Dieppe Bay Town is a town in Saint John Capisterre Parish in the island of

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, in the country of

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Settled in 1538, it is the oldest town founded by

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

in the whole of the

Eastern Caribbean The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...

. The original town only survived a few weeks before it was destroyed by the Spanish, but it was re-founded in 1625 by French settlers led by Pierre D'Esnambuc. Dieppe Bay Town is the co-capital of St. John Capisterre Parish along with

Saddlers Saddlers is a town in Saint John Capesterre Parish, on Saint Kitts island in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is the co-capital of the parish along with Dieppe Bay Town. Originally the parish territory was partly ruled by France and partly by the Br ...

. Originally the northern part of the parish was ruled by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in the region of "

Capisterre Capisterre (a corruption of the original French name Capesterre) is a region covering the Northern Coastal plain on the Island of Saint Kitts. It was originally colonized by the French in the early 17th century, with its capital on the only harbou ...

de St. Christophe", of which Dieppe was the capital. The southern part of the parish was ruled by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, in "British Saint Christopher", which had its parish capital in Saddlers. When Britain took full control of the island in 1713, both capitals remained. The town was once home to a busy port, situated along the harbour at Dieppe. The harbour was renowned on the island due to the large

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

formations offshore which gave it strong protection against the heavy waves which tended to prevent

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast development elsewhere. The port however, saw its functions cease after all business was shifted to

Basseterre Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitt ...

after Basseterre was made the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of St. Kitts in 1723. Dieppe Bay is currently a very small settlement with a very small population, however its historical significance to St. Kitts, and its former status as capital of the Capisterre region has allowed it to earn the status of "town". It is the fifth town of Saint Kitts after Basseterre, Sandy Point,

Cayon Cayon is a town on the northeast coast of Saint Kitts in the Caribbean. It is the capital of Saint Mary Cayon Parish. The estimated population in 2010 was 2,500 Cayon is home to the campus of Windsor University School of Medicine. St Mary's P ...

, and

Old Road Old Road is a town located on a roadstead in southern Antigua island in Antigua and Barbuda. It is overlooked by Boggy Peak, which lies to its northwest. Old Road F.C. is based in the town. Demographics Enumeration Districts * 80800 ...

. Its current population is estimated at 592 persons and it is ranked 20th in population of all settlements in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Many of the inhabitants are ethnically French and are descended from fishermen who migrated from St. Barts. They were attracted to the area by the reef.

References

Populated places in Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts (island) Populated places established in 1538 1625 establishments in the French colonial empire 1625 establishments in North America 1620s in the Caribbean {{SaintKittsNevis-geo-stub

See also

References