Architecture began way back before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1493. The Amerindian community developed its own villages echeloning their constructions and buildings in regard to their forms and materials used, as well as to their social functions. Unfortunately, this architectural heritage did not live out the coming of the European settlers. Indigenous people were submitted by the British and the French, and this situation didn’t allow them to care for their primitive constructions built with short-lived and low-quality constructing materials. The new settlers regarded the Caribes’ villages as backward and so the development of their own constructions kicked off. The birth of the sugar industry is the most important contribution made to the island’s architectural heritage.As a result of the fledgling industry, farm houses developed into an expression of the settler’s wealth and elegance. The construction development began with the British in Old Road, and the French in Basseterre. Due to their rivalries, fortresses were also built. Some examples are Fort Charles, Fort George and Fort Brimstone Hill, the largest and best preserved in the entire eastern Caribbean Basin, seen by many as the Gibraltar of the Antilles.In the late 17th Century, the British evicted the French, whose constructions had already been destroyed and replaced by other buildings. However, the French had left behind an infrastructure for the development of Basseterre, including road blueprints.In the mid 18th Century, churches started popping up, beginning with the Anglican denomination, featuring overpowering structures with a perception of staying, built in stone and wood as good European tradition dictated.Then, Roman Catholics and Protestants played a significant role in architectural development in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. Salesmen and businessmen set up shop in Bassaterre houses or along the villages’ main avenues and roads. These were, indeed, familiar structures basically built with stonewalls. Materials used for house building have changed dramatically thanks to technology.
