ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Chernow, Ron

Alexander Hamilton claimed Nevis in the British West Indies as his
birthplace, although no surviving records substantiate this. Today, the tiny
island seems little more than a colorful speck in the Caribbean, an exotic
tourist hideaway. One million years ago, the land that is now Nevis Peak
thrust up from the seafloor to form the island, and the extinct volcanic cone
still intercepts the trade winds at an altitude of 3,200 feet, its jagged peak
often obscured behind a thick swirl of clouds.