[1] The initial arrival of Africans in St. Kitts and Nevis was in the late 17th century as a result of the slave trade.

[2] St Kitts, the largest of the two islands, has geography well suited for sugar plantations, but was plagued by colonial warfare in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

[3] Nevis, which has similar geography and was relatively sheltered, became an early center of the slave trade in the West Indies.

[8] In the early years of the plantation system on St. Kitts and Nevis, slaves were forced to clear the forests in preparation for sugar production.

[9] The difficulty of this work, combined with poor rations, resulted in a slave death rate “that was incredibly high on the two islands during the later part of 17th century”.

[20] African slaves resisted bondage in other ways, such as taking food from their masters to supplement their meager rations, and meeting to elect their own officials.

[22] Skilled slaves could buy their freedom by earning wages for their crafts, such as carpentry and masonry, on their day off.

[24] Children with slave mothers and white fathers enjoyed relative freedom of movement, but were still barred from owning land and thus participating in government.

[25] Communities of freed people developed, with inhabitants mostly working trades but in some cases earning a living as merchants.

[27] In 1833 the British Empire outlawed slavery, but full legal freedom didn't come to St. Kitts and Nevis until 1838.

[36] The resistance was high enough that the governor of The Leeward Islands, Evan Murray Macgregor, announced that if apprentices didn't return by the 6th, martial law would go into effect.

[38] Planters attempted to quell the revolt by identifying leaders and punishing them with jail time or lashes, but 2 weeks after the apprenticeship program was supposed to start, the majority of workers remained in the mountains.

[48] While white planters continued to own land, on Nevis black field labourers had greater ties to it.