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The romantic history of Nevis began early on when it and its neighboring island, St. Kitts, was inhabited by the Carib Indians.
The modern-day history began when Christopher Columbus spotted Nevis in 1493 during his second visit to the Caribbean. The popular story is that Columbus named the island "las nieves," or snow, because the top of the mountain, called Nevis Peak, is always cloud-covered.
Nevis was settled by Europeans in the early 1600s, when ships coming from England were looking for places good for growing crops, most likely tobacco. The first settler was Captain Anthony Hilton, who arrived with planters in 1628. The island was developed as a vibrant place early on because of its ability to grow crops: tobacco, indigo, coconuts and most of all, sugar cane. Because of its huge production, which today seems hard to believe because of the size of the island, Nevis became known as "Queen of the Caribees," and the population at one time was more than twice what it is today.
During that time, many plantations were built around the island, and today the fascinating ruins still exist. Some are in total ruin; others are partially intact and a few have been restored as elegant plantation inns. The sugar era was crucial to the island's history and made Nevis a powerful influence in the early days. Because of the sugar industry, it drew important people to the island. Horatio Nelson, the British Naval Admiral, came to defend Nevis, and his presence was an important part of the island's romantic past. While on the island, he met the widow Fanny Nisbet and in 1787 they eventually wed at the Montpelier Estate. Nelson was well known in many of the islands, particularly Antigua and Barbados.
The sugar business on Nevis also attracted Jews from Brazil, mostly Sephardic Jews, who were experts in sugar producing, and their history has been studied by many experts over the years. There is still a Jewish cemetery in downtown Charlestown, which visitors seek out. The tombstones are written in English, Hebrew and Portuguese, and they date from 1690 to 1710.
Sugar prevailed for many years, and Nevis was in its heyday. But soon on Nevis, like elsewhere in the Caribbean, things began to change. Emancipation of slaves took place around 1834, and that workforce, the backbone of the industry, all but disappeared. Then the price of sugar dipped in Europe and it was realized that the sugar beet, which was raised elsewhere, could be used to make sugar. By the mid-1800s, the sugar business had diminished and Nevis was forced to turn to tourism. The center of this was the Bath Hotel, which was an attraction throughout Europe for those looking for the enjoyment of the thermal spas and healing waters of Nevis. This stone hotel still exists, but it is in terrible condition and awaiting someone with the funding to restore it to its former beauty.
Another important figure in the history of Nevis was American patriot Alexander Hamilton, who happened to be born in Nevis. From there, he ended up going to St. Croix with his mother, but Hamilton looms large in the island's history. His birthplace is now one of the island's museums, and his connection has made Nevis known throughout the world.
Nevis was part of the British Commonwealth for many years, and in 1983, St. Kitts and Nevis declared their independence and became an independent Federation. Today the Federation of St. Kitts/Nevis still has ties to the British crown, primarily for High Court functions, and cases are still appealed to the court there.
However, some natives, or Envisions, as they call themselves, still have designs on future independence. In late 1998, a vote to secede from the Federation was called as a referendum, but was narrowly defeated by only a few percentage points. Since then talks have begun on so-called Constitutional Reform for the Federation to give Nevis an equal share of the monetary pie and more power to determine its own destiny.
Visiting the two islands, one can easily see the difference. Nicely paved roads encircle the island of St. Kitts, while Envisions drive around dodging potholes everywhere; and while Envisions often sit in the dark because the power source can't always supply the island with lights, they look out across at St. Kitts, where thousands of glistening lights shimmer, making the island look like as busy as St. Thomas, USVI.
Still, the charm and the peacefulness continue to be the allure of this small place, where people value family, take care of the elderly in their homes, and take plenty of time to just "lime" and enjoy their beautiful environment. It's the way things used to be.
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