The first traces of Saint-Barthélémy in historic times dated from 1493 and has a population of 5000 inhabitants. St Barth was conquered by the English in 1648, then taken again by the French...

In 1493, Cristopher Colombus names the island, but never makes stop. More than a century will pass before a frenchman, the governor of Poincy, fall in love with this tiny island and decide to make it a military base. The first contingent of soldier-farmer is swiftly masacred by Caribs, who where until then the only inhabitants. But the Caribs are soon out-numbered by the soldiers ans sailors from Normandy and Brittany who were to become the ancestors of present day St. Barths. St. Barth, like most of the other island of lesser Antilles, suffers many conquests between French, English and Dutch forces, which the people bravely face up for more than a century. Louis XVI barters the island with the king of Sweden for som depots in the port of Göteberg. The king immediately turns the island into a free port. This is a stroke of luke for St.Barth, which then remains a rich maritime trading point throughout the 18th century. The Virgin Islands then take over, giving St. Bart such a stiff competition that the island never recover. On the 16th March 1878, the king of Sweden decides to give St. Barth back to France. The island retains its free port status, but become an administrative dependance of Guadeloupe, only managing to survive, now a somewhat lost and forgotten corner of the world. Take a tour of the island in these pages and enjoy some of the facets of this jewel.