Histoire - History
que le roi Oscar II décide de rétrocéder Saint Barthélémy à la France. Mais ce n est qu en 1946 que l île devient une commune de la Guadeloupe. Un statut qui sera une nouvelle fois modifié puisque Saint Barthélémy obtient, le 15 juillet 2007, le statut de collectivité d Outre-Mer. St. Barts, originally called «Quanalao» by the Arawaks, the original inhabitants of the island, was discovered in 1493, during Christopher Columbus second trip. This small island in the Caribbean Arc was inhabited by Carib Indians, and Columbus renamed it after his brother s name Bartolomeo. It took almost two centuries before settlers settled there when, in 1648, Mr. Longvilliers Poincy, Commander of the Order of Malta, decided to live there. The island was acquired from the Order of Malta by the West India Company in 1665. A few years later, in 1674, Saint Barts was atta-
ched to the royal domain and the
colony of Guadeloupe. From there
followed a long turbulent period
during which pirates made their
lair on the island. It was not until 1763, with the arrival of Descou-
drelle , that the island became
hospitable again. But in 1784, eve-
rything changed! Louis XVI traded
the island of Saint Barthelemy to
Gustaf III for a warehouse in Swe-
den. Thus began a long period of
prosperity during which Sweden
left its footprint on the island, still
visible today. Finally in 1878, fol-
lowing many natural disasters and
the unforgettable fire of 1852, King
Oscar II decided to give St. Barts
back to France.
But it was not until 1946 that the
island became a commune of Gua-
deloupe. This status will be chan-
ged again as Saint Barthelemy be-
came an overseas collectivity. on
July 15th, 2007
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