th century, Nevis was a major producer of sugar, even larger than Jamaica.  Its cane juice was much more potent than that of Saint Kitts´producing 24 ounces of sugar per gallon vs 16.  At the time of the American Revolution, exports from West Indian colonies like Nevis were larger than all the exports from mainland North American colonies.  The large sugar business required a large labor force and African slaves were brought in to complement the white indentured servants from Europe.  In 1706, the founder of French colony of Louisiana, Pierre d´Iberville attacked Nevis again, as he done many times before, this time causing irrecoverable damage to the sugar industry.  Many of the British land and slave owners were driven out , thousands of slaves were shipped to Martinique and hundreds starved to death.  To sustain remaining enslaved families, small plots of land were distributed to them.  When emancipation came in 1834, a big number of Nevisians owned or controlled land. The high proportion of farmers and entrepreneurs created a solid middle class in Nevis, a social development that did not form in Saint Kitts.  There, fifteen rich planter families controlled the fertile land, and while the sugar industry died off in 2005, Saint Kitts has a large landless population. 

It was fun to learn that our founding father and first secretary of the treasury was born in Nevis.  Hamilton´s economic philosophy was thought to be protectionist and against free trade so that new industries in the U.S. could take hold.  He died in a duel!