Historical Sketch

Christopher Columbus discovered the islands for the Europeans in 1493 and named them "Isla San Cristóbal" (could also have been "Isla Santiago" or "Isla San Jorge" since the chronicles are blurred) and "Isla de la Nuestra Señora de las Nieves", a reference to a liturgical feast (this name could also have come up later). When the Spanish influence went to decline, France and Britain struggled for control, with Britain finally prevailing in a sea battle of 1782. St. Kitts (with Nevis) became part of the Leeward Islands colony in 1872. After the disintegration of the West Indian Federation, the islands of Saint Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla were merged into a distinct possession in 1962, which was rejected by Anguilla and led to the 1967 unilateral declaration of independence and the British intervention of 1969. The union of the two other islands went on unchallenged, and Saint Kitts and Nevis attained independence in 1983.

Monetary History Overview

The Caribbean had always been an important station on the trade routes between the Spanish American possessions and Europe. Thus, Spanish trade coins got introduced and dominated the payment transactions, predominantly the so-called "Spanish Dollar", the eight Reals in silver. The isolation of the islands brought scarcity of specie and thus caused an overvaluation of the trade coins compared with the European markets. In the English possessions, various "accounting Shillings" emerged which were determined by the local valuation of the Spanish trade coins, differing considerably from the metropolitan rating of 50 Pence Sterling per Spanish Dollar. In 1825, the Pound Sterling became the sole currency for all British possessions. The dominance of Spanish trade coins in payments did not change for the time being. In the mid-19th century, however, the local accounting currencies were abolished everywhere, which corresponded to a massive devaluation of the local money. In Saint Kitts and Nevis this was done independently in 1849 and 1858, and as the Spanish Dollar had been traded at 112½ Pence in both places, it amounted to almost 56%. The foreign coinage was tolerated in payments until the late 19th century, and the name "Dollar" remained in customary use for an amount of 50 Pence Sterling, the former rate of the Spanish Dollar. In the 1930s, Saint Kitts and Nevis came under the authority of the Barbados Currency Board. Since 1951, the monetary affairs are handled by the British West Indian and, later, Eastern Caribbean institutions.

Since independence, Saint Kitts and Nevis have been using the Eastern Caribbean Dollar instead of a national currency.

Saint Kitts and Nevis joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 15.08.1984.

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