 In 1636, in the first of many skirmishes, the indigenous Caribs rose against the settlers to drive them off the island.The French successfully repelled the natives and forced them to retreat to the eastern part of the island, on the Caravelle Peninsula in the region then known as the Capesterre.When the Carib revolted against French rule in 1658, the Governor Charles Houël du Petit Pré retaliated with war against them.