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French West Indies Antilles françaises | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1628–1946 | |||||||||||||
 Location of the modern territories of the French West Indies | |||||||||||||
| Status | Colony ofFrance (1628–1946) Overseas departments andoverseas collectivities (1946–present) | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Basse-Terre (1628–1671) Saint-Pierre (1671–1674) Fort-Royal (1674–1851) 14°40′55″N61°1′50″W / 14.68194°N 61.03056°W /14.68194; -61.03056 | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | French Creole | ||||||||||||
| Governor-General | |||||||||||||
• 1628–1636 | Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc | ||||||||||||
• 1849–1851 | Armand Joseph Bruat | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Company of the American Islands takes possession of Dominica (1632), formerly as Compagnie de Saint-Christophe | 1628 | ||||||||||||
• Foundation of the colony ofSaint-Christophe (French colony) [fr] | 1625 | ||||||||||||
| 1697 | |||||||||||||
| 1763 | |||||||||||||
| 1804 | |||||||||||||
| 1946 | |||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1946 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Euro | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheFrench West Indies orFrench Antilles (French:Antilles françaises,[ɑ̃tijfʁɑ̃sɛːz];Antillean Creole:Antiy fwansé) were the parts ofFrance located in theAntilles islands of theCaribbean:
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Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc was a French trader and adventurer in theCaribbean, who established the first permanent French colony,Saint-Pierre, on the island ofMartinique in 1635. Belain sailed to the Caribbean in 1625, hoping to establish a French settlement on the island ofSt. Christopher (St. Kitts). In 1626 he returned toFrance, where he won the support ofCardinal Richelieu to establish French colonies in the region. Richelieu became a shareholder in theCompagnie de Saint-Christophe, created to accomplish this with d'Esnambuc at its head. The company was not particularly successful and Richelieu had it reorganized as the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique. In 1635 d'Esnambuc sailed to Martinique with one hundred French settlers to clear land forsugarcaneplantations.
After six months on Martinique, d'Esnambuc returned toSt. Christopher, where he soon died prematurely in 1636. His nephew,Jacques Dyel du Parquet, inherited d'Esnambuc's authority over the French settlements in the Caribbean, in 1637 becoming governor of Martinique.[1] He remained in Martinique and did not concern himself with the other islands.
The French permanently settled on Martinique and Guadeloupe after being kicked offSaint Kitts and Nevis (Saint-Christophe inFrench) by the British.[2]Fort Royal (Fort-de-France) on Martinique was a major port for French warships in the region from which the French were able to explore the region. In 1638, Jacques Dyel du Parquet (1606–1658), nephew of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and first governor of Martinique, decided to haveFort Saint Louis built to protect the city against enemy attacks. From Fort Royal, Martinique, Du Parquet proceeded south in search for new territories and established the first settlement inSaint Lucia in 1643, and headed an expedition which established a French settlement inGrenada in 1649. Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evidenced by the number of Frenchloanwords inGrenadian Creole, French-style buildings, cuisine and places name (For ex.Petit Martinique,Martinique Channel, etc.)
In 1642, theCompagnie des Îles de l'Amérique received a twenty-year extension of its charter. The King would name the Governor General of the company, and the company the Governors of the various islands. By the late 1640s, in FranceMazarin had little interest in colonial affairs, and the company languished. In 1651 it dissolved itself, selling its exploitation rights to various parties. The du Paquet family bought Martinique, Grenada, and Saint Lucia for 60,000 livres. The sieur d'Houël boughtGuadeloupe,Marie-Galante,La Desirade and theSaintes. TheKnights of Malta boughtSaint Barthélemy andSaint Martin, which were made dependencies of Guadeloupe. In 1665, the Knights sold the islands they had acquired to the newly formed (1664)Compagnie des Indes occidentales.
