Compagnie française des Indes occidentales
On 18 October 1648, a French expedition led by Sir du Mé, annexed "les Saintes", already under English influence, at the request of the governor of Guadeloupe, Charles Houël. From 1649, the islands became a colony exploited by the French West India Company which tried to establish agriculture. However, the inhospitable ground and the aridity of "Terre-de-Haut" halted this activity, though it persisted for a while on "Terre-de-Bas", which was wetter and more fertile, under the orders of Sir Hazier du Buisson from 1652.