This page includes lighthouses of a small territory of France located in the Leeward Islands at the northeastern corner of the Caribbean Sea. Saint-Barthélemy, often known informally as St.-Barth or St.-Barts, is a small volcanic island about 10 km (6 mi) long west to east and 4 km (2.5 mi) wide. It has an unusual history: although settled by France it was sold to Sweden in 1784. The Swedes ruled the island until 1878, when they sold it back to France. A result of the Swedish occupation is that many place names on the island are Swedish. The capital, Gustavia, is named for King Gustav III of Sweden. The population of the island is about 10,000. The two French Leeward Islands territories of St.-Martin and St.-Barthélemy were formerly governed as dependencies of the larger island of Guadeloupe but since 2007 they have reported separately to Paris as collectivités of France. The French word for a lighthouse is phare, although a smaller light or harbor light is called a feu (literally "fire," but here meaning "light") or a balise (beacon). In French île is an island, cap is a cape, pointe is a promontory or point of land, roche is a rock, récife is a reef, baie is a bay, estuaire is an estuary or inlet, détroit is a strait, rivière is a river, and havre is a harbor. Most of the lighthouses of the Lesser Antilles are very poorly known, so information about them would be welcome, and photos are especially welcome. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 110.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Saint-Martin | South: Saint Kitts-Nevis | Southwest: Saba and Sint Eustatius
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Posted December 8, 2005. Checked and revised February 8, 2025. Lighthouses: 1. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.