Island Hopping Les Saintes History

ISLAND HPPING

A Brief History of Les Saintes

Discovered by Columbus on All Saints Day on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, Îles des Saintes were originally named Los Santos. At that time Carib Indians inhabited Les Saintes, as they did most of the Leeward Islands. The European nations ignored Les Saintes until 1648 when the French Governor of Guadeloupe ordered settlers to the islands to prevent the English from setting up a colony.

When the American colonies were rebelling against British rule, France took sides with the rebels earning even more disfavor with the British who, in retaliation, attacked the settlements on St. Lucia in 1778. After four long years of fighting, British Admiral George Rodney established a fort and naval base at Pigeon Island at the northern end of St. Lucia from which he planned to attack the French forces at Îles des Saintes. In 1782, Rodney’s fleet met and defeated a French fleet commanded by the Count de Grasse in what is known as the Battle of the Saints, ending French domination in the Caribbean. However, the Treaty of Paris in 1815 gave France control of the islands again and the French immediately began the construction of two forts, Fort Joséphine on Îlet à Cabrit, and Fort Napoléon on Terre de Haut. Peace reigned after the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the forts were never christened in battle, eventually being used as prisons during World War II.

Since the soil on the island of Terre de Haut is agriculturally poor, most of the French who settled there relied on fishing for a living. Even today over 10% of the population still make their living from the sea venturing out daily in small (18’-25’), colorful boats called Les Saintos. Terre de Bas on the other hand had better soil and eventually saw plantations created and slaves working the land. This has created quite a difference in the population (3,000) of the two islands; the majority of the residents of Terre de Haut are the descendants of Breton fishermen and Norman sailors while the majority of the folks on Terre de Bas are the descendants of former slaves.