page_title: Hospitaller colonization of the Americas
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Hospitaller colonization of the Americas / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Gustavia, Saint-Barthélemy. Norsk bokmål: Gustavia, Saint-Barthélemy.
context_page_description: The Hospitaller colonization of the Americas occurred during a 14-year period in the 17th century in which the Knights Hospitaller of Malta, led by Italian Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, possessed four Caribbean islands: Saint Christopher, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Croix.
  The Knights' presence in the Caribbean grew out of their order's close relationship with the French nobility and the presence of many members in the Americas as French administrators. The key figure in their brief foray into colonization was Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, who was both a Knight of Malta and governor of the French colonies in the Caribbean. Poincy convinced the Knights to purchase the islands from the bankrupt Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique in 1651 and stayed to govern them until his death in 1660. During this time, the Order acted as proprietor of the islands, while the King of France continued to hold nominal sovereignty; however, Poincy ruled largely independent of them both. In 1665, the Hospitallers sold their rights in the islands to the new French West India Company, bringing their colonial project to an end.
context_section_description: The Knights of Malta never established another colony. However, members of the order remained active in France's navy and overseas empire.  Several were involved in the Mississippi Company scheme early in the eighteenth century. Later in the century, Étienne-François Turgot, a Hospitaller and colonial administrator, tried unsuccessfully to settle Maltese people in Guiana.
  The short period of Hospitaller occupation is still remembered on the different islands.  Poincy's rule on St. Kitts is remembered for the spectacle of his large, grand household, the servants all dressed in the emblem of the Knights. On St. Croix one can find frequent reference to the "seven flags" in the island's history, counting the Knights of Malta together with the United States and five European nations that have ruled it.  St. Barthélemy has in its coat of arms a Maltese cross on a red fess, representing the period of Hospitaller colonization.
caption: The coat of arms of Saint Barthélemy.
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