Antilles : discover > history : iles Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten ...

Acquainting yourself with the basics of Guadeloupe’s history, deeply linked with the history of the whole of the region, is essential if you wish to understand the cultural context of the area you are bound to. “Yesterday was yesterday, today is today”, said a certain politician from the Middle East. This, however, is not relevant to regions such as Guadeloupe, where a sound knowledge of the past gives a helping hand in understanding present day traditions. Contrarily to continental America, the Caribbean islands accommodate a great majority of[...]

In terms of history, Martinique’s society is a young one. The abolishment of slavery in 1848 gave birth to society as known today, and certain elements are still under formation up to our days. History is thus present on an everyday level and acquainting yourself with its basics is essential if you wish to understand the cultural context of the island you are bound to visit.

1635 : The first French colonists found the colony of Saint Pierre under authority of Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc. A year later, Louis XIII’s[...]

Saint Martin’s history is just one step in the progressive populating of the islands between Miami and Venezuela. The region of Grand Case displays the most ancient traces of a tribe referred to as “Meso Indians”, who were ignorant in terms of agriculture and pottery, and arrived to the region around 2000 B.C. (in the Palaeolithic period). These initial settlers were eventually assimilated by a new peoples of a more advanced social structure, the Saladoids (also called “Arawaks”), wandering to the area from the delta of the Orinoco Flow,[...]

Saint Barthelemy entered Western history in November, 1493 on the occasion of Christopher Columbus’ second voyage. The island was baptised Barthelemy by the Genovese admiral, in honour of his brother, Bartolomeo, though it had previously been referred to as “Ouanalao” by the indigenous population. Its small size did little to attract the attention of the Spanish, similarly to other tiny islands in the region, and real colonisation was not to arrive until more than a century later, on the occasion of the colonisation of Saint Christopher[...]

2 A.D The sole freshwater source of the island is a sacred place of pilgrimage for the Arawak Indians. 1493 Christopher Columbus names the island “Anguille” (French for “eel”), due to its longish shape. 1650 English colonisation, followed by a short period of French occupation in the 18th century. 1816 Anguilla constitutes a sole entity with St Kitts, Nevis and the British Virgin Islands. 1848/1850 Inhabitants of Anguilla seek work in Saint Maarten, where a large labour force is required after the abolishment of[...]

Before 1493 > The island was inhabited by the Arawak Indians, then by the Caribbean. 1493 One Sunday, Christopher Columbus sailed along the coast of the island, and called it Sunday (in Spanish: Domingo, where we get Dominica). The Spanish quickly left the French and the English to quibble over who was to govern it. Twice their gunfire started a fire and totally destroyed Roseau. 17th century French and English fighting. 1748 The French and the English abandon the island to the Caribbeans and declare it a neutral zone in order to put an end to the[...]

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were discovered and first inhabited by the Ciboney, who left their native South America on board their peculiar small boats to arrive and settle on the islands way before Egypt’s first pharaohs rose to power. Arawaks were soon to follow, bringing with them their rudimentary methods of farming and extraordinary fishing talents which permitted the development of a more elaborate political and social structure. Their peaceful society was eventually conquered by the arrival of Caribbean people (also known[...]

Saint Lucia is part of the Lesser Antilles, and has most certainly been inhabited since the Meso-Indian period (5,000 B.C., see the section on History) or the Pre-Ceramic period. In accordance with our current knowledge, this society underwent great change when agriculture and ceramics arrived (saladoid culture). What we know only allows us to go back as far as populating the goes to between 200 and 400 A.D. In other words, if we use traditional terminology, back to the Arawak peoples. Starting in the 7th century, the Lesser Antilles (including Saint[...]

What would Christopher Columbus say if he saw Los Santos today? He had so-named the islands in honour of the religious All Saint’s Day, the name “Los Santos” was later translated to French when the territory moved under administration of the French crown. The year 1648 witnessed the arrival of the islands’ first settlers, who in due time established a garrison to defend the territory against the Caribbean and the English. The ever opposed French and English troops began to engage in serious naval combat from as early as 1666, in the[...]

The Guadeloupe archipelago was discovered by Columbus on his second journey, on which he departed from Cadiz on the 25 September, 1493 with 17 ships and 1200 men. Marie Galante was the first to welcome him on the 3rd November, 1493, a couple of days before Guadeloupe and Dominica. The conquistadors claimed possession of the island by planting a cross and a flag on its ground, saying a prayer and baptising the newly acquired territory “Maria Galanda”, after the name of their captain, Christopher Columbus’s caravel. The Spanish nicknamed the[...]