Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy
Colony of Saint Barthélemy Barthélemy | |||||||||
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| 1784–1878 | |||||||||
Seal of governor (1784–1877)
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Swedish map of Saint Bartélemy, 1801. | |||||||||
Map of overseas territories and territorial entities of Sweden. | |||||||||
| Status | Swedish colony | ||||||||
| Capital | Gustavia | ||||||||
| Common languages | Swedish, French, English | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1784–1792 | Gustav III (first) | ||||||||
• 1872–1878 | Oscar II (last) | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1785–1787 | Salomon von Rajalin (first) | ||||||||
• 1868–1878 | Bror Ludvig Ulrich (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Swedish colonization of the Americas | ||||||||
• Exchanged with Sweden | 1 July 1784 | ||||||||
• Sold back to France | 16 March 1878 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1878 | 21.24 km2 (8.20 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1800 | 5,000 | ||||||||
• 1863 | 2,834 | ||||||||
• 1875 | 2,374 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | BL | ||||||||
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The Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy existed for nearly a century. In 1784, one of French king Louis XVI's ministers ceded Saint Barthélemy to Sweden in exchange for trading rights in the Swedish port of Gothenburg. Swedish rule lasted until 1878 when the French repurchased the island.