St Kitts-Nevis Independence
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TitleSt Kitts-Nevis Independence
Reference codeICS98
Date1981-1983
Scope and ContentDocuments relating to the achievement of independence by St Kitts-Nevis in 1983, including papers concerning objections to the proposed form of the new Government; official proceeedings of a Constitutional Conference and of the UK Parliament to grant independence; and copies of newspapers and bulletins
NotesSt Kitts-Nevis comprises the islands of St Kitts or St Christopher, in 1623 the first West Indian island to be settled by the British, and Nevis which was colonised in 1628. The two islands, together with Anguilla were united in 1882, and became an independent state in association with the United Kingdom in 1967. There were objections by Anguilla to the administration, which it considered to be dominated by St Kitts, and independence was declared by Anguilla later that year. Negotiations to resolve the dispute failed, and after being placed directly under British control in 1971, Anguilla was granted its own constitution in 1975 and union with St Kitts and Nevis formally severed in 1980. There was a Constitutional Conference in London in 1982 to discuss the independence of St Kitts and Nevis. Despite disagreements over special provisions for Nevis in the proposed constitution, the independence process continued and was formally achieved on 19 September 1983. The objections came principally from the Labour Opposition, which until recently had dominated the administration and was still the largest party. Since 1980, however, the Government had consisted of a coalition of the People's Action Movement and Nevis's Reform Party, which held the balance of power and which the Opposition felt was instrumental in achieving Nevis's strong position in the new constitution.
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Extent3 series
System of ArrangementGrouped into three series according to the type of document
Finding aidsHandlist available in the Special Collections reading room. Also catalogued online (click on the "contains" icon below). A pdf version is also attached to this description.
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