Colonial Powers in the Caribbean

In this blog, I’d like to share an important historical accounting of which European powers had colonial governments on the various Caribbean islands. Many of the islands switched many times between various governments. This does affect the records you will be looking for. The Irish, both Catholic and Protestant, were on most of these islands from at least the early 1600s.

Often seventeenth and eighteenth century records, or transcripts of the records, were sent back to the parent country. This means that even if the island copy was destroyed (think war, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, mold and mildew) that a second copy may have survived. These second copies are often microfilmed and at the Family History Library: www.familysearch.org.

The island and the colonial powers which you will need to be familiar with are below (see a modern reference map below). The listing was taken from the incredible reference work by Christina K. Schaefer, Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas (1998): www.genealogical.com (pp. 127-128), a book worthy of any genealogical library collection:

Anguilla: England (1650), France (1666), England (1671), France (1689), Great Britain (1713).

Antigua: England (1631), France (1666), England (1671), Moravian settlement added in 1754.

Aruba: The Netherlands (1634).

Bahamas: England (1645), Spain (1684), England (1694), pirates from Spain and France (1703), Great Britain (1708).

Barbados: England (1627).

Barbuda: England (1629), France (1666), England (1671).

Bermuda: England (1612).

Bonaire: The Netherlands (1634).

Cuba: Spain (1511).

Curacao: The Netherlands (1634).

Dominica: England and France (1627), neutral (1748), Great Britain (1756), France (1778), Great Britain (1783).

Dominican Republic: see Hispaniola.

Grenada: England (1609), France (1650), Great Britain (1762), France (1779), Great Britain (1783).

Guadeloupe: France (1635), Great Britain (1759), France (1763).

Haiti: see Hispaniola.

Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti): Spain (1493), France takes over western end of island (1697).

Jamaica: Spain (1509), England (1655).

Martinique: France (1635), Great Britain (1762), France (1763).

Montserrat: England and Ireland (1632), France (1666), England (1671).

Nevis: England (1628).

Providence Island: England (1630), Spain (1641).

Puerto Rico: Spain (1508).

Saba: The Netherlands (1634).

Saint Bartholomew: France (1648), Sweden (1784), France (1878).

Saint Kitts (Saint Christopher): England (1623), France and England (1625), France (1666), England (1667), France (1689), Great Britain (1713).

Saint Croix: England, The Netherlands and France (1625), England (1645), France (1650), Denmark (1733).

Saint-Domingue: see Hispaniola

Saint Eustatius: The Netherlands (1600).

Saint John: Denmark (1672).

Saint Lucia: France (1639), England (1663), France (1667), Great Britain and France (1713), France (1723), neutral (1748), Great Britain (1756), France (1763), Great Britain (1778), France (1783).

Saint Martin: France and The Netherlands (1648).

Saint Thomas: Denmark (1672).

Saint Vincent: England (1627), neutral (1660), Carib Indians (1672), Great Britain (1722), neutral (1748), Great Britain and France (1756), Great Britain (1763), France (1779), Great Britain (1783).

Tobago: England, The Netherlands and France (1632), neutral (1748), Great Britain (1763), France (1781), Great Britain (1793).

Tortola: The Netherlands (1666), England (1672).

Tortuga: Buccaneers from England, France, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain (1630), Spain (1635).

Trinidad: Spain (1509), French settlement added in 1777, Great Britain (1797).