Like the other overseas departments, it is an integral part of France. As a constituent territory of theEuropean Union (EU) and theeurozone, theeuro is its official currency and any EU citizen is free to settle and work there indefinitely, but it is not part of theSchengen Area. It includedSaint Barthélemy andSaint Martin until 2007, when they were detached from Guadeloupe following a2003 referendum.
The Morel site inLe Moule, Grande-Terre, is one of numerous archaeological sites in Guadeloupe where pre-Columbian artefacts have been found, and is now an archaeological park open to the public. A skeleton found at Morel, sometimes known as the "Woman of Guadeloupe", caused a scientific furore in the 19th century, when initial reports suggested that it dated from theMiocene - long before modern humans are thought to have evolved. However, after examining the specimen and the "stone" that it was embedded in,Georges Cuvier concluded that what had been taken for Miocene stone was aconcretion of hardened sand, dating from relatively recent times. Artefacts are still being discovered at the site, and range from 400 BC to 1400 AD.[11][12][13]
Christopher Columbus was the first European to see Guadeloupe, landing in November 1493 and giving it its current name.[4] Several attempts at colonisation by the Spanish in the 16th century failed due to Native peoples defending their land from outsiders.[4] In 1626, the French, under the trader and adventurerPierre Belain d'Esnambuc, began to take an interest in Guadeloupe, expelling Spanish settlers.[4] TheCompagnie des Îles de l'Amérique settled in Guadeloupe in 1635, under the direction of the French colonial leadersCharles Liénard de L'Olive andJean du Plessis d'Ossonville; they formally stole the island for France and brought in French farmers to colonise the land. This led to the death of many Indigenous people by disease and violence.[14] By 1640, however, the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique had gone bankrupt, and they thus sold Guadeloupe toCharles Houël du Petit Pré who beganplantation agriculture, with the first African slaves arriving in 1650.[15][16] Slave resistance was immediately widespread, with an open uprising in 1656 lasting several weeks and a simultaneous spate of mass desertions that lasted at least two years until the French compelled indigenous peoples to stop assisting them.[17] Ownership of the island passed to theFrench West India Company before it was annexed to France in 1674 under the tutelage of their Martinique colony.[4] Institutionalised slavery, enforced by theCode Noir from 1685, led to a booming sugarplantation economy.[18]
During theSeven Years' War,British forcescaptured and occupied the islands until the1763 Treaty of Paris.[4] During that time,Pointe-à-Pitre became a major harbour, and markets inBritish America were opened to Guadeloupean sugar, which was traded for foodstuffs and timber. The economy expanded quickly, creating vast wealth for the French colonists.[19] So prosperous was Guadeloupe at the time that, under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, France forfeited itsCanadian colonies in exchange for the return of Guadeloupe.[15][20] Coffee planting began in the late 1720s,[21] also worked by slaves and, by 1775,cocoa had become a major export product as well.[15]
TheFrench Revolution brought chaos to Guadeloupe. Under new revolutionary law,freedmen were entitled to equal rights. Taking advantage of the chaotic political situation, Britaincaptured Guadeloupe in 1794. The French responded by sending an expeditionary force underVictor Hugues, which retook the colony by December and abolished slavery.[4] More than 1,000 French colonists were killed in the aftermath.[19]
Bust of Louis Delgrès, leader of the 1802 slave rebellion
In 1802, a French expeditionary force underAntoine Richepanse arrived in Guadeloupe, prompting a rebellion led by black officers who had until then been thede facto rulers of the colony.[4] Richepanse and his troops acted quickly against the rebels, culminating in theBattle of Matouba on 28 May 1802. Realising they had no chance of success,Louis Delgrès and his followers committed mass suicide by deliberately exploding their gunpowder stores. A consular decree published on 6 July 1802 discreetly ordered the reestablishment of slavery in Guadeloupe.[22][23] An insurgency against the French, who officially reestablished slavery in Guadeloupe on 14 May 1803, continued until 1804. In 1810, the Britishcaptured the island again, handing it over to Sweden under the1813 Treaty of Stockholm.[24]
