Saint Barthélemy was first claimed by France in 1648. The island was given to Sweden in exchange for trade rights inGothenburg in 1784 and Sweden founded theSwedish West India Company. Prospering during theNapoleonic Wars, assets were low thereafter, and the island was sold back to France in 1878.
The eventual site of Gustavia was first calledLe Carénage (TheCareening) after the shelter it provided to damaged ships. According to the archives, the nameGustavia appeared between December 28, 1786, and February 9, 1787. Gustavia remains as a reflection of the Swedish period, during which a minority of the population of approximately 4% were of Swedish origin.
The sites of Fort Karl, overlooking Shell Beach south of town, and Fort Gustav, at the base of theGustavia Lighthouse[1][2] to the north, are popular with hikers. Fort Oscar, at the tip of Gustavia Peninsula, houses the Gendarmerie. There is a museum at the end ofVictor Schœlcher Road on the peninsula. Gustavia has a few restaurants serving American, Italian, French and other types of food. Gustavia has many high-end boutiques that are an essential source of revenue for the island, and one of the most high class luxury hotels on the island. There is a Royal Swedish Consulate at Gustavia (Consul Dantes Magras).
The climate is a tropical one with only minor variations in temperature. The island's small surface area of 24 square kilometres (9 sq mi) allows it to take advantage of the smooth and pleasant blow of trade winds. Average water and air temperatures move around 27 °C (81 °F), and the year is divided into two seasons: a dry one, referred to as Lent (Careme), and a more humid one in summer. This latter season sets in between May and November, and the ever-present sun is overcast by short passages of rainclouds with brief showers of 10 to 15 minutes. According to theKöppen Climate Classification system Gustavia has atropical savanna climate, abbreviatedAw on climate maps.[3]
Climate data for Gustavia (1991-2020 averages, extremes 1959-present)
^"St–Barthelemy Meteo (971)"(PDF).Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved6 September 2018.
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