Discovering the Brimstone Hill Fortress and Its Stamps by Derrick Grose The Brimstone Hill Fortress Parade Square and Battery. From the time, over forty years ago, that I adopted my brother’s abandoned “Fully Illustrated” 1957 edition of The Atlas Stamp Album of the World, I was encouraged by my parents and other adults to pursue stamp collecting as an excellent way to learn about the world. They were right. As a child I was enthralled by stamps depicting famous people, exotic plants and animals, and far-away places. I would go to the encyclopaedia or the atlas to explore history and geography and satisfy the curiosity inspired by my stamp collection. The Grossman Stamp Company's Atlas Stamp Album launched many philatelic explorations. As an adult whose love of travel is, at least in part, a product of the curiosity awakened by stamp collecting, I find the process is sometimes reversed. Sometimes it is life experiences that bring special significance to stamps that may have been sorted and mounted but never properly appreciated. This was the case with several stamps in my collection from the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts-Nevis and Anguilla. Original Carib petroglyphs painted on a large volcanic rock just off the road to the Wingfield Manor Estate were featured on 1973 stamps commemorating the 70th anniversary of the first St. Kitts-Nevis postage stamps. Called Liamuiga (fertile land) by the Carib Indians, Saint Kitts was a focus for the rivalry between colonial powers in the Caribbean. The name of the capital city, Basseterre, is a reminder of the time when French and English farmers co-existed on the island under the terms of a formal agreement signed in 1627. It was not until 1713, at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, that exclusive control of the island passed to the British under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht. By the time of the American Revolution, Saint Kitts had become, on a per capita basis, the richest colony in the British Empire. The Brimstone Hill Fortress may be named for sulphurous odours emitted from geothermal activity in the area or it may come from black volcanic rock from the area utilized in the construction of the fort. This jewel of the former empire was one of the ports of call on a cruise that I took to escape the winter snow. In planning a one-day visit to the island, I became aware of a landmark that has been depicted on several of its stamps. The Brimstone Hill Fortress would attract attention by virtue of its name if nothing else. Sources suggest at least two origins for the name. It may come from the sulphurous odours emitted from geothermal activity in the area or it may come from black volcanic rock from the area which was much utilized in the construction of the fort. The actual structure that bears the ominous name is a monument to the struggle to control the valuable sugar plantations of the island. It remains a prominent landmark on the west coast of the island. Known as “The Gibraltar of the West Indies,” the fortifications are perched on a mountain offering clear views of the Dutch island of St. Eustatius to the north, and of Nevis to the south. Views of Nevis (left) and St. Eustasius (right) from the Brimstone Hill Fortress The three cent definitive issued in 1963 shows the gate of the fortress framing the neighboring island of St. Eustatius in the background, but it provides no sense of fortifications beyond the gate. The design of the George VI definitive of 1952 (repeated on the Elizabeth II definitive of 1954) provides a better sense of the fortress’ prominent hilltop location. Gate to the Brimstone Hill Fortress The British had first moved cannon to this location in 1690 when they were attempting to recapture Fort Charles, on the coast below, from the French. A first fort was built and a 24 pound cannon was mounted on the hill, 972 feet above sea level. In the following decades, British Army engineers using African slave labour extended the fortifications until they had established what they regarded as a virtually impregnable fortress. St. Kitts stamps commemorating the 300th anniversary of the raising of the first cannon to Brimstone Hill. It is a tribute to the strength of the fortress that 850 British defenders under Generals Shirley and Fraser were able to fend off 8000 French soldiers under the Marquis de Bouille for a month. Three weeks of artillery fire concentrated on one section of the fortress wall finally created a breach that left the fort vulnerable to an infantry attack. Only 500 of the fort's original defenders were capable of fighting and their supplies of food and ammunition had been exhausted. The defenders were forced to surrender on February 12, 1782. They were allowed to march out with the honours of war and the civilian population of St. Kitts was spared from possible reprisals from the French army which might have resulted from continued resistance from the fort. The siege of the Brimstone Hill Fortress is commemorated on a set of four stamps issued on September 1, 1971. The siege of the Brimstone Hill Fortress is commemorated on a set of four stamps issued on September 1, 1971. The half cent denomination depicts infantry from the British East Yorks Regiment with St. Eustatius in the distance. The twenty cent value shows the Royal Artillery with both St. Eustatius and Saba in the background. The victorious French are represented by their infantry on the thirty cent stamp which has Brimstone Hill as the backdrop to a battle scene. The Royal Scots Regiment is featured on the fifty cent stamp which has a view to the south with Nevis in the distant background. The successful French general is depicted on the fifty-five cent value of the St. Kitts issue of 1982 commemorating the 200th anniversary of the siege. The year after the surrender of the Brimstone Fort, St. Kitts was returned to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. The fortifications were repaired and improved over the next twelve years with greater provisions being made for storing water and supplies to enable the fortress to better resist any future sieges. The improvements were never tested in battle. The fortress continued to be garrisoned until 1852 when the last British troops abandoned it. This bastion of British imperialism was destined to be reduced to a tourist attraction as preferential sugar duties were finally abandoned by the British, and the expenses of maintaining an empire had to be reduced. Some efforts to maintain the site were made over the years culminating in the establishment of The Society for the Restoration of Brimstone Hill in 1965. In 1973 the restored Prince of Wales Bastion was officially re-opened and in 1982 the Fort George Museum was established. In 1985 Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque signifying Brimstone Hill Fortress’ designation as a national park. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. The Brimstone Hill Fortress depicted on 1952 and 1954 definitives. The Brimstone Hill Fortress Museum and Parking Area. A visitor to the fort gains an appreciation for the magnitude and complexity of the fortifications behind the gate depicted on the St. Kitts three cent definitive of 1963. Even the more detailed definitives of 1952 and 1954 fail to capture the scale and the dramatic appearance of the entire fortress. I am glad that my visit to St. Kitts has given me an appreciation for a fascinating Caribbean landmark and an excuse to go back and explore a part of my stamp collection that I had been neglecting! Bibliography Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park. St. Kitts, B.W.I.: Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society, n.d. Hubbard, Vincent K. A History of St. Kitts – The Sweet Trade. Oxford: Macmillan Caribbean, 2002. Williams, Eric. From Columbus to Castro – The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969. London: Andre Deutsh, 1970.