One of the remarkable features of an island tour of St. Kitts is the system of public cisterns found in each of the villages, beautifully constructed of cut stone, each having its own design, the size reflecting the community the cistern was expected to serve. The larger ones are buttressed for support, while the very small ones stand alone. Each cistern has one or more pipes from which villagers might collect water from this public water supply for personal and other use.

Early in 1625, Thomas Warner's small colony greeted the unexpected arrival of a French ship, probably in the shallow bay on which Basseterre now sits. The French had suffered an unfortunate encounter with a Spanish warship, and they limped into St. Kitts in order to make much-needed repairs. The ship's captain, Pierre Belain d'Esnambue, must have been favorably impressed with what he found, as he returned shortly afterward with a small group of colonists. Warner and the English, like the Caribs before them, at first accepted the newcomers in friendship--or at least toleration.

This 17th-century sugar estate with its fecund gardens once belonged to the great-great-great-grandfather of Thomas Jefferson. Since 1964 it has been the home of Caribelle Batik , which sells handmade batik wraps, dresses, wall hangings and other items. As you drive up, note the black stones with Amerindian petroglyphs just past the nursery.

 Before Columbus arrived here during his second voyage in 1493, the island had already been inhabited for some one thousand years. The first people to settle here were a tribe of Arawak Indians who left their homeland in the Orinoco basin of South America and kept migrating upwards along the chain of islands in the Caribbean. They gave it the name "Sualouiga" meaning "Land of Salt" for the salt-pans and the brackish water they found here in great abundance.

In 1493, on Christopher Columbus second voyages to the West Indies, upon first sighting the island he named it Isla de San Martín after Saint Martin of Tours because it was November 11, St. Martin Day. However, though he claimed it as a Spanish territory, Columbus never landed there, and Spain made the settlement of the island a low priority.

 Before Columbus arrived here during his second voyage in 1493, the island had already been inhabited for some one thousand years. The first people to settle here were a tribe of Arawak Indians who left their homeland in the Orinoco basin of South America and kept migrating upwards along the chain of islands in the Caribbean. They gave it the name "Sualouiga" meaning "Land of Salt" for the salt-pans and the brackish water they found here in great abundance.

"A BUILDING WITHIN A BUILDING"

HISTORY

English Harbour has been the haunt of many famous naval officers including Rodney, Nelson, Collingwood, Prince William Henry, Hood, and Cochrane. Today the Dockyard at English Harbour is named after the victor of the battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Lord Nelson. Nelson was based at English Harbour from 1784 to 1787. He was Senior Captain at 27 years of age and became temporary Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands for a short time.

"EACH ENDEAVOURING, ALL ACHIEVING"

Designed by Gordon Christopher with some modifications by the Statehood Celebrations Committee in 1966. 

HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The Museum of Antigua & Barbuda was opened in 1985 and is operated by the Historical & Archaeological Society, a private non-profit organisation. The exhibits, which interpret the story of Antigua from its geological birth to political independence, are placed in the old St. John's Court House of 1750, a very historic building. Today, it is indeed a fine setting for an interpretive museum and is an excellent example of adaptive use for the oldest building of the capital city.