French West Indies
French West Indies Antilles françaises | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1628–1946 | |||||||||||||
Location of the modern territories of the French West Indies | |||||||||||||
| Status | Colony of France (1628–1946) Overseas departments and overseas collectivities (1946–present) | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Basse-Terre (1628–1671) Saint-Pierre (1671–1674) Fort-Royal (1674–1851) 14°41′N 61°02′W / 14.68°N 61.03°W | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | French Creole | ||||||||||||
| Governor-General | |||||||||||||
• 1628–1636 | Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc | ||||||||||||
• 1849–1851 | Armand Joseph Bruat | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Company of the American Islands takes possession of
Dominica (1632), formerly as Compagnie de Saint-Christophe | 1628 | ||||||||||||
• Foundation of the colony of Saint-Christophe (French colony) | 1625 | ||||||||||||
| 1697 | |||||||||||||
| 1763 | |||||||||||||
| 1804 | |||||||||||||
| 1946 | |||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1946 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Euro | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The French West Indies or French Antilles (French: Antilles françaises, [ɑ̃tij fʁɑ̃sɛːz]; Antillean Creole: Antiy fwansé) were the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
- The two overseas departments of:
- Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Marie-Galante, and La Désirade.
- Martinique
- The two overseas collectivities of:
- Saint Martin, the northern half of the island with the same name, the southern half is Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Saint Barthélemy