 The
Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, located in the Leeward
Islands is a unitary island nation in the Caribbean, and
the smallest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The capital-city
and government for the federated state, is mainly on the
larger island of, Saint Kitts (formerly named: Saint Christopher).
The smaller state of Nevis (formerly named: Nuestra Señora
de las Nieves) lies about 3km southeast of Saint Kitts.
Historically the British dependency of Anguilla was also
a part of this union, which was then known collectively
as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla.
 Given
that Saint Kitts and Nevis are geographically within the Leeward
Islands, they are relatively close to a cluster of several
other islands. To the north-north west lie the islands of
Saint Eustatius, Saba, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin.
To the north-east lie Antigua and Barbuda, and to the south-east
lies Montserrat.
Originally colonies of the United Kingdom, Saint Kitts and Nevis along with
Anguilla, became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. Anguilla
rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. St. Kitts and Nevis achieved independence
in 1983. In August 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from St.
Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. In late September 1998, Hurricane
Georges caused approximately $445 million in damages and limited GDP growth for
the year.
Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, was
born on Nevis and spent his childhood there and on the island of St. Croix.
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