1877 Saint Barthélemy status referendum

Svensk flagg 1815.svg October 1877 Return of Saint Barthélemy to France possession 350 1 351 A referendum on re-integration into France was held in the Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy in October 1877. The island had been a colonial possession of Sweden since Sweden acquired it from France in 1784, but the unprofitability of the island led to Sweden to attempt to sell it. France bought the island from the Swedish and the referendum, in which only one person voted against the proposal, supported the transfer. Background Saint Barthélemy was established as a French colony in 1648, but was sold to Sweden in 1784.The World Factbook The island lacked a natural source of fresh water and its economy was based on the free port of Gustavia, which was in decline due to a lack of European wars as the 19th century progressed.Hennessey 2023 49 The Swedish made multiple unsuccessful attempts to sell their colony due to its unprofitabilityHennessey 2023 46-47 before reselling it to the French in 1877,The World Factbook for 80,000 francs.Hennessey 2023 54 Governor Bror Ludvig Ulrich had one Catholic priest manage the referendum.Tingbrand 2002 78 The island had a population of 2,374 at the time, with 617 being males between the ages of 15 and 60.Hennessey 2023 56 351 voters participated in the referendum.Rait 1920 54 All but one person, Wellington Sicard according to Aftonbladet, voted in favour of being transferred to French control.Hennessey 2023 56 Results 350 1 Aftermath The treaty between France and Sweden was signed on 10 August 1877, and ratified on 2 March 1878.Institut d'Émission des Départements d'Outre-Mer The treaty was approved by the Chamber of Deputies with a vote of 425 to 8 and by the Senate without opposition.Hennessey 2023 59 The transfer ceremony was held on 15 March 1878.Hennessey 2023 55 The island was placed under the administrative control of Guadeloupe and maintained that status until the 2003 Guadeloupean autonomy referendum.The World Factbook See also 1868 Danish West Indies status referendum 1870 Dominican Republic annexation referendum References Works cited 30em Books Rait R. Plebiscite and Referendum The Stationery Office 1920 https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdclccn/a2/20/01/01/3/a22001013/a22001013.pdf Journals Hennessey John Cutting colonial losses: imperial ideology in media coverage of the 1878 transfer of Saint Barthélemy in Sweden and France Scandinavian Journal of History Taylor & Francis 2023 49 1 46–68 10.1080/03468755.2023.2211981 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03468755.2023.2211981 free Tingbrand Per A Swedish Interlude in the Caribbean Naval Forum sv Forum navale Maritime History Society sv Sjöhistoriska samfundet 2002 64–92 https://sjohistoriskasamfundet.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/fn57-lag.pdf Web Outlook for Saint-Barthélemy Institut d'Émission des Départements d'Outre-Mer https://www.iedom.fr/IMG/pdf/ne134_portrait_saint-barth_panorama_2010_version_anglaise.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20211202005542/https://www.iedom.fr/IMG/pdf/ne134_portrait_saint-barth_panorama_2010_version_anglaise.pdf 2 December 2021 Institut d'Émission des Départements d'Outre-Mer Saint Barthelemy The World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/archives/2023/countries/saint-barthelemy/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20250622022151/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/archives/2023/countries/saint-barthelemy/ 22 June 2025 The World Factbook 1877 referendums Category:Referendums in Saint Barthélemy Category:Referendums in Sweden Saint Barthélemy Category:Swedish Saint Barthélemy Category:Sovereignty referendums Category:1870s in Guadeloupe Category:Former dependencies of Guadeloupe Category:France–Sweden relations