Slavery was abolished in the French Empire in 1848,[4] though the island's landed interests imposed strict regulations on the rights of emancipated slaves to "support themselves as subsistence farmers, work irregularly, and to change jobs freely".[25] After 1854,indentured labourers from the French colony ofPondicherry, and, with permission from the British government, India more broadly, were brought in: some 41,000 total.[26][25] Emancipated slaves had the vote from 1849, but French nationality and the vote were not granted to Indian citizens until 1923, when a long campaign, led byHenry Sidambarom, finally achieved success.[27]
Tensions arose in the post-war era over the social structure of Guadeloupe and its relationship with mainland France. The 'Massacre of St Valentine' occurred in 1952, when striking factory workers inLe Moule were shot at by theCompagnies républicaines de sécurité, resulting in four deaths.[31][32][33][34] In May 1967 racial tensions exploded into rioting following a racist attack on a black Guadeloupean, Raphael Balzinc,[35] resulting in eight deaths.[36][37][38][39][40]
In January 2009, labour unions and others known as theLiyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon wenton strike for more pay.[44] Strikers were angry with low wages, the high cost of living, high levels of poverty relative to mainland France and levels of unemployment that are amongst the worst in the European Union.[45] The situation quickly escalated, exacerbated by what was seen as an ineffectual response by the French government, turning violent and prompting the deployment of extra police after a union leader (Jacques Bino) was shot and killed.[46] The strike lasted 44 days and had also inspired similar actions on nearbyMartinique. PresidentNicolas Sarkozy later visited the island, promising reform.[47] Tourism suffered greatly during this time and affected the 2010 tourist season as well.
The two main islands are Basse-Terre (west) andGrande-Terre (east), which form a butterfly shape as viewed from above, the two 'wings' of which are separated by theGrand Cul-de-Sac Marin [ceb;fr;nl;sv],Rivière Salée andPetit Cul-de-Sac Marin [ceb;fr]. More than half of Guadeloupe's land surface consists of the 847.8 km2 (327¼ sq. mi.) Basse-Terre.[4] The island is mountainous, containing the peaks ofMount Sans Toucher (1,354 m; 4,442 ft) andGrande Découverte (1,263 m; 4,143 ft), culminating in the active volcanoLa Grande Soufrière, the highest mountain peak in theLesser Antilles with an elevation of 1,467 metres (4,813 ft).[4][5] In contrast Grande-Terre is mostly flat, with rocky coasts to the north, irregular hills at the centre, mangrove at the southwest, and white sand beaches sheltered bycoral reefs along the southern shore.[5] This is where the main tourist resorts are found.[48]
Marie-Galante is the third-largest island, followed byLa Désirade, a north-east slantedlimestone plateau, the highest point of which is 275 metres (902 ft). To the south lie theÎles de Petite-Terre, which are two islands (Terre de Haut and Terre de Bas) totalling 2 km2 (¾ sq. mi.).[48]
Les Saintes is an archipelago of eight islands of which two,Terre-de-Bas andTerre-de-Haut are inhabited. The landscape is similar to that of Basse-Terre, with volcanic hills and irregular shoreline with deep bays.
Basse-Terre is avolcanic island.[49] The Lesser Antilles are at the outer edge of theCaribbean Plate, and Guadeloupe is part of the outer arc of theLesser Antilles Volcanic Arc. Many of the islands were formed as a result of thesubduction ofoceanic crust of theAtlantic Plate under theCaribbean Plate in theLesser Antilles subduction zone. This process is ongoing and is responsible for volcanic and earthquake activity in the region. Guadeloupe was formed from multiple volcanoes, of which only La Grande Soufrière is not extinct.[50] Its last eruption was in 1976, and led to the evacuation of the southern part of Basse-Terre. 73,600 people were displaced before the eruption, although the eventual damage was much less than feared. Some of the drama of the evacuation was captured in the 1977 documentaryLa Soufrière by German filmmakerWerner Herzog.
