A visit to St. Kitts would just not be complete without a trip to Brimstone Hill. The Brimstone Hill Fortress, now a National Park is an outstanding, well–preserved fortress located on a 972 feet hill on the west side of the island. It was designed by British military engineers, and was built and maintained by Africans slaves. Did you know cannons were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1689 during the Nine Years’ War by Jean Baptiste Du Casse? What about the amazing Fort George museum and the one hundred steps leading down to the base of the hill? This is just a sample of the history that visitors can learn from this impressive UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bloody Point, like Brimstone Hill has a rich history stretching back hundreds of years and whenever visitors travel to St Kitts, they are always intrigued at the name of this area and the reason for it. Situated to the west of Challengers Village, Bloody Point or Bloody River as it is sometimes called, got its name from the event that occurred there. In the year 1626, English and French invaders massacred hundreds of Carib Indians in the ravine area and history records that instead of water, the river ran red with blood for many days. Although the event is sad, it is a very important part of our history which visitors enjoy learning about.
After discovering the history of St. Kitts, I would invite cruise passengers to take a short boat ride over to our beautiful sister island Nevis to experience more. The island of Nevis is calm and peaceful, with lovely beaches and outstanding historic sites like the warm and soothing Bath Springs. Built in 1778, the Bath Hotel was once a playground for the rich and famous who enjoyed a pleasurable bath in the therapeutic, hot springs. Now, when cruise passengers travel to Nevis, they can experience this outstanding site and learn about John Huggins, a merchant and aristocrat who built the large, stone hotel at a cost of 43,000 “island” pounds and surrounded it with lush green beautiful landscaping and goldfish ponds.
Although there are other aspects of my country that cruise passengers could experience, the most important of them all is its history. The history of St. Kitts and Nevis provides our visitors with a unique and unforgettable experience of a people proud of their country and culture.
Produced by: Arjenel Browne
