In 1784, one of French king Louis XVI's ministers ceded Saint Barthélemy to Sweden in exchange for trading rights in the Swedish port of Gothenburg.

In addition to its fresh water sources, the island produced moderate amounts of cotton, sugar, cocoa, tobacco and fruits while it promised substantial revenue from trade through its natural harbour on the island's west coast.

They sailed from Gothenburg on 4 December 1784 on the frigate Sprengtporten, arriving in Saint Barthélemy on 6 March 1785.

In January 1785, the Swedish merchants Jacob Röhl and Adolf Fredrik Hansen had already arrived to establish a trading post with warehousing.

[4][5] On 7 March 1785, the French commandant Chevalier de Durant ceded authority to von Rajalin who, on 16 April 1785, introduced tax free trading for visiting ships.

[4][8] The weekly journal The Report of St Bartholomew was published from 1804 to 1819 documenting life on the island over a period of 15 years.

[1] Trade continued to flourish during the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States when 20% of American exports were routed via St Barthélemy.

[4] In the mid-1840s, the Swedish parliament ruled that Saint Barthélemy should again be included under national administration.

As a result of increases in the financial support required to administer the colony, the Swedish authorities attempted between 1868 and 1870 to negotiate a sale of the island to the United States.