Before leaving the island we toured St. Kitts by car stopping at various sites. We spent some time at Brimstone Hill Fortress seeing the ruins of the impressive Fort Charles that the English built starting in mid 1700s to protect the island from intruders, primarily the French. This state-of-the-art impressive Fort was designed as a polygon and was a key strategic site from where the English defended the island. The main battle happened in 1782 when 8000 French soldiers attacked the island and besieged the Fortress. About 1000 English and escaped slaves fought for a month before finally surrendering. A year later, after the Treaty of Versailles returned the island to the English, fortification continued for a few years until British abandoned it by the 1850s.