Iles des Saintes

Îles des Saintes, also known as Les Saintes, is a little archipelago. It is composed by eight small islands: Terre-de-Bas, Terre-de-Haut, Ilet Cabrit, Grand Ilet, La Coche, Les Augustins, Le Pate and La Redonde; only two of them, Terre de Bas e Terre de Haut (the biggest) are inhabited.

Under the administrative view, these island depend on Guadeloupe, in the French Antilles.

Les Saintes was discovered by Christopher Columbus during the All Saints' Day in 1493, so, in relation to the celebration's day he named the archipelago "Los Santos". On the 12 April 1782, the archipelago was the theatre of a naval combat, known as the Battle of the Saintes. The main characters of the battle were the Royal Navy, leaded by the Baron George Brydges Rodney, and the French fleet of Comte de Grasse. Thanks to the victory, the Britain took the maritime supremacy, while the French, with the purpose to design a "fortress-archipelago", built several fortifications during the 19th century. Some of the most famous fortifications are: Fort Joséphine su Ilet Cabrit and Fort Napolèon sul Morne à Mire, that overlooks the bay of Terre-de-Haut.