colony · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

French Saint-Christophe

1625 CE – 1713 CE · capital Basseterre

France's first lasting colony in the Caribbean, on Saint Kitts, base for the settlement of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Origins

The Norman captain Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc landed on Saint Christopher in 1625 and, with the backing of Cardinal Richelieu's Compagnie de Saint-Christophe, founded a French colony. In 1627 the French and English partitioned the island, the French taking the two ends, including Basseterre.

French Saint-Christophe grew tobacco and later sugar, worked by indentured servants and enslaved Africans. From here d'Esnambuc launched the settlement of Martinique in 1635. Philippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, governor-general of the French Antilles from 1639, ruled from a grand château on the island and bought it for the Knights of Malta in 1651.

The French and English repeatedly expelled each other during the wars of the late 17th century. By the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 France ceded its share to Britain, merging it into the Colony of Saint Christopher.

French Saint-Christophe was a colony of French Empire1625 CE – 1713 CE
French Saint-Christophe was part of Hospitaller Caribbean colonies1651 CE – 1665 CE

Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). French Saint-Christophe. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-christophe
MLA: “French Saint-Christophe.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-christophe. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “French Saint-Christophe.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-christophe.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘French Saint-Christophe’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-christophe (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