K–Ar dating indicates that the three northernmassifs onBasse-Terre Island are 2.79 million years old. Sections of volcanoes collapsed and eroded within the last 650,000 years, after which the Sans Toucher volcano grew in the collapsed area. Volcanoes in the north of Basse-Terre Island mainly producedandesite andbasaltic andesite.[51] There are several beaches of dark or "black" sand.[48]
Grande-Terre and Marie-Galante have basements probably composed of volcanic units ofEocene toOligocene, but there are no visible outcrops. On Grande-Terre, the overlyingcarbonate platform is 120 metres (400 feet) thick.[52]
The islands are part of theLeeward Islands, so called because they are downwind of the prevailingtrade winds, which blow out of the northeast.[4][5] This was significant in the days ofsailing ships. Grande-Terre is so named because it is on the eastern, orwindward side, exposed to the Atlantic winds. Basse-Terre is so named because it is on theleeward south-west side and sheltered from the winds. Guadeloupe has atropical climate tempered by maritime influences and theTrade Winds. There are two seasons, the dry season called "Lent" from January to June, and the wet season called "winter", from July to December.[4]
Located in a very exposed region, Guadeloupe and itsdependencies have to face manycyclones. The deadliest hurricane to hit Guadeloupe was the Pointe-à-Pitre hurricane of 1776, which killed at least 6,000 people.[54]
In 1989,Hurricane Hugo caused severe damage to the islands of the archipelago and left a deep mark on the memory of the local inhabitants. In 1995, three hurricanes (Iris, Luis andMarilyn) hit the archipelago in less than three weeks. Other notable hurricanes includeOkeechobee in 1928,Betsy in 1965,Cleo in 1964,Inez in 1966, andIrma andMaria in 2017.
With fertile volcanic soils, heavy rainfall and a warm climate, vegetation on Basse-Terre is lush.[55] Most of the island's forests are on Basse-Terre, containing such species asmahogany,ironwood andchestnut trees.[4]Mangrove swamps line the Salée River.[4] Much of the forest on Grande-Terre has been cleared, with only a few small patches remaining.[4]
Between 300 and 1,000 metres (980 and 3,280 ft) of altitude, therainforest that covers a large part of the island of Basse-Terre develops. Vegetation there includes the white gum tree, theacomat-boucan or chestnut tree, the marbri or bois-bandé or the oleander; shrubs and herbaceous plants such as the mountain palm, the balisier or ferns; many epiphytes:bromeliads, philodendrons,orchids andlianas. Above 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the humid savannah develops, composed of mosses,lichens, sphagnum or more vigorous plants such as mountainmangrove, high altitude violet or mountain thyme.
Thedry forest occupies a large part of the islands of Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, Les Saintes,La Désirade and also develops on the leeward coast of Basse-Terre. The coastal forest is more difficult to develop because of the nature of the soil (sandy, rocky),salinity, sunshine and wind and is the environment where the sea grape, themancenilla (a very toxic tree whose trunk is marked with a red line), the icaquier or theCoconut tree grow. On thecliffs and in theArid zones are found cacti such as the cactus-cigar (Cereus), the prickly pear, the chestnut cactus, the "Tête à l'anglais" cactus and the aloes.
TheMangrove forest that borders some of Guadalupe's coasts is structured in three levels, from the closest to the sea to the farthest. On the first level are thered mangroves; on the second, about 10 metres (33 ft) from the sea, theblack mangroves form the shrubby mangrove; on the third level the white mangroves form the tall mangrove. Behind the mangrove, where the tide and salt do not penetrate, a swamp forest sometimes develops, unique in Guadeloupe. The representative species of this environment is the Mangrove-medaille.
