colony · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
French Saint Croix
Origins
Saint Croix had been contested by English, Dutch and Spanish settlers. In 1650 forces sent by Philippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, governor of the French Antilles, expelled the Spanish and occupied the island. The next year it was included in the sale of French islands to the Knights Hospitaller, who held it until 1665.
Rule and society
The colony centred on a small settlement at Bassin, later Christiansted. Settlers grew tobacco, cotton and some sugar with enslaved labour, but disease and the humid climate took a heavy toll. After 1665 it was run by the French West India Company and then the crown, as a minor dependency of the larger French islands.
Decline and legacy
In 1695 and 1696 France withdrew the settlers to strengthen Saint-Domingue, leaving the island largely empty for decades. France sold it to the Danish West India and Guinea Company in 1733, after which it became the sugar centre of the Danish West Indies, later part of the United States Virgin Islands.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- French Saint Croix was a colony of French Empire1650 CE – 1733 CE
- French Saint Croix was part of Hospitaller Caribbean colonies1651 CE – 1665 CE
More states of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). French Saint Croix. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-croix
- MLA
- “French Saint Croix.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-croix. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “French Saint Croix.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-croix.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘French Saint Croix’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/french-saint-croix (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