Basseterre
Saint Kitts and Nevis · Americas
About Basseterre
Basseterre is the capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at 17°18′N 62°44′W, on the south-western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands. The city lies within Saint George Basseterre Parish.
Basseterre is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean.
Basseterre was founded in 1627 by the French, under Sieur Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. It served as the capital of the French colony of Saint-Christophe, which consisted of the northern and southern extremities of the island of St. Kitts (the centre was yielded to Britain). When Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy was made the French governor of St. Kitts in 1639, the town turned into a large, successful port, commanding Eastern Caribbean trade and colonisation.
De Poincy then quickly made Basseterre capital of the entire French West Indies colony, which included the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and remained so until his death in 1660. The city was made capital of the island of St. Kitts in 1727, following the expulsion...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.