the stories of our proud and friendly people, our charming and colourful villages, our fascinating ruins, our intriguing rain forests,
and our traditions that span centuries.

Edgar Challenger Edgar Challenger was born on the 29th November 1905, the youngest son of John Oscar Challenger and Louisa Wynter. He attended Miss Malvena Amory’s infant school and received his primary education at the school run by Miss Connie Wattley. At age twelve he entered the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School, but following an incident with his teacher of Latin he refused to attend any further classes. Instead young Edgar was sent to Lodge School in...
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Stanley Theodor Sebastian Stanley Theodor Sebastian was born on the 28 December 1920. He was the son of and Christobel Richardson and James Matthew Sebastian. He grew up in Newtown in his mother’s household. At an early age he learnt how to move in various social circles. From his mother he acquired a friendliness towards all with whom he came in contact. His father, on the other hand, challenged him to be outstanding. Young Stanley received his...
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Bronte Agatha Welsh was born in Challengers Village on the 31st December 1918, the first daughter of Evan and Annie Welsh and the second of their six children. Evan was a mason and Anne a seamstress so Bronte and her brothers and sisters grew up in a household were industry was highly valued. Her early education took place at a small private school. However, at eight years of age she was enrolled at the Basseterre Girls’...
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Circus The Circus is the hub of Basseterre. It is a recognised landmark and a popular meeting place. The Circus owes its origins to the fire that destroyed Basseterre on July 4th, 1867. The whole town east of West Square street was devastated. The inefficiencies of the fire department were, at least in part, responsible for the magnitude of the disaster. When Basseterre was rebuilt, it was decided to make its streets easier for the fire...
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Douglas estate lies north of Basseterre. It was once called Pensez-y-bien. Douglas The estate was part of the French Basseterre Quarter but at this point nothing is known about its French owners. By 1714 it was in possession of Colonel Walter Douglas. He was one of seven sons of William Douglas of Baads and his wife Joan. Three of his brothers practiced medicine, with James in particular becoming famous as an obstetrician whose research on female anatomy...
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The University Centre and Technical College occupy an area at the western end of the Bay Road, just east of the War Memorial. Although the western boundary of Basseterre stretched to Fort Thomas in 1768, only dwellings in Irish Town extended beyond Olivees Ghaut, now called Westbourne. Beyond those buildings was cane land belonging to Greenlands Estate which by the mid-19th century was the property of the Berkeley family. The part of the estate south...
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Bull The Christmas Sports takes place in the days between Christmas and New Year. These are street performances. However some elements on the sport, particularly the Masquerade, is used as cultural performances throughout the year. THE BULLis based on a story that had its origins in St. Kitts itself. It is said that Arthur Davis, the owner of Belmont estate, and brother of Basil Davis, Manager of the Sugar factory bought a young bull for breeding purposes...
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Good Friday is a quiet day in St. Kitts. Many go to the various church services that commemorate Christ’s Crucifiction . At home, there are hot cross buns for breakfast while lunch consists of cooked saltfish, mackerel, or fresh fish served with a mixture of starchy foods (potatoes, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, green figs, yams, cassava, dasheen, edoes) and greens. In St. Kitts, Good Friday and the rest of the Easter weekend is also the time...
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In June 1957 Basil Henderson, Major L.N Alphonso, Tony Lawrence, Leroy Coury, Alexis Knight, E Vanterpool and Al Barker formed a temporary committee entrusted with the planning of St. Kitts’ first Carnival. It was felt that a Carnival along the lines of the Trinidad one would help the economy and give visitors something to look forward to. By the end of that year St. Kitts had its first queen show, Calypso Show and street parade...
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