After the French claimed title of Saint Lucia in 1744, commandant de Rougueville divided Saint Lucia into districts and parishes. Quarters were administrative districts for the control of settlers and slaves. The French Surveyor General of Saint Lucia, M. Raussaim, initially divided Saint Lucia into seven quarters. In 1844, Henry Breen describes how Saint Lucia was divided into two districts, the eastern district on the leeward side of Saint Lucia facing the Atlantic Ocean and the western district on the windward side facing the
Caribbean Sea. It was further divided into eleven quarters or parishes, i.e. Castries, Anse Laraye, Soufriere, Choiseul, Laborie, Vieux Fort, Micoud, Praslin, Dennery, Dauphin, and Gros-ilet. Each quarter or parish had a town in the coastal bay within its territory that was named the same as the quarter. Breen further talks about stipendiary magistrates introduced during the period of the apprenticeship system. These magistrates were as follows: • Castries, Gros-ilet, Daughpin, and Anse Laraye • Soufriere, Choiseul, Laborie • Vieux Fort, Micoud, Praslin, Dennery Still later the number of stipendiary magistrates was increased to five: • Castries and Anse Laray • Gros-ilet and Sauphin • Soufriere and Choiseul • Vieux Fort and Laborie • Micoud, Dennery, and Praslin The magistrates did not survive. However, the quarters or parishes did survive, as such, with some mergers and changes in the names. ==Districts==