Saint-Barthélemy

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Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy Collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: La Marseillaise
Capital (and largest city)		Gustavia
Official languages		French
Government
-	President of France	Jacques Chirac
-	Prefect	Dominique Lacroix
-	President of the Territorial Council	none yet; however Bruno Magras is the mayor of Saint-Barthelemy
Overseas Collectivity		of France
-	French colony	1648
-	Sold to Sweden	1784
-	Sold to France	16 March 1878
-	as separate Overseas Collectivity	22 February 2007
Area
-	Total	21 km² (not ranked) 8.1 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible
Population
-	March 1999 census	6,852
-	Density	326 /km² (not ranked) 845 /sq mi
HDI (2003)		n/a (unranked) (n/a)
Currency		Euro (€) (EUR)
Internet TLD		none assigned, .fr and .gp in use

Saint-Barthélemy, officially the Collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy (Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy), is an overseas collectivity of France that came into being on 22 Feb 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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. Barths.

The beach of Grand Cul-de-Sac is the easiest beach in the Caribbean to learn to sail, windsurf or kitesurf on, 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.

[edit] 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, in the island's coat of arms.

[edit] Demographics

At the 1999 census, the population of Saint-Barthélemy was 6,852 inhabitants, with a 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 locals also speak English, particularly at the hotels and restaurants.

[edit] 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.^[1] On February 7, 2007^[2] 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.^[3]

[edit] Transportation

Saint Barts 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 Barths and throughout the northern West Indies. The short airstrip is at the base of a steep hill 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 Saint Martin.

There are also charters to St. Barths from San Juan, Puerto Rico available through Tradewind Aviation. The current mayor's airline, called St. Barths Commuter, offers non-prohibitive cost one-way/roundtrip travel between both of St. Maarten's airports and St. Barths. It is also an excellent service for charters. Winnair also services SBH, usually originating in St. Maarten (SXM). A favorite island business for an extra fee is via St. Barths Services, as they offer full-service attention.

Ferries to and from Saint Martin are the only other real option (although the passage from St. Maarten to St. Barths is often rough), unless one is arriving by private charter boats/yachts.

[edit] Tourism

Gustavia Harbour, St. Barth

St. Barts 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. Barts has about 25 hotels, most of then 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. St. Barth Properties [1] and Wimco[2] are the two main villa rental agencies on the island.

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.

[edit] Sports

Saint-Barthélemy has its own bobsled team. The team's leader Bruno Casimir Magras is regularly training together with Albert II, Prince of Monaco. To date the team has not achieved competitive success but is looking forward to the next Olympiads.

The junior national French surf champion was named recently in the winter of 2006, and he is from Lorient.

[edit] See also

• European colonization of the Americas
• Possessions of Sweden
• Swedish slave trade

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Jean Deveau, Peuplement de Saint-Barthélemy, Bulletin de la Société d'histoire de la Guadeloupe ISSN 0583-8266, 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 ISSN 0300-9513, Paris, 1975, p. 226-227
• Göran Skytte, Det kungliga svenska slaveriet, Askelin & Hägglund, Stockholm, 1986

Please add ISBNs for the books listed. 91-7684-096-4 may have books without ISBNs. Listing ISBNs makes it easier to conduct research.improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page.

• 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.
• Dave Barry column "If you can tip $17,000, this is the island for you"

[edit] External links

• Radio St Barth
• St-Barths Weekly
• Le Citoyen SBH, government information (French)
• Saint Barths Online
• S:t Barthélemysällskapet
• L'aménagement linguistique à Saint-Barthélemy
• Official Flag
• Maison Noureev The house of legendary ballet dancer Rudolph Noureev

Coordinates: 17°54′N 62°50′W

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