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Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French: Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy), is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to 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, along with Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Martin.

St. Barts has an area of 21 km² and a population of 8,398 (census 2006). Its capital is Gustavia, which is also its main harbor. It is the only Caribbean island to have historically been a Swedish colony for any significant length of time (Guadeloupe only having been one briefly, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars). Symbolism from the Swedish national arms, the three crowns, still appears in the island's coat of arms. The language, cuisine and culture are distinctly French.

Tourism

St. Barts 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 designers.

St. Barts has about 25 hotels, most of them with 15 rooms or fewer. The largest has 58 rooms. Hotels are classified in the traditional French manner 3 Star, 4 Star and 4 Star Luxe.

Most of the rooms allocated to tourism on St Barts are found in private villas. There are approximately 400 privately owned villas available for rent on the island.

Saint Barthélemy was first claimed by France, in 1648. It was given to Sweden in 1784 (in exchange for trade rights in Gothenburg), which sold it back to France in 1878.

Slavery was practiced in St. Barts under the "Ordinance concerning the Police of Slaves and free Coloured People" of 1787. The last legally owned slaves in the Swedish colony of St. Barts were bought free by the state on 9 October 1847.The Swedish period left its mark in the names of many of the streets and the town Gustavia (in honor of King Gustav III), and the presence of Sweden's national arms, the Tre Kronor in the island's coat of arms.