'Saint-Barthélemy', officially the 'Collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy' (''Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy''), is a former colony of
Sweden, today an
overseas collectivity of
France that came into being on
22 February, 2007, encompassing the island of Saint-Barthélemy proper plus several offshore
islets. Also known as 'Saint Barts', 'Saint Barths', or 'Saint Barth', the collectivity is one of the four territories among the
Leeward Islands in the
Caribbean that comprise the
French West Indies.
History
Saint-Barthélemy was first claimed by France in
1648. It was sold to
Sweden in
1784, which sold it back to France in
1878. The Swedish period left its mark in the names of many of the streets and the town (in honor of King
Gustav III) and leaving its national arms, the
Three Crowns along with the grey heron, as well as the
mural crown, in the island's coat of arms.
Geography
In green (with red legend) are the former constituent parts of the
Guadeloupe region/department among the
Leeward Islands, including Saint-Barthélemy, prior to February 2007.
NASA NLT
Landsat 7 (visible color) satellite image.
Located approximately 250 km east of
Puerto Rico, Saint-Barthélemy lies near the islands of
Saint Martin,
Saba and
Anguilla.
Gustavia, which is the main town of the island, was named after King
Gustav III of Sweden, and remains as a reflection of the Swedish period.
The oldest settlement still remaining is the village of Lorient (or L'Orient), although scattered in every cemetery on the island can be found Swedish grave markers. Lorient's sister village on the French mainland is the city of
Lorient on the northern coast of
Brittany.
Beaches
Of the 20 beaches on the small island, several are considered especially inviting. On the southern side of the island, Saline and Governor beaches are pristine beaches with no development upon them. On the western edge of the island is Colombier beach, which is only reachable by boat or a hike. St. Jean, Flammands and Grand-Cul-de-Sac beaches are also popular and attractive beaches which have hotels and other establishments on them. Shell Beach is popular for families with kids as it has little surf, and lots of tide pools.
St. Barths has a tidal difference of only 8 - 15 cm. The beaches vary according to ocean currents -- the weather travels onto the island following the sun from the East. One of the main surfing beaches (Toiny) is known for its riptide, while Grand Fond is one of the island's only non-swimming beaches. Although tourism doesn't allude to it, there are a small variety of warm water sharks in the Caribbean. So, swimming at dusk and dawn or in murky waters is not recommended. Otherwise, scuba and snorkling are a great way to see the nurse sharks, lobsters, conch and green sea turtles that abound in the waters surrounding St. Barth.
The beach of Grand Cul-de-Sac is the easiest beach in the Caribbean for learning to
sailing,
windsurfing and
kitesurfing as it has a reef which closes off the entire bay. The current that passes outside the reef here also carries the migrating whales and dolphins.
Demographics
According to the 1999 census, the population of Saint-Barthélemy was 6,852 inhabitants, with a population density of 326 inh. per km² in 1999. Unlike most Caribbean islands, its population is nearly all
white.
Many of the full time residents are French citizens who work at the various establishments on the island.
French is the primary language spoken, but many residents also speak
English, particularly at hotels and restaurants.
The native languages are
Patois in the leeward portion of the island and
Creole in the windward portion (where Lorient is located). Patois is akin to
Quebec French and other non-creole varieties of non-standard French, Creole is an archaic variety of
Antillean Creole.
[1]
Politics and Government
Administratively, the whole island of Saint-Barthélemy was a French
commune (''commune de Saint-Barthélemy'') part of
Guadeloupe, which is an
overseas ''région'' and
overseas ''département'' of France, and therefore part of the
European Union. In 2003, the population voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate
overseas collectivity (COM) of France.
[2] On
February 7,
2007[3], the
French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both Saint-Barthélemy and neighbouring
Saint Martin. The new status took effect on
22 February 2007, when the law was published in the
Official Journal.
