Saint Kitts and Nevis is a two-island federation in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean — Saint Kitts (176 km²) and Nevis (93 km²) — with a combined population of approximately 55,000 people. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere by both area and population. It became independent from Britain in 1983, making it one of the newest countries in the world. Most people who have not studied Caribbean geography cannot locate it on a map. This is a spectacular oversight.
The First Colony — Where European Caribbean History Started
Saint Kitts is historically the most consequential island in the English-speaking Caribbean, and one of the most consequential in the entire region. Saint Kitts was the first British colony in the Caribbean — established in 1623 by Sir Thomas Warner, it became the launch pad from which Britain colonised Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis, and Tortola. The French established a colony on Saint Kitts a year later (1625), making it also the first French Caribbean settlement. For decades the island was divided between British and French colonial zones, separated by a neutral zone in the mountains. This history makes Saint Kitts — per square kilometre — probably the most historically significant piece of land in the Caribbean story of European colonisation.
Brimstone Hill Fortress — The "Gibraltar of the West Indies"
The Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Saint Kitts — a massive British military fortress built between the 17th and 19th centuries on the slope of a 240-metre volcanic hill, with views across the island to the sea and to Sint Eustatius in the distance. The scale is extraordinary for such a small island: stone ramparts, artillery bastions, barracks, and a citadel that took over 100 years to complete using the forced labour of enslaved Africans. It was besieged and briefly captured by the French in 1782 (Battle of St. Kitts) and returned to Britain at the Treaty of Paris in 1783, after which it was expanded. The fortress is the best-preserved British colonial fortification in the Caribbean and one of the finest examples of military colonial architecture in the world.
The Sugarcane Railway — The Caribbean's Oldest
Saint Kitts has the oldest railway in the Caribbean, originally built in the early 20th century to transport sugarcane from the fields to the central processing mills. The island's sugar industry, which operated continuously for over 350 years (from the 1640s until the government closed the last sugar processing plant in 2005), was the reason Saint Kitts was so valuable to its colonial rulers — at the height of Caribbean sugar production, this tiny island generated enormous wealth. The narrow-gauge railway now operates as a tourist "Sugar Train" circumnavigating the island — an attractive way to see the coastline and interior.
Nevis — The Island Time Forgot
Nevis is quieter, greener, and less developed than Saint Kitts — a roughly circular volcanic island dominated by Nevis Peak (985 metres, usually cloud-wreathed) and ringed by largely undeveloped black and white sand beaches. It has a population of approximately 11,000. Alexander Hamilton, one of the United States' founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Charlestown, Nevis in 1755. His birthplace is a small museum. Nevis has historically attracted a particular kind of wealthy discreet traveller — the Four Seasons Nevis (on Pinney's Beach) is one of the most acclaimed resort hotels in the Caribbean — and has resisted the mass-market development that has characterised other islands.
The Citizenship by Investment Programme
Saint Kitts and Nevis launched the world's first citizenship by investment programme in 1984 — the year after independence. The programme allows foreign nationals to obtain Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship (and passport) in exchange for a qualifying investment: either a contribution to the Sustainable Growth Fund (from approximately $250,000 for a single applicant) or a real estate investment of at least $400,000. The SKN passport offers visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to approximately 155 countries including the UK, all EU Schengen states, and Singapore. The programme is heavily regulated, requires due diligence background checks, and has been copied by dozens of countries since — but Saint Kitts was the original, and its programme is still regarded as the gold standard of citizenship by investment.