St Barts

St Barts

The 8-square-mile island of St. Barthélemy was named after Columbus Brother, Bartolomeo. The first colonists were the French, who arrived in 1645, but later sold the land to the Knights of Malta. The island was then abandoned after several raids by the Carib Indians and was resettled in 1674 by the French. The British occupied St. Barts for a short time during the 17th century, but the French prevailed again, selling the island to Sweden in 1784. The Swedish heritage of St. Barts can be felt in the capital of Gustavia. France bought the island back from Sweden in 1878, and today it is considered part of the Dependency of Guadeloupe, an Overseas Department of France.