History and Politics of ST. Barths

 Arawak Indians gave St. Barthelemy island (commonly know as St. Barths, or St Barts) its first name as "Ouanalao", which may refer to the iguanas that resided on the island. When Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1493, it was given the name of Saint Barthelemy, named after brother Bartolomeo. The first attempt to settle was made by the French, who came in 1648. The settlement was not a great success; in part because the island has no source of fresh water, and has very little level ground for farming, two years later the island was sold to the knights of Malta who attempted to grow indigo and cotton there, and developed salt farming, fishing, and livestock breeding programs. Their colony struggled, and in 1656 the Carib Indians destroyed the settlement. The French then found themselves continuously fighting for ownership of St. Barths. In 1744, the British took over the Island, and it took 20 years for it to the French. But the French lost the island again when King Louis XVI sold it to Sweden as a trading possession in 1784.

                                             
Until 2007 the whole island of St. Barths was a French commune, forming part of Guadeloupe which is an overseas region and overseas department of France. In 2003, the population voted through referendum in favor of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate overseas collectivity. On 7 February 2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both St. Barthelemy and (separately) to the neighboring Saint Martin. The island has a president (elected every five years), a unicameral Territorial Council of nineteen members who are elected by popular vote and serve for five-year terms, and an executive council of seven members. Elections to these councils were first held on 1 July 2007 with the most recent election in 2017.One senator represents the island in the French Senate. 

This Caribbean island became a favored vacation destination in part due to the culture of fine dining on islands, the unspoiled beaches, the picturesque mountains and coves, and the strict commercial and residential doing rules which prohibited the development of larger resorts and condominiums. Another aspect of the island's many monikers. While the official title of the island is Collective territoriale de Saint-Barthelemy, the French, Brits and Americans have all created their own tweaks on nicknames for the islands, U.S, visitors prefer St. Barts, while the those from France and elsewhere in E.U. opt for St. Barth or St. Barths, in some instances an apostrophe is used, where that come from is anyone's guess.

WORK CITED.

“History of St. Barts.” St. Bart, 10 Jan. 2007, www.saintbarth-tourisme.com/en/history-of-st-barts/.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Saint-Barthelemy Island, West Indies.” St. Bart Politics, 10 Mar. 2021, www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Barthelemy.