[4]
Map of Saint-Barthélemy
Transportation
Saint Barth has a small airport (
IATA identifier 'SBH') that is served by small regional commercial aircraft and charters. Most visiting aircraft carry fewer than twenty passengers, such as the
Twin Otter, a common sight around Saint Barth and throughout the northern
West Indies. The short airstrip is at the base of a gentle slope ending directly on the beach. The arrival descent is extremely steep over the hilltop traffic circle and departing planes fly right over the heads of sunbathers (although small signs advise sunbathers not to lie directly at the end of the runway). The nearest commercial jet airport is on the neighboring island of
Sint Maarten.
There are also charters to St. Barth from San Juan, Puerto Rico, available through
Tradewind Aviation. The current mayor's airline, called
St. Barth Commuter, offers non-prohibitive cost one-way/round trip travel between both of Sint Maarten's airports and St. Barth. WinAir also services SBH, usually originating in St. Martin (SXM). Favorite island businesses for an extra fee is via St. Barth Services, or Premium IV as they offer full-service attention.
Ferries to and from Saint Martin are the only other real option (although the passage from St. Martin to St. Barth is often rough), unless one is arriving by private charter boats/yachts.
Tourism
Gustavia Harbour, St. Barth
St. Barth has long been considered a playground of the rich and famous and is known for its beautiful pristine beaches, gourmet dining in chic bistros and high-end designer shopping.
St. Barth has about 25 hotels, most of them with 15 rooms or fewer, and the largest, the Guanahani has just 70 rooms. Hotels are classified in the traditional French manner 3 Star, 4 Star and 4 Star Luxe.
Villa vacations are extremely popular and there are hundreds of villas terraced into the hillsides throughout the island as well has many beachfront locations. Villas here by definition can range from one-bedroom bunglalows to large luxurious homes.
Singer
Jimmy Buffett is a frequent visitor on the island, and owns a house there. He also owned a hotel, the Autor de Rocher, before it burned down. He also claims to have written the hit song "Cheeseburger in Paradise" while on St. Barths, about Le Select, a bar, located at a major intersection in the Port of Gustavia.
Sports
The junior national French surf champion from Lorient, was named recently in the winter of 2006.
St. Barths is home to the St. Barths Bucket, an annual sailing race around the island.
The St Barths Music festival an eclectic mix from Classic to Jazz performed by top international artists held every January.
August, another month of music and local events with the Caribbean Music Festival and St Barths Day a month of festivities.
Annually, the St. Barths Film Festival (in it's 13th year as of 2007) features Caribbean-themed and produced films.
See also
★
European colonization of the Americas
★
Possessions of Sweden
★
Swedish slave trade
References
1. Calvet & Chaudenson (1998)
2. French Caribbean voters reject change
3. Letter of Information from the Mayor to the residents and non-residents, to the French and to the foreigners, of Saint-Barthélemy Bruno Magras
4. http://www.newmedia-fr.info/ixm_ixpnews.php?file=article&story_id=21579
Bibliography
★ Jean Deveau, ''Peuplement de Saint-Barthélemy'', Bulletin de la Société d'histoire de la Guadeloupe , nos 17-18, 1972 et no 29, 3e trimestre 1976, 64 p.
★ Ernst Ekman, ''Sweden, The Slave Trade and Slavery, 1784-1847'', Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer , Paris, 1975, p. 226-227
★ Göran Skytte, ''Det kungliga svenska slaveriet'', Askelin & Hägglund, Stockholm, 1986 ISBN 91-7684-096-4
★ Denis Gonthier, ''Abolition de l’esclavage et transformation des ménages de la population rurale de couleur, Île antillaise de Saint-Barthélémy, de 1840 à 1857'', Université de Montréal (mémoire de maîtrise co-dirigé par Yolande Lavoie et Francine MAYER), Montréal, 1987, 127 p.
★ Louis-Jean Calvet & Robert Chaudenson, 1998. ''Saint-Barthélemy: une énigme linguistique''. Paris: Diffusion Didier Érudition.
★
Dave Barry column "If you can tip $17,000, this is the island for you"
External links
★
St Barts Talk Forum
★
Allô! St. Barths
★
Radio St Barth
★
St-Barth Weekly
★
Le Citoyen SBH, government information
★
Saint Barths Online
★
★
St Barthélemysällskapet
★
L'aménagement linguistique à Saint-Barthélemy
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