Secrets of the island, where pirates used to stay, and today - billionaires

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Once upon a time, the island, which bears the name of Saint Barthélemy, served as a haven for those who want to profitably sell their loot and a place where countless treasures were kept. Evil tongues claim that the island is famous for this to this day. In any case, it has no equal in terms of the number of millionaires per square meter of land and expensive yachts per square kilometer of coastal waters.

Small island with a little history

The island of Saint Barthélemy (Saint Barth - if shorter) is located in the eastern part of the Lesser Antilles. There is eternal summer, tropical climate and almost constant air and water temperature - a classic paradise. This island is devoid of rivers and streams, has a rocky relief, this all once determined the local history and culture. The Europeans discovered this land thanks to the travel of Christopher Columbus: the island got its name in honor of the younger brother of the famous Italian - Bartolomeo, who traveled with Christopher and became later as the governor of the island of Hispaniola (Haiti) located near Saint Barthélemy.

For a long time Saint Barthélemy did not arouse interest - only in the middle of the 17th century the French began to move here from the nearby island of Saint Kitts. In 1653, Saint Barth acquired the ownership of the Order of Malta (the Order of the Hospitallers), albeit not for long, but a few years later the French bought this land back. For some time, the island of Saint Barthélemy served as a refuge and an intermediate, transit point for pirates - it was convenient for them to hide here the treasures looted during the attacks on the Spanish galleons, which, in turn, exported the gold of the Indian tribes to Europe. It is known that some of the treasures hidden on the island arose thanks to the famous pirate Daniel Montbar, nicknamed "The Destroyer". By the way, there are persistent rumors that some of the treasures he left behind have not yet been found and are hidden somewhere on St. Barth.

Sailors and pirates, and in those days the former often became the latter, settled on the island, and after centuries its indigenous population was formed. Over time, those who remained on Saint-Barth received other professions - they became artisans, farmers, fishermen. A special feature of Saint Barthélemy was that there were practically no slave-owning relations on the island, for the reason that there were no plantations on which black slaves were usually used. Neither coffee, nor sugarcane, nor cotton was grown here.

In 1784 Saint Barth was sold to Sweden. The largest settlement on the island, where the port was located, was named Gustavia - in honor of the Swedish king Gustav III. Now this city is the administrative center of the overseas community of France Saint-Barthélemy.

Due to its location and the inability to use the territory for agricultural purposes, Saint Barthélemy became a center of storage and trade - everything that became a commodity during colonial expansion and pirate raids was unloaded, sold and exchanged here.

Saint Barthélemy and the wealthy of the twentieth century

Then, for a long period of time, there was a lull - few people remembered Saint Barth with its rocks, beaches and a small population, until in 1957 David Rockefeller, from the family of the first American billionaire, bought the site here. Following him, the Rothschilds and Fords became the owners of part of the island, and the flow of attention, tourists - as well as money towards St. Barth - became very impressive. The same heavenly climate, seclusion and remoteness from the noisy European and American luxury resorts began to attract more and more millionaires here.

Benefiting from relative autonomy from France, whose territory is formally Saint Barth, the island has established - not without lobbying from its most powerful landowners - certain requirements to ensure a comfortable stay for all guests and permanent residents. So, all the beaches of Saint-Barth are public - it is impossible to buy a plot directly adjacent to the sea, no matter what the state of the future homeowner may have.

The appearance of buildings is also regulated - they should not violate the harmony of the natural landscape with their height and outlines, roofs must be painted in one of three acceptable colors - red, brown or green. It takes years to approve construction on Saint-Barth, and therefore it is quite rare to see a house under construction here.

Most of the people on the island are rich tourists who have come to rest, the local residents are a minority. True, over the past twenty years, the population of Saint Barth has doubled, to nine thousand people - many homeowners prefer to register their place of residence in this particular corner of the Caribbean.

Beach vacation

Now it is a resort for those who can afford not to count the money. You can get to Saint Barth only by flying in a small corn plane from the island of Saint Martin, located less than thirty kilometers to the north. The runway is one of the shortest in the world, its length is only 625 meters, and aircraft land directly over one of the beaches. It is believed that the first person to fly to the island by plane was a Dutch smuggler and subsequently the mayor of Gustavia, Remy de Jaenen. He also attracted famous guests to the territories entrusted to him, who once made up the glory of Saint Barth: Greta Garbo, Rudolf Nureyev and many other world celebrities who can arrange a trip for several days to the land of carelessness and eternal summer.

The beaches on Saint Barth - "Gouverner", "Saline", "Lorient" - often became a place of pilgrimage for politicians, movie and theater stars, and athletes, and in 2009 the purchase of the Rockefeller estate by Roman Abramovich took place, which in no small measure contributed to the influx of tourists from Russia to the island. The peculiarities of the local public left an imprint on the image of the entire island. You cannot find those simple and widespread souvenir shops here, but in Gustavia there is a huge number of expensive boutiques and there is practically no crime. There are many snow-white yachts moored off the coast.

Of the objects of cultural and historical heritage of Saint Barth, only the 18th century Anglican Church, the lighthouse on the top of the island, and the city hall are mentioned. In any case, the island, which serves as a winter residence for the rich and famous, probably does not need anything more.

And about other islands - those which even seasoned tourists do not dare to go to.