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Last modified: 2023-05-13 by olivier touzeau
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Flag of France - Image by Željko Heimer, 22 September 2001
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Saint-Barthélemy (6,852 inhabitants in 1999; 2,500 ha), locally known as Saint-Barth, is an overseas community (collectivité d'outre-mer), as prescribed by Law of 21 February 2007, published in the French official gazette on 22 February 2007. This new status was approved by local referendum (95.5% yes) on 7 December 2003. Beforehand, Saint-Barthélemy was a municipality forming, together with the municipality of Saint-Martin, the third arrondissement (northern islands) of the overseas department of Guadeloupe.
The island was discovered in 1493 by Columbus during his second travel; Columbus named the island after his brother Bartolomeo and took possession of it in the name of the King of Spain. The island was occupied by the French in 1648 and ran by the Knights of the Order of Malta from 1651 to 1656. Saint-Barthélemy became a French colony in
1659; however, the poor soil and the dry climate of the island
prevented its economical development, and its inhabitants mostly lived
from buccaneering.
In 1785, King Louis XVI swapped the island for trade rights in
Gothenburg with King of Sweden Gustav III. The king suppressed tax from the island (and there is still no tax perceived on the island, which
was contrary to the French law and the main reason of the modification of the status of the island); the capital was renamed Gustavia and the former
French careenage became a free port. On 16 March 1878, the Swedes sold
back the island to France. The successive rulers of the island are
symbolized on its coat of arms.
In 1957, David Rockefeller purchased a 27-ha estate on the island and
launched the transformation of the poor island into a safe place for
upmarket tourism. There is no airport on the island but a small runway,
which has prevented mass tourism to reach the island until now.
After the Second World War, several St-Barths (natives of the islands) emigrated to the neighbouring US Virgin Islands, where they set up their own communities, the most important of them being Frenchtown, located west of the port of St. Thomas. They lived from fishing and trade and significantly contributed to the economic development of the Virgin Islands. Some of them became American citizens while others came back to Saint-Barthélemy and helped to develop the island.
Ivan Sache, 6 March 2007
The official flag of Saint-Barthélemy is the French national flag.
Ivan Sache, 18 February 2005
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Local flag of Saint-Barthélemy - Image by Olivier Touzeau , 28 November 2021
The local flag of Saint-Barthélemy (photo), is white with the coat of arms of Saint-Barthélemy.
This coat of arms was designed by the heraldist Mireille Louis.
The three fleurs-de-lis recall the fact that the island was French from 1648 to 1785 and has been so since 1878.
The Maltese Cross recalls that the island belonged to the Order of Malta (1651-1665).
The three crowns are for the Swedish rule on the island from 1785 to 1878.
The mural crown is the ancient symbol of the Greek godsprotecting the cities; it was granted to the French towns during the First Empire.
The two pelicans represent the island fauna.
Ouanalao is the local name of the island.
In 1977, the Direction of the Archives of France asked every
Municipality and every Department to adopt une marque symbolique
urbaine. Following this, the municipal administration contacted a
professional heraldist, who did the job.
But the artist was a tough businesswoman! The contract signed with the
municipal administration stated that the artist transferred all rights
of administrative concern to the municipality, but retained to her all
the rights of commercial concern !
After several attempts by the former municipal administration to
purchase the rights of commercial concern, the new municipal
administration obtained the full right of property on the arms for
90,000 FRF, instead of 500,000 FRF claimed by the artist.
Now, everybody wishing to use the coat of arms for an administrative or
commercial concern shall ask permission to the municipal administration.
[
Paraskevas Renesis, Esteban Rivera, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 11 December 2016
Some more examples of the local flag of Saint-Barthélemy: photo, photo, photo.
Olivier Touzeau, 28 November 2021
A flag with the lettering in an arched pattern was used during the inauguration of the St Barth House in the open-air Skansen Museum in Stockholm, October 2007 (photo). Only "de Saint-Barthélemy" is visible on the photo.
Valentin Poposki, 15 April 2009
![[Logo flag of the collectivity of Saint-Bathélemy]](../images/b/bl-ct.gif)
Logo flag of the collectivity of Saint-Bathélemy - Image by Olivier Touzeau , 28 November 2021
A flag with the full logo of the territorial collectivity can sometimes be seen in some events. See for example in Concarneau, metropolitan France: photo.
Olivier Touzeau , 28 November 2021
