The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

The National Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts was the first island in the Caribbean to be colonised by the English in the 1600's, and from there, the English spread out. Locally, the English then colonised the islands of Nevis, and a little later, the island of Anguilla.

In 1967, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla where unified to make Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, a federated associated state with full autonomy. This followed on from the ill-fated West Indies Federation. flag that was introduced was a tricolour flag of green, yellow, and blue. Each colour standing for one of the islands. In the centre yellow stripe, a black palm tree with 3 fronds.

However, the islanders of Anguilla objected and rebelled. In 1971, Anguilla was allowed to separate from the state, and make its own decisions. 

Finally, in 1983, St Kitts and Nevis became the youngest nation in the Americas and introduced a new flag. Featuring a black central stripe rising from lower hoist to upper fly. In the stripe are 2 white stars. The black stripe is fimbriated in yellow, with the upper half of the flag in green, and the lower in red.

The green represents the islands fertility, the red represents the peoples struggle from colonialism to independence. The black represents the African heritage of the people, the yellow represents the sun. The stars represent hope, and liberty. As well as standing for the two islands of Saint Kitts, and Nevis.

Anguilla did not join this new nation, and is still self-governing British Crown dependency. 

It is also worth noting that the relationship between Saint Kitts and Nevis is less than harmonious. In 1998, a vote to secede from the federation fell just short of the 2 thirds majority required. The accusations fly that Saint Kitts takes Nevis for granted, and the government chooses to ignore the needs of the smaller island.