Great Salt Pond is the largest lake in the small island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, covering an area of covers 3 square miles. it is located close to the end of the Southeast Peninsula of St. Kitts. It is an unusual inland beach opening onto the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the calmer Caribbean Sea to the south. Great Salt Pond is the largest lake in Saint Kitts and Nevis. it is located close to the end of the Southeast Peninsula, just to the north of The Narrows. Last week some USM students spoke up with concerns about The Great Salt Pond, one of which was it's status as a National Monument. Sadly, I regret to inform them that the GSP is no longer something to be proud of, it is instead, a National Disgrace. Roy was asked about it last week by an AVS reporter, listen to him, if you can bare to, then join me below for more. The islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis are two of the Caribbean's oldest colonised territories. Saint Kitts became the first British colony in the West Indies in 1624 and then became the first French colony in the Caribbean in 1625, when both nations decided to partition the island. Five thousand years prior to European arrival, the island was settled by Indian peoples. The latest arrivals, the Kalinago peoples, arrived approximately 3 centuries before the Europeans. The Kalinago allowed the Europeans to colonize Saint Kitts, while earlier attempts to settle other islands were met with immediate destruction of the colonies by the Indians. The Kalinago were eventually wiped out in the great Kalinago Genocide of 1626. Often overlooked in history is the fact that in the 1600s, under Cromwell's reign, England shipped approximately 25,000 Irish to St. Kitts as slaves to work on the island. Battle of Saint Kitts, 1782, as described by an observer in a French engraving titled "Attaque de Brimstomhill". The island of Nevis was colonized in 1628 by British settlers from Saint Kitts. From there,Kitts became the premier base for British and French expansion, as the islands of Antigua, Montserrat, Anguilla and Tortola for the British, and Martinique, the Guadeloupe archipelago and St. Barths for the French were colonized from it. Although small in size, and separated by only 2 miles (3 km) of water, the two islands were viewed and governed as different states until the late 19th century, when they were forcefully unified along with the island of Anguilla by the British. To this day relations are strained, with Nevis accusing Saint Kitts of neglecting its needs.
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis),[2] located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas, in both area and population. The capital city and headquarters of government for the federated state is on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller state of Nevis lies about 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Saint Kitts, across a shallow channel called "The Narrows". Historically, the British dependency of Anguilla was also a part of this union, which was then known collectively as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. Saint Kitts and Nevis are geographically part of the Leeward Islands. To the north-northwest lie the islands of Saint Eustatius, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten. To the east and northeast are Antigua and Barbuda, and to the southeast is the small uninhabited island of Redonda, and the island of Montserrat, which currently has an active volcano (see Soufrière Hills.) Saint Kitts and Nevis were amongst the first islands in the Caribbean to be settled by Europeans. Saint Kitts was home to the first British and French colonies in the Caribbean. Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest nation on Earth to ever host a World Cup event; it was one of the host venues of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The country is an independent Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, represented in St. Kitts and Nevis by a Governor-General, who acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the House, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. St. Kitts and Nevis has a unicameral legislature, as the National Assembly. It is composed of fourteen members: eleven elected Representatives (three from the island of Nevis) and three Senators who are appointed by the Governor-General. Two of the senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, and one on the advice of the leader of the opposition. Unlike in other countries, senators do not constitute a separate Senate or upper house of parliament, but sit in the National Assembly, alongside representatives. All members serve five-year terms. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are responsible to the Parliament. Saint Kitts and Nevis is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
At first the island was thought to be uninhabited, but it was discovered that 14 Frenchmen had settled in the Quarter d'Orleans area. Within 3 months the first house had been built and over 1000 hectolitres of clean salt was ready for shipment. Work started on Fort Amsterday which was finished by September 1632, housing 10 cannons and 80 men. By June of that year, 25 ships were counted within a 3 week period, collectiong salt for the return trip to Europe. The high quality of St Maarten salt attracted the greed and attention of King Philip IV of Spain and on the 24th June 1633, 53 Spanish ships, 11 of which being Men of War, dropped anchor in Great Bay. 1000 soldiers and 300 sailors landed, the Dutch put up resistance for one week before a truce allowed them to leave the island, St. Maarten became Spanish on July 2nd 1633. By this time the Dutch had settled Bonaire and the loss of St Maarten led to the settlement of Curacao in 1634, St Eustatius and Saba were settled in 1636. St. Maarten was not settled by Spain, they had too many islands to administer and conditions on the island deteriorated for the 250 man garrison. Seeing this, Peter Syuyvesant, the Director of the Netherlands West India Company was directed to try to retake the island. In 1644 he arrived in Great Bay with 13 ships and about 1000 men, including most of the guard from Curacao, leaving that island poorly defended. The Spanish garrison of 120 men retreated into the Fort (Ft Amst.) and the Dutch landed in Cay Bay. First they set up cannons on Cay Hill but the distance was too far, they then moved them onto Belair Hill. Stuyvesant sent a summons to the Spanish at the fort and then climbed to the battery position and raised a flag, presumably to indicate the position and to demand surrender. Instead the Spanish fired a cannon, hitting Stuyvesant's right leg and the cheek and eye of the captain of his flagship. A few weeks later and after several attacks were repulsed, the Dutch left the island. The Spanish commander, in his report to the King, requested permission to leave the island as a reward to the garrison.
