Early inhabitants of Saint Kitts and Nevis were the Kalinago people (or Caribs). The Caribbean Sea was actually named after these Indigenous peoples.

The Kalinago names for Saint Kitts and Nevis are Liamuiga("fertile soil"), and Oualie("beautiful water"). As one nation, separated by only a two mile channel called the "The Narrows", Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest nation in both area and population in all of the Americas.

Two of the oldest colonized territories in the Caribbean , Saint Kitts and Nevis were once separate nations but in the late 1800's were forced to unite along with the island of Anguilla. This made all three islands one nation under British rule. Anguilla finally separated from Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1971 and Saint Kitts and Nevis formally gained independence in 1983.