Nevis

Shian 

We went to say good morning to Shian, this is her first photograph since seeing her off from Puerto Rico last year. Then off we went to explore. Nevis' pre-Columbian name was "Oualie", which translates to "land of beautiful waters", presumably referred to the island's many freshwater springs and hot volcanic springs. The island is thirty six square miles and looks a bit like a sombrero from the sea. The population is around nine thousand. Rainfall is about forty eight inches per year with a temperature range of seventeen to thirty three degrees centigrade.

Charlestown, the only town, is picturesque with many stone (skirt) and wooden (blouse) buildings.  

 

Landing of Virginia settlers

This is on the wall outside the building Alexander Hamilton was born - the plaque says: At Nevis there landed on 25 March, 1607, for a stay of six days, a company of 144 Englishman bound for Virginia. On 13 May 1607, that same group founded at Jamestown, Virginia. The first permanent English settlement beyond the British Isles, from that colony grew the overseas expansion of the English speaking peoples: The Commonwealth of Virginia: the United States of America: and the british Commonwealth of Nations and Realms overseas.

Bath Hotel and Bath House circa 1778. This hotel is reputed to be the oldest in the Caribbean. At the height of its popularity the hotel was surrounded by landscaped grounds called "The Gardens of Jericho". In 1787, a reception to celebrate the marriage of Captain Horatio Nelson to Nevisian born widow Frances "Fanny" Nisbet nee Woolward was held. The ball along with a sit down dinner for 100 people, included Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, later King William IV of England. In the mid 19th Century a nine hole golf course was built on the grounds -  the first in the Caribbean and one of the first in the western hemisphere. The hotel stayed open for nearly a century, closed, then reopened to house troops of the British West India Regiment in World War I. It was reopened in the 1920's and during World War II again to house troops. It was abandoned after the war, but used from time to time by persons who tried to reopen it. From 1996 to 1999, it was refurbished and used to house the Police Department and Magistrates Court. Today it is used by the Premiers' Ministry.

Christopher Columbus, upon sighting what we now call Nevis in 1498, gave that island the name Saint Martin. However, the confusion of numerous, poorly charted small islands in the Leeward Island chain, meant that the name ended up being accidentally transferred to another island, the one which we now know as the French/Dutch island Saint Martin. The current name "Nevis" is derived from a Spanish name Nuestra Senora de las Nieves. This Spanish name means Our Lady of the Snows. It is not known who chose this name for the island, but it is a reference to the story of a 4th century Catholic miracle: a snowfall on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. Presumably the white clouds which usually wreathe the top of Nevis Peak reminded someone of the story of a miraculous snowfall in a hot climate. The island of Nevis, upon first British settlement was referred to as "Dulcina", a name meaning "sweet one". Its original Spanish name, "Nuestra Señora de las Nieves", was eventually kept however, though it was soon shortened to "Nevis". 

The island of Nevis was colonised in 1628 by British settlers from Saint Kitts. From there, Saint Kitts became the premier base for British and French expansion, as the islands of Antigua. Montserrat, Anguillar and Tortola for the British and Martinique, the Guadeloupe archipelago and St Barts for the French were colonised from it. The first town, called Jamestown, was built near Fort Ashby, but it sank into the sea after an earthquake and tidal wave in 1680. By 1706 Nevis was home to 8600 slaves. In the years from 1721 to 1726, 1267 slaves were imported at an average of 253 per year. Various battles between the French and English hampered development until 1783, when Nevis became English for an extended time.  By 1774 the population of Nevis was 1,00 whites and 10,000 slaves. It flourished as a plantocracy and there are many old plantations and sugar mills on the island. The old mills are crumbling, but the plantations have been converted into high end hotels (own blog).

 

 

 

The small museum a few miles out of town is dominated by Nelson and Victory memorabilia, including a chair from HMS Victory and one of Nelson's uniforms

 

 

 

This picture of Nelson was taken of Nelson dated the 14th of September 1805, is protected with cling film. An interesting cross section of HMS Victory. Commissioned in 1778, she was the largest English warship. Supported by 110 cannons and 850 men and officers, the Victory cut a striking vision on the open seas stretching 126 in length with a mast rising 205 feet from the water. After the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson's body was transported back to England on the Victory. Due to his rank, he was not buried at sea as most others killed in action on the seas. Instead, Nelson's body was sealed in a cask of brandy which acted as a preservative until it could be properly attended to. On the 5th of December 1805 the Victory returned to England and docked at Spithead.

 

 

 

This piece of cloth is a tiny piece of the Union Jack under which Nelson was standing when he received his fatal wound at Trafalgar. The flag was also carried at his funeral in London on the 9th of January 1806, an invitation is proudly hanging in the museum, along with a copy of the painting of the funeral barges on the River Thames. Another display shows the tenth Anniversary of Independence.

 

 

The Methodist Church, Gingerland

 

 

 

Cute houses, the one on the right is Elliots Funeral Home. I'm delighted to see a Mack Truck

 

 

Hurricane Omar damaged these buildings