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Hamilton's youth was filled with anomalies. The future American was a native West Indian, born on the British island of Nevis and raised on the Danish island of St. Croix. His father, James Hamilton, was Scottish; his mother, Rachel Faucett, was of Huguenot ancestry. They were not married. The islands' sugar industry, worked by slaves, produced enormous wealth, which Hamilton viewed only at a distance, from his lowly position as a clerk. In 1773 benefactors sent him to New York to be educated. There, his life took a dramatic turn.
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| Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis and raised on St. Croix (Sta. Cruz on this map) in the Caribbean -- islands made rich by sugar and slaves. |
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| 1745 |
Rachel Faucett marries John Lavien. |
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A young Alexander Hamilton
Photo: Library of Congress
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| 1750 |
Rachel Faucett leaves her husband. |
| Early |
1750s She meets James Hamilton. |
| 1757 |
Alexander Hamilton is born on Nevis. |
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| 1763 |
The Seven Years' War ends. |
| 1765 |
Rachel and James Hamilton move to St. Croix; James Hamilton abandons his family. |
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Stamp Act Congress protests British tax. |
| 1766 |
Alexander Hamilton begins clerking at Beekman and Cruger (later Kortright and Cruger), in Christiansted, St. Croix. |
| 1768 |
Rachel Faucett dies. |
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| 1770 |
Boston Massacre |
| 1773 |
Hamilton is sent to the 13 Colonies. |
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