When sugar fell on hard times, many planters made a second fortune growing cocoa. Most of the native peoples (often called the Amerindians) who were the first people to live in Trinidad, died from forced labor and illness. Fifty years later there were 18,680 coffee trees in Martinique, and coffee cultivation was established in Haiti, Mexico, and most of the islands of the Caribbean. The Dutch finally prevailed, with one permanent colony along the Essequibo River in 1616, and another, in 1624, along the neighboring Berbice River. The English language is the third most established throughout the Caribbean; however, due to the relatively small populations of the English-speaking territories, only 14% of West Indians are English speakers. The term varies in meaning by its usage and frame of reference. They dressed formally for dinner, and strict manners were observed. This decree opened up the island of Trinidad to Catholics from any country that would swear fealty to the Spanish Crown. One of the most skillful of the French revolutionary leaders in the Caribbean was Victor Hugues, a man of extraordinary energy, who stirred up the slaves and the Caribs against the English. In the 17th century, buccaneers lived on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and its tiny turtle-shaped neighbour, Tortuga. Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc was a French trader and adventurer in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635. The three Acadian cultural centers of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve share the stories and customs of the Acadians who came to Louisiana and became the Cajuns, people proud of their French roots who adapted to a new land and a … At the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, French colonial possessions in the Americas were largely confined to the Caribbean Basin, a region where interactions between people of indigenous, European, and African descent brought about innovations in everything from architecture to foodways. Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of governors general of the French Antilles, "Populations légales 2011 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer", "Base chiffres clés : évolution et structure de la population 2010", "Actualités : 2008, An 1 de la collectivité de Saint-Martin", "Actualités : 2008, An 1 de la collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy", Sovereign states and dependent territories, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_West_Indies&oldid=988108635, French-speaking countries and territories, Articles needing additional references from April 2014, All articles needing additional references, France articles missing geocoordinate data, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Overseas collectivity, detached from Guadeloupe, This page was last edited on 11 November 2020, at 03:29. Great Britain established a small colony on the island in 1805. Trinidad's population jumped from just under 1,400 in 1777, to over 15,000 by the end of 1789. An English fleet invades and captures Jamaica in 1655. The largest pool of potential colonists that fit the conditions of the Cedula were the French, and they came in droves. The islands of the Caribbean were discovered by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, working for the then Spanish monarchy. What did the Dutch, English and French encourage their merchants and bankers to do? ... pillaged the "Spanish Main," raiding Spanish silver fleets and attacking Caribbean ports. Many accepted the buyout offered by the British government for their slaves, and sold their lands. The French brought with them the practice of slavery which would add numerous African, and later Caribbean, cultures to the state. Historians say they believe the first "modern" Caribbean Carnival originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the late 18th century when a flood of French settlers brought the Fat Tuesday masquerade party tradition with them to the island, although Fat Tuesday celebrations were almost certainly taking place at least a century before that. This decree opened up the island of Trinidad to Catholics from any country that would swear fealty to the Spanish Crown. The effect on Trinidad was drastic and immediate. (The information on this page was obtained primarily from The Book of Trinidad, edited by Gérard A. Besson, and Bridget M. Brereton. In Grenada and in St. Lucia, the French and English fought each other for possession. [8] The Francophone Caribbean is a part of the wider French America, which includes all the French-speaking countries in the Americas. In 1635 d'Esnambuc sailed to Martinique with one hundred French settlers to clear land for sugarcane plantations. 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