Mayreau is the smallest (1 1/2 square miles) of the inhabited Grenadine islands and has just over 250 residents. Sharing a common history with neighbouring islands, Mayreau was once inhabited by a succession of Amerindian people beginning with the Ciboney and culminating with the Caribs. As the pendulum of French and English claims swung, various groups of intrepid settlers arrived on Mayreau. During the 1720s, a Frenchman, Monsieur de L'isle, laid claim to the island. With the signing of the 1763 Treaty of Paris, St. Vincent and the Grenadines were ceded to Great Britain. Monsieur de L'isle however, was permitted to retain possession of Mayreau. Thirteen years later, records show a population of six European tenants and sixty-six slaves. The main source of revenue and export was cotton.

    Fleeing France during the Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815), a branch of the celebrated Saint-Hiilaire family arrived in Mayreau and acquired ownership of the land. The last descendant of this famous old family, one of which was a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Josephine at Malmaison, was Jane-Rose de Saint-Hilaire. Known locally as Miss Jane-Rose, she governed the island under a sort of feudal system. The inhabitants, who for the most part were direct descendants of the Saint-Hilaire slaves, were allowed to build homes free of any charge, and to cultivate as many acres as they desired. By this arrangement of land tenure, the harvest (mainly cotton and cocoa) was divided equally between Miss Jane-Rose and the tenants. Upon her death in 1915, the Eustace family inherited Mayreau through marriage. With the exception of 22 acres which was sold to a Canadian family and the village (21 acres) which was acquired by the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mayreau remains privately owned by the Eustace heirs.

    Unique among their neighbours for their French-Catholic heritage, the people of Mayreau are also unique in their harmoniousness. On this island with no airport, a single unnamed village, one road, no bank, rain-caught drinking water and white-sand beaches you will find a society in which strife is virtually unknown.