Saintes, a particular profile island (Breton)

Discovered in 1793, the Island of the Antilles experienced many invasions and arrivals of settlers ... Back on its history

While we were talking to you yesterday in our article Route du Rhum Numerous West Indians who left for the metropolis, we will now tell you the story of French settlers who left for the island of Saintes. 

Geographic point

The Island of Saintes was discovered by Christopher Columbus en 1793, le jour de la Toussaint. Elle se situe dans les Antilles, dans la mer des Caraïbes à 10km au  sud de la Guadeloupe. Rattachée à ce département, elle est divisée en deux communes principales : Terre-de-Haut et Terre-de-Bas, et en de nombreux autres petits îlots peu voire non habités. La baie de Terre de Haut est même, depuis 1997, l’une des plus belles baies du monde (par l’association des plus belles baies du monde, reconnue par l'Unesco). Les Saintois.es sont près de 3000 à l’heure actuelle. 

French on the island of Saintes

It is the smell of pancakes on the island that the Breton origin of these inhabitants is quickly confirmed. After many English invasions, always pushed, the first settlers arrived in the archipelago in the 1640s. They were Bretons, Normans, Vendeans and Alsatians. Before leaving France, they were mainly farmers, but the tropical climate and arid lands did not make the culture easy. The Bretons then fell back on an activity which they mastered just as much: fishing, which has also become the main activity on the archipelago and which made them the best fishermen of the Antilles. The boats used (the Saintoises) still follow Breton plans today and adapt perfectly to the Atlantic swell. An activity such as very few slaves have been landed on the Saintes to work in plantations. 

Métisse but blonde with blue eyes 

One of the peculiarities of the inhabitants of the island is found in their particular features (in comparison with the neighboring islands). They are, for many, mestians and blonde with blue eyes. This is explained because of a very low interbreeding on the island. These few settlers installed on the island of Saintes did not return "to the country" and, today, almost all of the inhabitants of the island have a Breton ancestor. We also find in the Saintois.es and the Bretons many similarities: a strong character, the courage of sailors ready to face cyclones and other bad weather and a Creole close to the Gallo of Ille-et-Vilaine and Breton as with, for example, words overall (de l'eau) en créole et glao (la pluie – qui se prononce "overall") en breton ou krók (Crochet) in Creole who says Krog in Breton. 

Tourism has today quickly replaced fishing as a main activity.