Kingstown

Kingstown
Town and Capital
Kingstown, Saint Vincent
Nickname(s): "City Of Arches"
Kingstown Location in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Coordinates: 13°09′28″N 061°13′30″W / 13.15778°N 61.22500°W / 13.15778; -61.22500Coordinates: 13°09′28″N 061°13′30″W / 13.15778°N 61.22500°W / 13.15778; -61.22500
Country	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Island	Saint Vincent
Parish	Saint George
Founded	1722
Population (2010)
• Total	16,500
Time zone	Eastern Caribbean Time Zone (ECT) (UTC-4)
Area code	784

Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 16,500 (2010), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the centre for the island's agricultural industry and a port of entry for tourists. The city lies within the parish of Saint George in the south-west corner of Saint Vincent.

The modern capital, Kingstown, was founded by French settlers shortly after 1722, although Saint Vincent had 196 years of British rule before her independence.

The botanical garden, conceived in 1765, is one of the oldest in the Western hemisphere. William Bligh, made famous from the Mutiny on the Bounty, brought seed of the Breadfruit tree here for planting, ca 1793.

The town is surrounded by steep hills.