However, by studying 43,000 bone remains from six islands in thearchipelago, it was found that 50 to 70% of snakes and lizards on the Guadeloupe Islands became extinct after European colonists arrived; they had brought with them mammals such as cats, mongooses, rats, and raccoons, which might have preyed upon the native reptiles.[56]
In recent decades, Guadeloupe's natural environments have been affected by hunting and fishing, forest retreat, urbanization and suburbanization. They also suffer from the development of intensive crops (banana andsugar cane, in particular), which reached their peak in the years 1955–75. This has led to the following situation: seagrass beds andreefs have degraded by up to 50% around the large islands; mangroves andmantids have almost disappeared inMarie-Galante, Les Saintes and La Désirade; thesalinity of the fresh water table has increased due to "the intensity of use of the layer"; and pollution of agricultural origin (pesticides and nitrogenous compounds).[57]
In addition, the ChlEauTerre study, unveiled in March 2018, concludes that 37 differentanthropogenic molecules (more than half of which come from residues of now-banned pesticides, such as chlordecone) were found in "79% of the watersheds analyzed in Grande-Terre and 84% in Basse-Terre." A report by the Guadeloupe Water Office notes that in 2019 there is a "generalizeddegradation of water bodies."
Despite everything, there is a will to preserve theseenvironments whose vegetation andlandscape are preserved in some parts of the islands and constitute a sensitive asset for tourism. These areas are partially protected and classified as ZNIEFF, sometimes with nature reserve status, and several caves are home to protected chiropterans.
La Soufrière Volcano crater and its fumaroles
The GuadalupeNational Park was created on 20 February 1989. In 1992, under the auspices ofUNESCO, theBiosphere Reserve of the Guadeloupe Archipelago (Réserve de biosphère de l'archipel de la Guadeloupe) was created. As a result, on 8 December 1993, the marine site of Grand Cul-de-sac was listed as a wetland of international importance.[58] The island thus became theoverseas department with the mostprotected areas.
The archipelago is crossed by numerousgeological faults such as those of la Barre or la Cadoue, while in depth, in front of Moule andLa Désirade begins the Désirade Fault, and between the north of Maria-Galante and the south of Grande-Terre begins the Maria Galante Fault. Because of these geological characteristics, the islands of the department of Guadeloupe are classified in zone III according to the seismic zoning of France and are subject to a specific risk prevention plan.[59]
The1843 earthquake in theLesser Antilles is, to this day, the most violent earthquake known. It caused the death of more than a thousand people, as well as major damage in Pointe-à-Pitre.
On 21 November 2004, the islands of the department, in particularLes Saintes archipelago, were shaken by a violent earthquake that reached a magnitude of 6.3 on theRichter scale and caused the death of one person, as well as extensive material damage.[60]
Guadeloupe is home to 100waterfalls and cascades.[61] Some of the most well-known or visited includeAcomat Falls (Saut de l'Acomat),Carbet Falls (Chutes du Carbet),Crayfish Waterfall (Cascade aux Écrevisses), andLézarde Falls (Saut de la Lézarde). All of the waterfalls are located on the island of Basse-Terre.[61]
The population of Guadeloupe has been decreasing by 0.8% per year since 2013.[71] In 2017 the average population density in Guadeloupe was 240 inhabitants per square kilometre (620/sq mi), which is very high in comparison to metropolitan France's average of 119 inhabitants per square kilometre (310/sq mi).[72] One third of the land is devoted to agriculture and all mountains are uninhabitable; this lack of space and shelter makes the population density even higher.
The most populousurban unit (agglomeration) isPointe-à-Pitre-Les Abymes, which covers 11 communes and 65% of the population of the department.[73] The three largest urban units are:[74]
In 2011,life expectancy at birth was recorded at 77.0 years for males and 83.5 for females.[75]
Medical centres in Guadeloupe include: University Hospital Centre (CHU) in Pointe-à-Pitre, Regional Hospital Centre (CHR) in Basse-Terre, and four hospitals located in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Pointe-Noire, Bouillante and Saint-Claude.[76]
TheInstitut Pasteur de la Guadeloupe, is located in Pointe-à-Pitre and is responsible for researching environmental hygiene, vaccinations, and the spread oftuberculosis and othermycobacteria.[77]
The relative wealth of Guadeloupe contrasts with theextreme poverty of several islands in theCaribbean region, which makes the community an attractive place for the populations of some of these territories.[78] In addition, other factors, such as political instability and natural disasters, explain this immigration. As early as the 1970s, the first illegal immigrants ofHaitian origin arrived in Guadeloupe to meet a need for labour in the agricultural sector; alongside thisHaitian immigration, which is more visible because it is more numerous, Guadeloupe has also seen the arrival and settlement of populations from the island of Dominica and the Dominican Republic. In 2005, the prefecture, which represents the State in Guadeloupe, reported figures of between 50,000 and 60,000 foreigners in the department.[79]
Created in 1963 byMichel Debré, Bumidom's objective was to "[...] contribute to the solution of demographic problems in the overseas departments". To this end, its missions were multiple: information for future emigrants, vocational training, family reunification and management of reception centres. At the time, this project was also seen as a means to diminish the influence of theWest Indian independence movements, which were gaining strength in the 1960s.[80]
Between 1963 and 1981, an estimated 16,562 Guadeloupeans emigrated tometropolitan France through Bumidom. The miniseries Le Rêve français (The French Dream) sets out to recount some of the consequences of the emigration of West Indians and Reunionese to France.
