Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983: Doomsday)

Federation of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Montserrat
Federation of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Montserrat
	Coat of arms
	Motto: ; Country Above Self
	Anthem: ; O Land of Beauty!;
	Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Leeward Islands, with other East Caribbean Federation members in yellow
	Map of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Capital; (and largest city)	Basseterre; 17°18′N 62°44′W / 17.3°N 62.733°W
Official languages	English
Regional languages	Saint Kitts Creole
Ethnic groups	91% Black; 5% Mixed; 3% East Indian; 1% White
Demonym	Kittitian, Nevisian, Montserratian
Government	Federal Parliamentary Republic
Legislature	National Assembly
Independence
Area
Population
Currency	East Caribbean Dollar (EC$)

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Saint Kitts-Nevis-Montserrat is a state of the East Caribbean Federation. It comes from the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, newly independent in 1983. The federation annexed the island of Montserrat, a former British colony, after a volcano forced almost its entire population to move elsewhere.

History[]

Doomsday[]

Saint Kitts and Nevis gained its independence from the United Kingdom less than a week before Doomsday, on 19 September 1983. Its independence had a fragile foundation, but the nation proved to be fortunate: wind patterns meant that very little fallout hit the isles, and some freighters in port gave it more resources in the short term than many of the surrounding nations. The islands did suffer losses - thousands of Kittitians and Nevisians worked in other countries, primarily the USA, Canada, and Britain. The bulk of these workers were in major cities and lost their lives on or soon after Doomsday.

Many other island nations were hit worse by economic collapse, piracy and brigandage, unrest food contamination, and other problems. During the first few years after Doomsday, many refugees made their way onto the two islands. So many, in fact, that the government decided to build two large refugee camps, one on St. Kitts and one on Nevis.

Despite these measures, the islands could not support so many people. Malnutrition struck many, especially in the camps, and so did its attendant diseases. Many Kittitians left during the next years for the mainland of Mexico or South America; the chaos of the era meant that many who left were never heard from again back home. To this day these émigrés of the aftermath are mourned in the same way as those who died of hunger and disease.

NATA and the ECF[]

In the months following the war, several former British islands, led by St. Kitts and Nevis, bonded together into an economic group that called itself the North Antilles Trade Agreement (NATA). Meanwhile, a southerly alliance called the Lesser Antilles Trade and Support Agreement (LATSA) was confirmed between Saint Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad, and Saint Vincent. This became the much more far-reaching East Caribbean Federation in 1987, and St. Kitts and its allies joined soon after.

The relatively low amount of damage done to the nation and population, and its stability has helped to become one of the major nations of the eastern Caribbean. It continued to hold responsibility for the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

Montserrat[]

In the mid-90s, a massive volcanic eruption devastated the island of Montserrat and rendered most of it unfit for habitation. This was a terrible blow at a time when the region had not yet recovered from the Third World War, but again the people of St. Kitts and Nevis stepped in to help their neighbors. The bulk of Montserrat's people came to the islands. The wartime Shelters were reopened. In the following years, many Montserratians moved further afield, some to Jamaica and Trinidad, others to South America. A few years later, the island's population was negligible. The Federation lacked the resources for any substantial rebuilding or resettlement.

In 2005, Antigua and Barbuda achieved full membership as a state within the ECF. St. Kitts and Nevis formally gave up responsibility for its neighbor's government, though it still had significant influence. That same year, the government of St. Kitts asked the Federation's approval to annex Montserrat. It was now quite clear that the island had no hope of existence as a separate country. The only human presence on the island was a few scattered fishing villages.

Since the later 2000s, Montserratians have been allowed to return to their home island. But the lack of funding to support them, along with the lengthening time since the families started new lives elsewhere, meant that resettlement has happened slowly and on a small scale.

Government[]

Like many Commonwealth Realms around the world, St. Kitts and Nevis retained its parliamentary system, the only change being the promotion of the Governor-General from head of state's representative to actual head of state. Following a precedent set by Sir Clement Arrindell, the first governor-general, each GG submits his own choice of successor to Parliament, who then vote to confirm them.

Nevis and Montserrat have autonomous assemblies with certain delineated powers over local administration; this is what makes the country a "federation". But its federalism is asymetrical: Saint Kitts, home to some three-quarters of the country's people, has no government separate from that of the nation. Saint Kitts is divided into nine parishes, Nevis five, and Montserrat just one.

Caribbean Federation[]

The Caribbean Federation is responsible for most of the country's foreign relations and all of its defence. The Caribbean Defence Force has a coast guard station on each island, while the army helps to maintain the exclusion zone on Montserrat.

Economy[]

Agriculture for consumption around the Caribbean has become the main sector of the economies of both Saint Kitts and Nevis. Crops include peanuts, coconuts, sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, and breadfruit; livestock include sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. The main prewar crops - sugar on Saint Kitts and cotton on Nevis - diminished with the collapse of the world market and have made only a slow recovery. Fishing is an important sector and the main occupation on Montserrat, but the islands are not major exporters of fish. Most industry is devoted to processing these products.

Culture[]

The islands' ties to Britain have left Anglicanism as the largest religion and cricket as the most popular sport. The islands have their own unique take on the Caribbean-wide Carnival tradition. Nevis also has a distinct festival called Culturama to mark Emancipation Day, 1 August. Montserrat had celebrated its Irish heritage, unique in the Caribbean, but most of this is now lost with the depopulation of the island.