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Guadeloupe Cities with Hotels
 Guadeloupe, group of islands, overseas
department of France, in the French West Indies, off the northwestern coast of
South America, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The two principal islands-separated
by the Salée River, a narrow arm of the Caribbean Sea-are Basse-Terre on the
west and Grande-Terre on the east. Nearby island dependencies are Marie Galante,
Désirade, and Les Saintes; the other dependencies, Saint Barthélemy and Saint
Martin, are located about 250 km (about 155 mi) to the northwest. Basse-Terre is
the most mountainous of the islands and contains the highest point, Soufrière
(1484 m/4869 ft), an active volcano. The climate of the islands, though hot and
humid, is tempered by the surrounding waters; the mean annual temperature is
25.6° C (78° F). The area of the department is 1780 sq km (687 sq mi).
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Guadeloupe
Population, Economy, and Government
The population of Guadeloupe (1990) was 389,097, yielding an
average density of 219 persons per sq km (566 per sq mi). The population is
composed mainly of blacks and mulattoes and a small minority of Europeans,
primarily descendants of Breton and Norman colonists. Basse-Terre, the capital
of Guadeloupe, is located on the island of Basse-Terre and had a population of
14,107 in 1990. The chief town on Grande-Terre, and principal port of the
department, is Pointe-à-Pitre (1990, 26,083).
About 18 percent of the total land area is under cultivation. The chief products
are sugar, bananas, and rum. About 60 percent of the annual external trade is
with France. The French franc is the currency of Guadeloupe (5.57 francs equal
U.S.$1; 1994).
Guadeloupe is administered by a popularly elected general
council and regional council; an appointed prefect represents the French
government. The islands are represented in the French Parliament by four
deputies and two senators.
History
Christopher Columbus first landed on the island of Guadeloupe
on November 3, 1493, and named it for the monastery of Santa Maria de Guadelupe
in Extremadura, Spain. Colonists of the French Company of the Islands of America
established settlements in 1635, and gradually conquered the indigenous Carib
people. After the failure of four chartered companies to colonize the island
permanently, it was annexed by France in 1674 and made a dependency of
Martinique. During the latter half of the 17th century the French colonists
resisted a series of attacks by the British, who finally captured the island in
1759, retaining it until 1763, when it again passed to France. In 1775
Guadeloupe and Martinique became separate colonies. The British repossessed
Guadeloupe in 1794 and again in 1810, the latter occupation lasting for six
years. Slavery was abolished in 1848. Guadeloupe was made an overseas department
of France in 1946. A movement for independence was active in the 1980s;
following a series of bombings in 1984, French authorities outlawed the
Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance, a militant autonomist organization.
"Guadeloupe," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Last Revised:
November 15, 2008 03:56 PM, |