An estimated 50,000 Guadeloupeans and Martinicans participated in the construction of thePanama Canal between 1904 and 1914. In 2014, it was estimated that there were between 60,000 and 70,000 descendants of these West Indians living in Panama.[81] Other waves of migration to North America, especially to Canada, occurred at the beginning of the 20th century.
Legislative powers are centred on the separatedepartmental andregional councils.[4] The elected president of theDepartmental Council of Guadeloupe is currently Guy Losbar (1 July 2021); its main areas of responsibility include the management of a number of social and welfare allowances, of junior high school (collège) buildings and technical staff, and local roads and school and rural buses. TheRegional Council of Guadeloupe is a body, elected every six years, consisting of a president (currentlyAry Chalus) and eight vice-presidents. The regional council overseessecondary education, regional transportation, economic development, the environment, and some infrastructure, among other things.
Theprefecture (regional capital) of Guadeloupe isBasse-Terre. Local services of the state administration are traditionally organised at departmental level, where theprefect represents the government.[4]
For the purposes of local government, Guadeloupe is divided into32 communes.[4] Each commune has a municipal council and a mayor. Revenues for the communes come from transfers from the French government, and local taxes. Administrative responsibilities at this level include water management, civil register, and municipal police.
From ageostrategic point of view, Guadeloupe is located in a central part of theCaribbean archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean and theCaribbean Sea. This location in the region allows France to reach a large part of the eastern coast of theAmerican continent. Theexclusive economic zone formed by Guadeloupe andMartinique covers just over 126,146 square kilometres (48,705 sq. mi.).[83] In 1980 France established its maritime boundaries in the area by signing a Treaty withVenezuela.[84]
This offers France important fishing resources and independence to develop a sovereign policy of underwater research and protection (protection ofhumpback whales, Cousteau reserve, protection ofcoral reefs). Because of its geographical position, Guadeloupe allows France to participate in political and diplomatic dialogues at both the regional (Lesser andGreater Antilles) and continental (Latin and North America) levels.[85]
The signing of the Regional Convention for the Internationalisation of Enterprise (CRIE), membership of theEconomic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and membership of theAssociation of Caribbean States (ACS) are milestones that have enabled Guadeloupe to develop its bilateral or multilateral relations within the framework of international agreements or institutions. The development of bilateral and multilateral economic partnerships with other Caribbean and American states is based on the modernisation of the autonomous port of Guadeloupe and the importance of the Guadeloupe-Polo Caribe international airport.
Plage de Pompierre, one of the many beaches on Guadeloupe that draw in touristsBanana plantations on Basse-Terre
The economy of Guadeloupe depends on tourism, agriculture,light industry andservices.[5] It is reliant upon mainland France for large subsidies and imports and public administration is the largest single employer on the islands.[4][5] Unemployment is especially high among the youth population.[5]
In 2017, the Gross domestic product (GDP) of Guadeloupe was €9.079 billion, and showed 3.4% growth. TheGDP per capita of Guadeloupe was €23,152.[89] Imports amounted to €3.019 billion, and exports to €1.157 billion. The main export products are bananas, sugar and rum. Banana exports suffered in 2017 from damages due toHurricane Irma andHurricane Maria.[89]
Tourism is one of the most prominent sources of income, with most visitors coming from France and North America.[5] An increasingly large number of cruise ships visit Guadeloupe, the cruise terminal of which is in Pointe-à-Pitre.[90] The popular British-French television seriesDeath in Paradise (2011-2025) has helped to increase tourism in Guadeloupe.[91] The show is set in the fictional Caribbean island of "Saint Marie", but the main filming for the show is done in the commune ofDeshaies, onBasse-Terre Island in Guadaloupe.
