History of Saint Barthelemy : Discover

Discover : History of Saint Barthelemy

History

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 (today’s Saint Kitts), by the French (1625), and more particularly Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc (1585-1637). As Saint Barth is situated rather close to Saint Kitts, its destiny would also be written by this first French colonial adventure, though its importance would remain relatively tiny considering the era’s real political factors.

The first attempts to finally occupy the island were led by the successor of d’Esnambuc, the controversial Philippe de Longvilliers, lord of Poincy (1583-1660), who appointed a certain Jacques Le Gendre head of some fifty colonists to Saint Barth. The new governor, a knight of Malta by faith, introduced the Order into colonial administration, and proceeded to buy the island in 1651, right after the French American Islands Company announced its bankruptcy (1648). The island thus became property of the Order, and Longvilliers’s supremacy was ensured until his death. He was succeeded by his nephew, who kept the island under the Order’s influence until Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) created a new society: the French West India Company, enabling the Crown to get hold of Saint Barthelemy again and at the same time regulating colonial commerce with the mainland.

But Saint Barthelemy was far from being an agricultural paradise, and no gold mines were found either on its premises. Its sole asset proved to be its uneven topography, which offered remarkable moorings most particularly in the region of Gustavia. The island thus proceeded to become a strategic base for maritime activity, which was all but negligible in an era of filibusters and buccaneers who reigned over the Caribbean. This was certainly the age of pirates, and numerous stories persist of these times of rascals such as Monbars “the Exterminator”, who inspired many a legendary figure, among whom Red Rackham or Captain Hook himself. Apart from these wild and exotic celebrities, not many were interested in this island, and its importance varied significantly from one political era to the other. On one occasion, for example, it served as a simple exchange item with Sweden. In 1785, Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes (1719-1787) and Secretary of State of Louis XVI, who had earned his name by contributing to the independence of the United States as well as by co-writing the famous commercial treaty with England in 1786, suddenly remembered the existence of Saint Barth and quickly negotiated it in exchange with the Swedish crown, swapping it with the Swedish king for as little as an authorisation to install a commercial warehouse in the port of Goteborg.

Carenage thus left history and became Gustavia, for Gustave III (1771-1792), King of Sweden was not planning to waste such an interesting acquisition, and proceeded to render it a first class commercial role. Endowed with the status of free port (abolishment of taxes), the island slowly began to develop a more and more adequate infrastructure. Construction works began, and three forts (Gustav, Octave, Karl) and a town hall were rapidly erected in the Swedish style of quick and efficient work. The island’s population increased at a similar speed. The Swedish presence would not last long though, and would end as soon as 1878, when Oscar II (1875-1907), descendant of Bernadotte estimated that Gustave III’s projects had not yielded the expected results. After a brief flirt with the United States, he finally signed a treaty with France, in exchange for the maintaining of the island’s inhabitants under Swedish tutorship, and a sum of 320 000 gold franks. The decision was approved by a referendum: an original way to do business in a century when war was commonplace. This transition proved an important one in the island’s future, ensuring that its particular status would not be called into question by subsequent regimes.

Pledging allegiance to a different flag did not significantly alter the island‘s economy, however, and Saint Barthelemy plunged into a problematic era, similarly to other islands of the Caribbean. Its modest size remained a handicap in terms of diversification, and at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a part of its small population was even forced to leave their homes and find work in other areas.

The law of departmentalisation was adopted after the Second World War in 1946, and Saint Barth was attached to Guadeloupe. Tourism began to soar, similarly to the situation on Saint Martin, and its reputation left the region and spread all over the world. Still in possession of the advantages received during the Swedish period, Saint Barth set out on the road to becoming the tourist paradise it is to our days. Administrative links with Guadeloupe weighed heavy on the small island, and it was on the lookout for possibilities of breaking free. The opportunity would arise on the occasion of a referendum, organised on the 7 December, 2003, when 95.51% of the island’s population voted “yes” to an act aiming to modify institutional structures. Similarly to Saint Martin, Saint Barth thus became an Overseas Community (C.O.M.), as set by the constitutional reform relative to decentralisation of the 28 March, 2003.