Pre-colonial period The earliest known inhabitants of Saint Kitts and Nevis were pre-ceramic, pre-agricultural peoples who arrived as early as 3000 BCE. These groups, often referred to as "Archaic people," were hunter-gatherers who migrated down the archipelago from
Florida. Due to the absence of pottery and other durable artifacts, their cultural affiliations remain uncertain. Around 100 BCE, the islands saw the arrival of the
Saladoid people, a ceramic-using, agricultural society that migrated northward from the
Orinoco River region in present-day
Venezuela. They introduced agriculture and pottery to the islands and established settled communities. encountered resistance from the native Caribs (Kalinago), who waged war during the first three years of the settlements' existence. The Europeans resolved to rid themselves of this problem. An ideological campaign was waged by colonial chroniclers, dating back to the Spanish, as they produced literature which denied the Kalinagos' humanity (a literary tradition carried through the late-seventeenth century by such authors as
Jean-Baptiste du Tertre and Pere Labat). Thereafter, the English and French established large sugar plantations which were worked by imported African slaves. This made the planter-colonists rich, but drastically altered the islands' demographics as black slaves soon came to outnumber Europeans. As Spanish power declined, Saint Kitts became a key base for English and French expansion in the Caribbean. From St Kitts the British settled the islands of
Antigua,
Montserrat,
Anguilla and
Tortola, and the French settled
Martinique, the
Guadeloupe archipelago and
Saint Barthélemy. During the late 17th century, France and England fought for control over St Kitts and Nevis, fighting wars in
1667,
British colonial period (1700–1983) The colony had recovered by the turn of the 18th century, and St Kitts had become the richest British Crown Colony per capita in the Caribbean as result of its slave-based
sugar industry by the close of the 1700s. The 18th century also saw Nevis, formerly the richer of the two islands, being eclipsed by St Kitts in economic importance. As Britain became embroiled in
war with its American colonies, the French decided to use the opportunity to
re-capture St Kitts in 1782; however St Kitts was given back and recognised as British territory in the
Treaty of Versailles (1783). The 1940s saw the founding of the
St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party (later renamed the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, or SKNLP) under
Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw. Bradshaw later became Chief Minister and then Premier of the colony from 1966 to 1978; he sought to gradually bring the sugar-based economy under greater state control. After a brief period as part of the
West Indies Federation (1958–62), the islands became an
associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967.
Post independence era (1983–present) St Kitts and Nevis achieved full independence on 19 September 1983. Kennedy Simmonds went on to win elections in
1984,
1989 and
1993, before being unseated when the SKNLP returned to power in 1995 under
Denzil Douglas. led to a
referendum to separate from St Kitts in 1998, which though resulting a 62% vote to secede, fell short of the required two-thirds majority to be legally enacted. In the aftermath of the
September 11 attacks of 2001, Saint Kitts and Nevis expressed strong solidarity with the United States and implemented significant security enhancements, particularly in its maritime and aviation sectors, in line with global efforts against terrorism. The ambassador to the
OAS at the time, Dr. Izben Williams, delivered a statement condemning the "heinous act" and reaffirmed the nation's solidarity with the US government and people. In 2012, Saint Kitts and Nevis was declared free of
malaria, according to the
World Health Organization. The
2015 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election was won by
Timothy Harris and his recently formed
People's Labour Party, with backing from the PAM and the Nevis-based
Concerned Citizens' Movement under the '
Team Unity' banner. In June 2020, Team Unity coalition of the incumbent government, led by Prime Minister Timothy Harris, won general
elections by defeating Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP). In
snap general elections held in August 2022, the SKNLP again won, and
Terrance Drew became the fourth prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis. == Politics ==