Of the various light industries, sugar andrum production, solar energy, cement, furniture and clothing are the most prominent.[4] Most manufactured goods and fuel are imported.
Guadeloupean Creole emerged as a result of the need for all ethnic groups (French, African and Amerindian) to be able to understand each other.[93] This language is therefore the result of a mixture created in the 17th century in response to a communicative emergency. At the time of the colony's foundation, a majority of the French population did not speak the standard French language but local dialects and languages, such asBreton andNorman, while the Africans came from a variety of West and Central African ethnic groups and lacked a common language themselves. The Creole language emerged as a lingua franca and ultimately became the native language of much of the population.
Moreover, Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas, in the Saintesarchipelago, due to their settlement history (Breton, Norman and Poitevin settlers), have their own Creoles which differ from Guadeloupean Creole by their French pronunciations, their particular expressions, their syntax and their sonorities. Although it is not transcribed, these islanders call their Creole "patois" or "language of St. Martin" and actively ensure its transmission and perpetuation by their descendants in vernacular form.
Warning sign written in Guadeloupe Creole
A Guadeloupeanbéké first wrote Creole at the end of the 17th century, transcribing it usingFrench orthography.
As Guadeloupe is a French department, French is theofficial language. However, Guadeloupean French (in contact with Creole) has certain linguistic characteristics that differ from those of standard metropolitan French. Recently, a very detailed study of the phonetic aspect of Guadeloupean French has been undertaken (this would be the first study to deal with both the acoustic and the phonological and perceptual aspects of Guadeloupean French in particular and West Indian French in general). It is also concerned with the reading varieties of Guadeloupean French (acrolect,mesolect andbasilect).
In recent decades there has been a revival of Creole, which has stimulated the appearance of books of short stories and poetry published in Creole and French over the last ten years. In this context, Hector Poullet is a pioneer of Creole-mediated dictation. Creole is also a very colourful language and very philosophical in its expressions and phrases, which, translated literally into French, can be confusing. The representatives of the older generations are not always fluent in French, but in Guadeloupean Creole.
Today, the question as to whether French and Creole are stable in Guadeloupe, i.e. whether both languages are practiced widely and competently throughout society, remains a subject of active research.[94]
In 1685, theBlack Code announced theChristian religion in itsCatholic form as the only authorized religion in theFrench West Indies, thus excluding Jews and the various Protestant groups from practicing their beliefs, and imposed the forcedconversion of the newly arrived slaves and the baptism of the older ones. Guadeloupe adopted the code on 10 December 1685.[98]
Administratively, the territory of Guadeloupe is part of the Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre, attached to the Catholic Church in France.[101] The diocese includes the territories of Guadeloupe, St. Barthélemy and St. Martin and the number of faithful is estimated at 400,000. In 2020 there were 59 priests active in the diocese.[102] The episcopal see is located in Basse-Terre, in the cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Guadeloupe.[103][citation needed]
Hinduism, which accompanied the Indians who came to work in Guadeloupe in the mid-19th century, has expanded since the 1980s. The Indian community has its own tradition that comes from India. It is the mayé men, a distorted pronunciation of the name of the Tamil Indian goddess Mariamman. There are no less than 400 temples in the archipelago.
