I.

Introduction

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, La Désirade, and Les Saintes; the other dependencies, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint Martin, are located 250 km (155 mi) to the northwest. Basse-Terre is the most mountainous of the islands and contains the highest point, La Soufrière (1,467 m/ 4,813 ft), an active volcano. The climate of the islands, though hot and humid, is tempered by the surrounding waters; the mean annual temperature is 26° C (78° F). The area of the department is 1,780 sq km (687 sq mi).

II.

Population, Economy, and Government

The population of Guadeloupe (2007 estimate) was 456,698, yielding an average density of 268 persons per sq km (693 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 (2001 estimate, 20,000).

About 12 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 (0.80 francs equal U.S.$1; 2005 annual average).

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.

III.

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.