St. Barths

Saint Barth?lemy , officially the Collectivity of Saint Barth?lemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Also known as Saint Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the collectivity is one of the four territories among the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean that comprise the French West Indies, and is the only one to have historically been a Swedish colony.

Economy

The official currency of Saint Barth?lemy is the euro.

INSEE estimated that the total GDP of Saint Barth?lemy amounted to 179 million euros in 1999 . In that same year the GDP per capita of Saint Barth?lemy was 26,000 euros , which was 10% higher than the average GDP per capita of metropolitan France in 1999. Tourism explains in a large measure the very high standard of living on the island.

Tourism Gustavia Harbour, St. Barth

St. Barth has long been considered a playground of the rich and famous and is known for its beautiful pristine beaches, gourmet dining in chic bistros and high-end designer shopping.

St. Barth has about 25 hotels, most of them with 15 rooms or fewer, and the largest, the Guanahani has just 70 rooms. Hotels are classified in the traditional French manner 3 Star, 4 Star and 4 Star Luxe.

Villa vacations are extremely popular and there are hundreds of villas terraced into the hillsides throughout the island as well has many beachfront locations. Villas here can range from one-bedroom bunglalows to large luxurious homes.

This island is also home to the rare scorpion Centruroides barbudensis, characterized by an overly large tail. History

Saint Barth?lemy was first claimed by France in 1648. It was sold to Sweden in 1784, which sold it back to France in 1878. Slavery was ruled in Saint-Barth?lemy under the Ordinance of Police relative to the Treatment of Black and Coloured Perfons, free or flaves, and other matters dated 1787. The last legally owned slaves in the Swedish colony of Saint-Barth?lemy were bought free by the state on October 9, 1847