page_title: Basseterre
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Basseterre / History
caption_attribution_description: Basseterre Polski: Widok na Basseterre
context_page_description: Basseterre, is the capital city of the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, also called St Kitts and Nevis, in the West Indies. Basseterre port is at 17°18′N 62°44′W, on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island. It is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands. The city is in the parish of Saint George Basseterre and the southern part of the parish of Saint Peter Basseterre. In 2000 about 15,500 people lived in the city.
  Basseterre is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean.
context_section_description: Basseterre was founded in 1627 by the French, under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. It was the capital of the French colony of Saint-Christophe.  The colony was the most northern and most southern parts of the island of St. Kitts. The middle part was held by Britain. When Phillipe de Longviliers de Poincy was made the French governor of St. Kitts in 1639, the town turned into a large, successful port, commanding Eastern Caribbean trade and colonisation. De Poincy then quickly made Basseterre capital of the entire French West Indies colony, which included the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. It was the capital until his death in 1660. The city was made capital of the entire island of St. Kitts in 1727. This is when the French were pushed off the island and the British took full control.
  The city of Basseterre has one of the most tragic histories of any Caribbean capital, destroyed many times by colonial wars, fire, earthquakes, floods, riots and hurricanes. Despite all of this, a large number of well-restored buildings still exist in downtown Basseterre.
caption: Panoramic View of the City of Basseterre from Zante, looking North.
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