It seems that he must have left during tumultuous times. A summary lifted from Wikipedia:
1626: France takes possession, expelling Spanish settlers.
then various political upheavals but it remained French until the Seven Years War
1759 British captured Guadelope
1763 Treaty of Paris, France regained it (ceding Canadian colonies to Britain)
1789 French Revolution, chaos in Guadelope
1794 British retook it
1794, December, French retook it, slavery abolished, massacre of French colonists,
1802 French Expeditionary Force, ruling ex-slaves defeated