Kingstown

Kingstown, town, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, capital and principal port of the independent state, in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Located on the southwestern coast of Saint Vincent Island at the head of Kingstown Bay, it has an artificial deepwater harbor and handles exports that include bananas, arrowroot, and coconuts. A nearby airport handles flights to other islands of the West Indies. Kingstown has a museum, an Anglican cathedral, and a botanical garden (established 1765) that is the oldest in the western hemisphere. On a promontory north of the town is Fort Charlotte, built by the British in the late 18th century as a defense against French invasion. Population (2003 estimate) 29,382.