The colonization of St. Lucia by the British and French | Logan Sill

TIMELINE

In my timeline, I’ll present how the French Empire and the British Empire would feud from the 16th to the 17th century for control over Saint Lucia. Located in the Lesser Antilles, both the French and British had a claim. The French would claim the island of Martinique, which was north of Saint Lucia, while Barbados was British-claimed, which was located southeast of Saint Lucia. The island of St. Lucia was basically in a perfect region for the British or the French. The French would claim Martinique and downwards, which would encompass St. Lucia. Of course, the British didn’t like that the French were claiming those islands, so would wanted to claim them for the British colonies. These territorial conflicts between the French and the British would be a big problem, and you can see this with St. Lucia, which the French and the British fought over to claim the territory and gain access to South America, where they could colonize.

The first European to land on Saint Lucia was Francois le Clarc, who would eventually set up a base on Pigeon Island. He would leave, then a ship would dock. The Olphias would land on the island, bringing 67 British colonizers to settle the island, but the native Caribs would run them off, leading to an earl to claim St. Lucia was a French territory but wouldn’t settle it, causing others to want it for themselves, but they would fail again from the native Caribs. The French would then colonize St Lucia, send an expedition to France, and set up a colony for 2 decades. Until  Francis Baron Willoughby would send unemployed, enslaved, and native Caribis from Barbados to St. Lucia, which would upset the French colonists. Leading to the Treaty of Breda in 1667, which would restore St.Lucia to France.  Then, in 1672, the British would appoint a governor. William Lord Willoughby would be appointed governor of St. Lucia despite France owning St Lucia and would annex St. Lucia under the Martinique French colony, but the threat would not intimidate the British, and they would respond to the British. Then, the Peace of Utrecht allowed the British annexation of a bunch of French territory. This would cause a boom in population from 1713 to 1716, due to the French migrating to St. Lucia. That Marshal Count d’Etress would want to calm Islam for himself through his sincere inherited St. Lucia from his father and to keep the British from claiming the island, yet still wouldn’t threaten the British. When Marechal lost ownership of the island, the British would make a new plan to capture the island, with the king of England granting John, the duke of Montagu, Lucia in 1772.  He would send Nathaniel Uring, the Governor’s deputy governor of St Lucia. This sneak attack would have worked, and the British would have failed yet again, but it would have made St. Lucia’s natural territory. The French would boost their numbers after this situation, but their troops would eventually leave. Ucia to French colonists and British settlers who were Irish, but in 1735, a proclamation was made to remove the people from the island, but the colonists didn’t comply. Charles de Turbieres de Caylus would try to claim St Lucia for France in 1744. The Aix-la-Chapelle would declare Saint Lucia neutral again and that everyone should be removed from the island, but the French didn’t listen to this and had Saint Lucia as a secret colony. The British would plan, and another attack led by a couple of different generals, like Sir Henry Clinton and Admiral Abbreviaton, would result in an attack on St Lucia in 1778, which would be successful with st, with the surrender of the British.  The Treaty of Versailles of 1778 would put st. Lucia is back in France, and despite British bases being built on the island, like Fort Rodney. Eventually, the French Revolution would come to st. Lucia freeing enslaved people, but the British would decide to attack the French West Indies since France was weakened from the Revolutionary War, so the British would capture the island, causing the first brigand war, which was French settlers, ex slave and soldier would push the British out of the french west indies and were successful they would also get rid of the white slave master. In apApril796 the British would send Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby and LiLieutenant-General Sirohn Moore with 12000 British to take one fortune for the French. They would be able to capture it due to the fort being surrounded and would have fought the second brigand war with the English defeating them, but the French would use the Treaty of Amiens in 1802  to claim St.Lucia for them. This would work only for a little bit until the British and French would fight again, and Lieutenant General Grinfield and Commodore Samuel Hood would take a squadron and leave Barbados to take St. Lucía in 1803. They would be able to make a surrender by taking out  Governor Antonie Nogues, ceding the island to the British due to the 1814 Treaty of Paris. End this cat-and-mouse game between Britain and France’s colonization war for the island of St Lucia.

Bibliograohy

Harmsen, Jolien, et al. A History of St. Lucía. 1 June 2014.

“History of SLU.” Archive.org, 2025, web.archive.org/web/20050802084319/www.un.int/stlucia/consularservices/history.htm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.

Pasha O. “History of Saint Lucia – from Colonisation to Independence.” Our History, I Rise UK, 21 Feb. 2021, www.ourhistory.org.uk/saint-lucia-colonisation-to-independence/.

Yost, Russell. “Francois Le Clerc Facts and Piracy.” The History Junkie, 31 May 2017, thehistoryjunkie.com/francois-le-clerc-facts-and-piracy/.