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Hideaway for the Rich and Famous - St. Barthélemy 1

Hideaway for the Rich and Famous – St. Barthélemy

As happened frequently among the Caribbean islands of France, the British took over briefly in 1758.  The French in turn gave Saint Barthélemy to Sweden in exchange for French trading rights in Gothenburg.  With this transfer the island’s fortunes changed for the better.  The Swedes ushered in a time of progress and prosperity as the Swedes declared Gustavia a free port, which made it a favored port for the trading of European goods, including contraband items.

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Réunion Island - A Bit of France in the Indian Ocean 4

Réunion Island – A Bit of France in the Indian Ocean

Colonization started in 1665, when the French East India Company sent the first settlers.  “Île de la Réunion” was the name given to the island in 1793 to commemorate the union of revolutionaries from Marseille with the National Guard in Paris.  This renaming also eliminated a reference to the deposed Bourbon dynasty.  Later, the island would be renamed yet again, this time “Île Bonaparte”, after Napoleon Bonaparte.

The island came under the control of the British Navy in 1810 but was returned to France by treaty in 1815.  In 1848 the island was officially renamed “Île de la Réunion”.

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, a program of colonization by French citizens as well as the importation of Africans, Chinese, and Indians as slaves, a diversity of ethnicities was present from early times.  The colony abolished slavery on 20 December 1848. Afterward, many of the foreign workers came as indentured workers.

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Nickel Island - The Flag of New Caledonia 5

Nickel Island – The Flag of New Caledonia

As is true of all component territories of Overseas France, the only official flag is the French tricolor.  However, there is an unofficial flag that may be seen flying in New Caledonia and this is the flag we flew today on our own flagpole.  This flag was approved in July 2010 by the Congress of New Caledonia. 

The blue symbolizes the sky and the ocean surrounding New Caledonia.  The red symbolizes the blood shed by the Kanaks in their struggle for independence.  The green symbolizes the land itself.  The yellow disc is a representation of the sun and the symbol upon it consists of a flèche faitière, a kind of arrow that adorns the roofs of Kanak houses thrust through tutut shells.

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Today's Flag - French Polynesia 8

Today’s Flag – French Polynesia

The flag consists of two red horizontal bands which encase a wide white band.  The bands are at a fixed width ratio of 1:2:1.  In the center of the white band is a blue and white disk with a blue and white wave pattern which depicts the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern which depicts on the upper half.  There is a Polynesian canoe riding on the wave pattern.  The canoe has a crew of five, represented by five stars.  The five stars are meant to symbolize the five island groups (The Bass Islands are generally grouped with the Austral Islands even though they are geographically distinct and separate from the main Austral archipelago.

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Today's Flag - French Guiana 9

Today’s Flag – French Guiana

But the prison system wasn’t isolated to the three islands of the Isles of Salvation.  The main prison camp was along the western border with Dutch Guiana, now known as Suriname.  The islands were used to isolate the “worst of the worst” as well as for political prisoners who were housed on Devil’s Island itself.   Île Royale was for the general population of the worst criminals of the penal colony to roam about in moderate freedom due to the difficulty of escape from the island.  Île Saint-Joseph was for the worst of those criminals to be punished in solitary confinement in silence and for extra punishment in darkness of the worst of the worst criminals of the penal colony.  Conditions were so harsh, especially the presence of tropical diseases that would likely go untreated, that of the estimated 56,000 prisoners sent to the islands, only about 10% survived the experience.  Those who survived their sentence enjoyed freedom but were never to be allowed to return to metropolitan France, instead being condemned to live the rest of their days on the mainland.

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The Flag of France 10

The Flag of France

The tricolor has its origins in the flag of the city of Paris which was blue and red, with blue on the hoist side.  Interestingly, at least to me, this exact flag configuration has also been attributed to the Phoenicians, whom you will recall settled in the south of France near modern day Marseilles.  Perhaps there is a connection? This arrangement is also echoed in the modern flag of Haiti, which we will get to eventually.  During the revolution, partisans would wear red and blue “cockades,”

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Today's Flag - Norway 11

Today’s Flag – Norway

Norway is likely one of the most progressive and prosperous nations on Earth.  The wealth and social welfare generated by plentiful natural gas and oil resource extraction from the North Sea territorial waters of Norway has been essential in creating the modern nation of Norway.  The Norwegians, recognizing the finite nature of energy resources as well as shifting global demand toward renewable sources of energy, have wisely and prudently invested much of the wealth into long-term strategic investments to provide a trust fund for the nation.

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