Charlestown is a town in Saint Kitts and Nevis; it is in fact the capital of Nevis. It was built on the Leeward side of the island of Nevis, at the southern end of Pinneys Beach. The town was protected by Fort Charles to the south and Fort Black Rocks to the north. Many of the older two-story stone buildings were severely damaged over time by earthquakes, which tended to cause the upper story to collapse into the lower story. This unfortunate design flaw lead to the common practice of building a wooden upper floor above a stone ground floor.