Dominica is a former French and British colony in theEastern Caribbean, located about halfway between the French islands of Guadeloupe (to the north) and Martinique (to the south).Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (domingo in Spanish), 3 November 1493.[3] In the hundred years after Columbus's landing, Dominica remained isolated. At the time it was inhabited by theIsland Caribs, or Kalinago people, and over time more settled there after being driven from surrounding islands, as European powers entered the region. In 1690, French woodcutters from Martinique and Guadeloupe begin to set up timber camps to supply the French islands with wood and gradually become permanent settlers. France had a colony for several years, they imported slaves fromWest Africa, Martinique and Guadeloupe to work on its plantations. In this period, theAntillean Creole language developed. France formally ceded possession of Dominica to Great Britain in 1763.[3] Great Britain established a small colony on the island in 1805. As a result, Dominicans speakEnglish as an official language while Antillean creole is spoken as a secondary language and is well maintained due to its location between the French-speaking departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
InTrinidad, the occupying Spanish had contributed little towards advancements, despite the island's ideal location. Because it was considered underpopulated,Roume de St. Laurent, a Frenchman living in Grenada, was able to obtain aCédula de Población from theSpanish king Charles III, on 4 November 1783, allowing French planters with their slaves, free coloreds and mulattos from theFrench Antilles ofMartinique,Grenada,Guadeloupe andDominica to migrate to Trinidad.[4] The Spanish gave many incentives to lure settlers to the island, including exemption from taxes for ten years and land grants in accordance to the terms set out in the Cedula. This exodus was also encouraged by theFrench Revolution. These new immigrants established the local communities ofBlanchisseuse, Champs Fleurs,Paramin, Cascade,Carenage andLaventille, adding to the ancestry ofTrinidadians and creating the creole identity; Spanish, French, and Patois were the languages spoken. Trinidad's population jumped from just under 1,400 in 1777, to over 15,000 by the end of 1789. In 1797, Trinidad became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking population.
| Name | Largest settlement | Population (Jan. 2017)[5] | Land area (km2)[6][7][8] | Population density (inh. per km2) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martinique | Fort-de-France | 372,594 | 1,128 | 330 | Overseas department /region |
| Guadeloupe proper (Basse-Terre & Grande-Terre) | Pointe-à-Pitre | 375,467 | 1,436 | 261 | Overseas department / region |
| Saint Martin | Marigot | 35,334 | 53 | 667 | Overseas collectivity, detached from Guadeloupe on 22 February 2007. |
| Marie-Galante | Grand-Bourg | 10,760 | 158 | 68 | Dependency of Guadeloupe. |
| Saint Barthélemy | Gustavia | 9,961 | 25 | 398 | Overseas collectivity, detached from Guadeloupe on 22 February 2007. |
| Les Saintes | Terre-de-Haut | 2,578 | 13 | 198 | Dependency of Guadeloupe. |
| La Désirade | Beauséjour | 1,448 | 21 | 69 | Dependency of Guadeloupe. |
| French West Indies | 842,247 | 2,834 | 398 |
The two officialFrench overseas departments are Guadeloupe and Martinique. Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, formerly attached to the department of Guadeloupe, have held separate status asoverseas collectivities since 2007. These CaribbeanDépartments et Collectivités d’Outre Mer are also known as the French West Indies.
TheFrench Caribbean (orFrancophone Caribbean) includes all the French-speaking countries in the region.[9][10][11] It can also refer to any area that exhibits a combination of French and Caribbean cultural influences in music, cuisine, style, architecture, and so on.[12] The Francophone Caribbean is a part of the widerFrench America, which includes all the French-speaking countries in the Americas.
The term varies in meaning by its usage and frame of reference. It is not used much in France, unless the speaker wants to refer to every French dependency in the Caribbean region. The term's more ambiguous than the term "French West Indies", which refers specifically to the islands that areFrench overseas departments, which means they have overall the same laws and regulations as departments on the mainland of France.Collectivities can be included too.
The following Caribbean regions are predominantlyFrench-speaking and/orFrench Creole-speaking:
French Republic* Both countries gained independence from theUnited Kingdom. English is their official language, but French-based Creole languages are widely spoken by the island population due to a period of French colonization.[13][14]
In addition, some of the islands of the present and formerBritish West Indies were once ruled byFrance. Among some of them, aFrench-based creole language is spoken, whereas in others the language is nearing extinction; specific words and expressions may vary among the islands.
| Area | Former territories | |
|---|---|---|
| Hispaniola | ||
| Lesser Antilles | ||
carabinier martinique.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
