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Map of the Guadeloupe archipelago

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.250°N 61.583°W / 16.250; -61.583, with a total area of 1,780 square kilometres (687 sq. mi). It is an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France. Like the other DOMs, Guadeloupe is also one of the 26 régions of France (as a région d'outre-mer), and an integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union, and the currency in use is the euro [1].

History

View from Guadeloupe

Main article: History of Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe was populated from 300 BC by the Arawak Amerindians, who fished and developed agriculture on the island. It was next inhabited by the Caribs, who pushed out most of the Arawak in the 8th century, and who renamed the island "Karukera" or the "Island of beautiful waters".

During his second trip to America Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Guadeloupe on 14 November 1493. He called it Santa María de Guadalupe de Extremadura, after the image of the Virgin Mary venerated at the Spanish monastery of Villuercas, in Guadalupe, Extremadura.

The French took possession of the island in 1635 and wiped out many of the Caribs. It was annexed to the kingdom of France in 1674. Over the next century, the island was seized several times by the British. One indication of Guadeloupe's prosperity at this time is that in the Treaty of Paris (1763), France, defeated in war, accepted to abandon its territorial claims in Canada in return for British recognition of French control of Guadeloupe.

In an effort to take advantage of the chaos ensuing from the French Revolution, Britain attempted to seize Guadeloupe in 1794 and held it from April 21 to June 2. The French retook the island under the command of Victor Hugues, who succeeded in freeing the slaves. They revolted and turned on the slave-owners who controlled the sugar plantations, but when American interests were threatened, Napoleon sent a force to suppress the rebels and reinstitute slavery. Louis Delgrès and a group of revolutionary soldiers killed themselves on the slopes of the Matouba volcano when it became obvious that the invading troops would take control of the island. The occupation force killed approximately 10,000 Guadeloupeans in the process of restoring order to the island.

On February 4, 1810 the British once again seized the island and held it until March 3, 1813, when it was ceded to Sweden as a consequence of the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden already had a colony in the area, but merely a year later Sweden left the island to France in the Treaty of Paris of 1814. An ensuing settlement between Sweden and the British gave rise to the Guadeloupe Fund. French control of Guadeloupe was finally acknowledged in the Treaty of Vienna in 1815. Slavery was abolished on the island in 1848 at the initiative of Victor Schoelcher. Today the population of Guadeloupe is mostly of African origin with a European and Indian minority.

Geography

In green (with red legend) are the constituent parts of the Guadeloupe région/département among the Leeward Islands.

Guadeloupe comprises five islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called salt river) with the adjacent islands of La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante.

Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief whilst Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.

Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy and the French part of Saint Martin come under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe.

On December 7, 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity. [1]

Demographics

Population: 452 776 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23,6% (male 54 725; female 52 348)
15-64 years: 67,1% (male 150 934; female 153 094)
65 years and over: 9,2% (male 17 353; female 24 322) (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 0,88% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 15,05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.06 years
male: 74.91 years
female: 81.37 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Guadeloupean(s) (not Guadeloupians)
adjective: Guadeloupe

Ethnic groups:These are only approximates as the mention of ethnicity is not allowed during french census ; black or mulatto 75%, white 11%, Indian Tamils or East India 9%, Lebanese and Syrians 3%,Chinese and others, 2%

Religions: Roman Catholic 91%, Hindu and African 4%, Protestant 5%

Languages: French (official) 99%, Creole patois

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90%
male: 90%
female: 90% (1982 est.)

Politics

Politics of Guadeloupe
See also: Politics of France

National holiday: National Day, Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Slavery Abolition Day: Local Holiday, 27 May (1848)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French legal system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques Chirac of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Paul Girot de Langlade (since 7 July 2004)
head of government: President of the General Council Jacques Gillot (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Victorin Lurel (since 22 April 2004)
cabinet: NA
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
election results: NA

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (42 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2004 (next to be held in 2010); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008 to elect half of the body)
election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 11, PS 8, RPR 8, PPDG 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCG 3, UDF 1; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 58,4%, UMP 41,6%; seats by party - PS 29, UMP 12
note: Guadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held NA September 2013); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June - 16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, different right parties 1

Judicial branch: - A Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel in Basse-Terre - An Assize Court or "Cour d'assises" (3 judges and a popular jury) in Basse-Terre judging people accused of felonies - Several first instance courts with various levels of competence, in Basse-Terre, Pointe-à-Pitre, Saint-Martin, and Grand-Bourg

Political parties and leaders:

Political pressure groups and leaders:

  • Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or ULPG
  • General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G
  • General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG
  • Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGI
  • The Socialist Party

International organisation participation: FZ, WCL, WFTU

'See Also:'

Culture

Beach in Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe's culture is probably best known for the islanders' literary achievements. Particularly the poetry of Saint-John Perse, the pseudonym used by Alexis Leger. Perse won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time."

Also culturally important are the arts, particularly painting. Music and dance are also popular, and the mix of African and French cultures created a few important forms on the island. Islanders enjoy many local dance styles including the quadrille "au commandement", zouk, zouk-love, and toumbélé. Music includes la biguine and gwo ka la base.

Another element of the Guadeloupean culture is its dress. Women in particular have a unique style of dresses, with many layers of colorful fabrics. They also wear a head scarf, which is tied in many different forms. The headdress can be done in the "bat" style, or the "firefighter" style, as well as the "Guadeloupean woman." Jewelry is also important in the Guadeloupean woman's dress.

Economy

Carbet Falls

Main article: Economy of Guadeloupe

The economy of Guadeloupe depends on tourism, agriculture, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports.

Tourism is a key industry, with 83.3% of tourists visiting from continental France, 10.8% coming from the rest of Europe, 3.4% coming from the United States, 1.5% coming from Canada, 0.4% coming from South America and 0.6% coming from the rest of the world [2]. An increasingly large number of cruise ships visit the islands.

The traditional sugarcane crop is slowly being replaced by other crops, such as bananas (which now supply about 50% of export earnings), eggplant, guinnep, sapotilla, eggplant and flowers. Other vegetables and root crops are cultivated for local consumption, although Guadeloupe is still dependent on imported food, mainly from France.

Light industry features sugar and rum production. Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported. Unemployment is especially high among the young. Hurricanes periodically devastate the economy.

The country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Guadeloupe is ".gp".

Notes

  1. ^ Guadeloupe is pictured on all Euro banknotes, on the backside at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next to the denomiation.
  2. ^ "Guadeloupe - Economie" (in French). 1998. Retrieved 2006-06-10.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guadeloupe.

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