Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc

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Pierre Bélain, Sieur d'Esnambuc (1585-1636) was a French trader in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635.

Belain sailed to the Caribbean in 1625, hoping to establish a French settlement on the island of St. Christopher. In 1626 he returned to France, where he won the support of Cardinal Richelieu to establish French colonies in the region. In 1635 he sailed to Martinique with one hundred French settlers to clear land for sugar cane plantations. This led to tensions with the indigenous Carib population, which would be expelled from the island in 1660.

After six months on Martinique, d'Esnambuc returned to Saint Christopher, where he soon died. Authority over the French settlements in the Caribbean was inherited by his nephew, Dizel du Parquet.