List of governors general of the French Antilles
Wikimedia list article
The governors general of the French Antilles, or lieutenants-general, were the king's representatives in the French West Indies colonies under the Ancien Régime.
The colonies were, by date of foundation, Saint-Christophe (1625), Saint-Domingue (1627), Saint Martin (1635), Martinique (1635), Guadeloupe (1635), Dominica (1635), Saint Barthélemy (1648), Grenada (1650), Saint Croix (1650), Saint Lucia (1660), Tobago (1678), the Grenadines and Saint Vincent (1699).
History
The position was created in 1628, formally named the "Governor-general of the islands and mainland of America" (Gouverneur général des Isles et Terre Ferme de l'Amérique).
The first office holder was Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, who had founded the colony of Saint Christophe (Saint Kitts) in 1625, the first French colony in the region.
The governor general lived in Basseterre Saint Christophe.
Jean-Charles de Baas moved the governor's residence from Saint-Christophe to Martinique, first to Saint-Pierre in 1671, then to Fort-Royal in 1674.
The position was split in 1714.
The colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) in the Greater Antilles was assigned to the Governor General of Saint-Domingue, while the islands of the Lesser Antilles from Guadeloupe to Tobago were assigned to the Governor General of the Windward Islands (Gouverneur général des Isles du Vent).
The position was suppressed on 23 March 1794 after the occupation of the French colonies by the British.
During the French Second Republic the position was restored in March 1849, but definitively removed in November 1851.
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