The Saint-Barthélemy Mutiny was a mutiny against Swedish rule on the then Swedish controlled Saint Barthélemy by the Gustavian Militia.
Background
Acquisition of Saint-Barthélemy Gustav III had always wanted a Swedish base in the New World, which he finally acquired in a treaty with the French King, Louis XVI on July 1 1784. Unfortunately for the Swedes, the island had little to offer, with a population of only 739-950 when the ship Enighet arrived in 30 January 1785, The island also lacked clean drinking water and had little fertile ground.
Establishment as a free port In 1786, the Swedes made a significant policy change, being the classification of the newly settled Gustavia as a free port. It was modelled after Dutch and Danish predecessors in the region.Wilson, V. (2013). Saint Barthélemy as a Caribbean free port, 1784 – 1820. Åbo Akademi University These predecessors had seen success before, especially during international conflicts, leading to a Swedish interest.
French Revolutionary Wars
After news of the French Revolution reached the Caribbean in 1789, Many Frenchmen took refuge on neutral islands, including Saint Barthélemy. According to Anne Pérotin-Dumon, a great wave of immigration took place in 1793-1794 by groups of inhabitants from Guadaloupe and Martinique, mainly consisting of royalists and supporters of the revolution. In May 1793, Carl Fredrik Bagge af Söderby, the Governor of Saint Barthélemy, commented on the arrival of French families to the island. On one hand, he disapproved of giving protection to the "foreign adventurers and bankrupt persons", while also welcoming them as they brought "considerable property, slaves, households, and cash."
Mutiny
On September 22, the merchant and mariners in Gustavia took up arms against the Swedish authorities, specifically Governor Hans Henrik Anckarheim, Samuel Fahlberg, and Anders Bergstedt. The motives for the mutineers was initially unclear, other than that they were reacting to Governor Anckarheims order to disband the town militia which he called "unruly, disorganized, and rebellious". Bergstedt was quickly captured by the mutineers, and when Anckarheim heard of the mutiny he ordered Fahlberg to escape to the nearby fortress. Anckarheim, who was suffering from gout, was captured by the mutineers. The mutineers, according to Anckarheim, claimed to have "a thousand reasons for complaints against [Bergstedt] which they humbly wished to put before His Royal Majesty to consider". Later in the evening, after Anckarheim had negotiated with the mutineers, he ordered Fahlberg to not attack the mutineers and return home.
A few days later, August Nyman had claimed that Fahlberg ordered him to fire on the rebellious militia, but that he refused due to them being his own countrymen. Due to the mutiny the Swedes temporarily lost control of the island to the mutineers.
Aftermath Due to the mutiny, the demands from the mutineers that Bergstedt was to be exiled was accepted, along with Fahlberg.
See also
Saint-Barthélemy affair
References