{"id":40403,"date":"2018-07-13T20:38:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-14T03:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/soulofamerica1.wpengine.com\/?page_id=40403"},"modified":"2019-09-08T21:36:10","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T04:36:10","slug":"st-barths-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.soulofamerica.com\/international\/st-barths\/st-barths-history\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Barth’s History"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Gustavia

Old Gustavia Lighthouse in St. Barths<\/strong>; credit St. Barths Tourism Board<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

St. Barth’s History<\/h2>\n

When Christopher Columbus happened upon the island in 1493, he named it for his brother Bartolomeo. Remaining inhabited only by Native Indians for another century, St. Barths was first settled in 1648 by French colonists from the nearby island of St. Kitts. In 1651, the island was sold to the Knights of Malta. Five years later, Carib Indians destroyed the settlement killing all the settlers. <\/p>\n

In 1763, the island was settled again, this time by French mariners from Normandy and Brittany. This colony succeeded. French buccaneers found the place hospitable, and brightened the economy with vast quantities of plunder taken from Spanish galleons. Monbars the Exterminator, a famous buccaneer of noble French descent, reputedly maintained his headquarters in St. Barths. Gradually the buccaneers became tradesmen, shopkeepers, fishermen, and small farmers. The island was too small, too rocky, and too dry to become part of the sugar economy of the larger islands. <\/p>\n

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