Saint-Barthelemy | Facts, Map, & History (2024)

Saint-Barthélemy, island of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. An overseas collectivity of France since 2007, it was formerly a commune and, together with Saint-Martin, an arrondissem*nt of the French overseas département of Guadeloupe. The island, 11 miles (17.5 km) long and 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, is 120 miles (200 km) north of Guadeloupe’s main islands. It is both mountainous, with a maximum elevation of 921 feet (281 metres), and fertile, despite relatively little rainfall. Saint-Barthélemy was occupied by the French in 1648. It was sold to Sweden in 1784 but was returned to France in 1877 after a plebiscite. The capital and only town is Gustavia (named for Sweden’s King Gustav III), which stands on a well-sheltered harbour.

In the mid-1990s Guadeloupe began preparing for the devolution of Saint-Barthélemy and its change in political status to that of an overseas collectivity. Voters approved the move in 2003, and the change took place in February 2007. The collectivity, while remaining a part of France, has broad authority over its own fiscal and legislative affairs. The president of France is the head of state, represented by a local prefect. The government is headed by the president of the legislature, a 19-member Territorial Council. The executive branch consists of an eight-member Executive Council whose members are elected by the Territorial Council. Members of the legislative and executive branches serve five-year terms. There is also an Economic, Social, and Cultural Council that is consulted on fiscal and developmental matters as well as social and cultural projects. Saint-Barthélemy sends a representative and a senator to the French Parliament. On July 16, 2007, Bruno Magras was elected the first president of the Territorial Council.

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Islands and Archipelagos

Tropical fruits, cotton, salt, and livestock are produced, and there is some fishing. There are minor lead and zinc deposits. Services associated with tourism constitute the main component of the economy. Because its rocky, arid soil never supported slave plantations, the population of the island is mostly of European descent (Swedish and French), and the spoken language is a 17th-century dialect of Normandy. Area 8 square miles (21 square km). Pop. (2019 est.) 10,124.