1 A Caribbean Childhood

Who Was Alexander Hamilton? by Pam Pollack and Meg Belvisa

Who Was Alexander Hamilton? On July 11, 1804, high above the Hudson River in Weehawken, New Jersey, two men met at dawn. They were Alexander Hamilton, a Revolutionary War hero and the first secretary of the treasury, and Aaron Burr, the vice president of the United States. They had come to fight a duel. In the early 1800s, dueling was common. When two gentlemen got into a fight that they couldn't settle with words, they agreed to meet with pistols instead. In a secluded place, they faced each other. They planned to point and shoot at the same time. If they were lucky, both men would survive. The men stood on a high rock cliff facing the water. They were hidden by trees. This was a popular spot for duels.

A man who refused to fight a duel was seen as a coward. But dueling was illegal in New York City, where Alexander and Aaron lived. New Yorkers could be punished for dueling. That is why they had come to Weehawken—a spot right across the river from New York City. New Jersey was not as strict about dueling. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had known each other for many years. Sometimes they worked together as lawyers or in the government. Often they disagreed. A few weeks earlier, Alexander had insulted Aaron at a dinner party. Aaron demanded an apology when he found out, but Alexander refused. Friends of the two men tried to make peace between them. But it was no use. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr raised their pistols and took their aim. Only one would survive.

CHAPTER 1 A Caribbean Childhood On January 11, 1755, Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis, a small island in the West Indies. It is now part of the country called the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It was a British colony, which meant it was governed by Great Britain and its king, George III. Alexander's parents were James Hamilton and Rachel Faucette. James had grown up in Scotland, where his family lived in a castle. But as the youngest son, James didn't inherit it. He came to the West Indies hoping to make money, but he wasn't very good at it. Rachel Faucette had been born in the West Indies, and her family was French. James and Rachel were not married. Rachel had married another man when she was young, but he was very mean. She ran away, leaving behind a son,

and she never saw him again. Rachel and James lived together as husband and wife and had two children, James and Alexander.

The West Indies When Christopher Columbus set out from Spain, he hoped to sail west and eventually find the islands known as "the East Indies." The place that Columbus was really looking for was east of Spain, in the Pacific Ocean—a country we now call Indonesia. When he came upon a group of islands in the Caribbean, he thought he had reached his destination. So he called these islands "the Indies." When people realized Columbus's mistake, they referred to this area of the Atlantic Ocean as the West Indies. Also known as the Caribbean Basin, the West Indies encompass the triangle from Florida south along the coast of Central America, eastward along the coast of South America, and northward to Bermuda. Many white people on the island made money by growing sugarcane. Most of the sugarcane was