Islam was first Institutionalized in the French West Indies by the 1970s, first in Martinique.[104] According to the president of the Muslim association of Guadeloupe, there are between 2,500 and 3,000Muslims in the department. The island has two mosques.[104] Judaism has been present in Guadeloupe since the arrival ofDutch settlers expelled from the northeast of present-day Brazil in 1654. There is a synagogue and an Israelite cultural community.[105] Guadeloupeans of Syrian and Lebanese origin practice Catholicism in itsMaronite form.Rastafari has been attractive to some young people since the 1970s following its emergence inJamaica. The quimbois or kenbwa, practiced in Guadeloupe, refer to magical-religious practices derived from Christian and African syncretism.[106]
Music and dance are also very popular, and the interaction of African, French and Indian cultures[107] has given birth to some original new forms specific to the archipelago, most notablyzouk music.[108] Since the 1970s, Guadeloupean music has increasingly claimed the local language, Guadeloupean Creole as the preferred language of popular music. Islanders enjoy many local dance styles includingzouk,zouk-love,compas, as well as the modern international genres such as hip hop, etc.
Traditional Guadeloupean music includesbiguine,kadans,cadence-lypso, andgwo ka. Popular music artists and bands such asExperience 7,Francky Vincent,Kassav' (which included Patrick St-Eloi, and Gilles Floro) embody the more traditional music styles of the island, whilst other musical artists such as the punk band The Bolokos[109] or Tom Frager focus on more international genres such as rock orreggae. Many international festivals take place in Guadeloupe, such as the Creole Blues Festival onMarie-Galante.[citation needed] All the Euro-French forms of art are also ubiquitous, enriched by other communities from Brazil,Dominican Republic,Haiti, India,Lebanon,Syria who have migrated to the islands.
Classical music has seen a resurgent interest in Guadeloupe. One of the first known composers of African origin was born in Guadeloupe,Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a contemporary ofJoseph Haydn andWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a celebrated figure in Guadeloupe. Several monuments and cites are dedicated to Saint-Georges in Guadeloupe, and there is an annual music festival,Festival International de Musique Saint-Georges, dedicated in his honour.[110] The festival attracts classical musicians from all over the world and is one of the largest classical music festivals in the Caribbean.[111]
Carnival of Guadeloupe
Another element of Guadeloupean culture is its dress. A few women (particularly of the older generation) wear a unique style of traditional dress, with many layers of colourful fabric, now only worn on special occasions.[citation needed] On festive occasions they also wore a madras (originally a "kerchief" from South India) headscarf tied in many different symbolic ways, each with a different name. The headdress could be tied in the "bat" style, or the "firefighter" style, as well as the "Guadeloupean woman".[citation needed] Jewellery, mainly gold, is also important in the Guadeloupean lady's dress, a product of European, African and Indian inspiration.[citation needed]
Traditional dress,[112] inherited today, is the result of a long cultural mix involving Africa, Asia and Europe. This cultural mix was initially based on triangular trade and later on a more globalized trade that included importing fabrics from the Orient. trade that included importing fabrics from the Orient. For example, the traditional Guadeloupean costume has Asian influences through the use of madras cloth from India; African andSpanish influences through the use of the headscarf for covering; andFrench influences through the adoption of the lace petticoat fromBrittany.
The clothing worn in Guadeloupe has mutated over the centuries and has undergone changes that reflect the social conditions and the evolution of society, from the time of slavery to the present day. During the second half of the 17th century, slaves arriving in Guadeloupe were naked or nearlynaked. They were then forced to wear rags or the owner's worn-out clothes, which were quickly discarded, barely concealing their nakedness.[112] Orslaves working in the fields wore the "three-hole" dress, made of a vegetable fiber fabric in which three holes were made (two for the arms and one for the head). Under pressure from the church and the authorities, slaves were forced to wear the "three-hole" dress.
Under pressure from the church and as soon as theBlack Code was enforced in 1685, owners were required to provide "each slave with two suits of cloth or four alders [about 7.5 m2; 81 sq ft] of cloth a year... art.25" which only modestly improved their conditions. However, the poor quality of the clothing worn during slavery must be qualified, as it could vary according to the day of the week (daily clothing, Sunday clothing, clothing for special occasions), or according to the status of the slaves employed in the houses.
In fact, the latter could be dressed in clothes of different quality according to the job they performed on theproperty. For example, in the case of the maids, their clothes could be of better quality because they had to reflect the image of success and wealth that their master wanted to project.
From the 17th century onwards, the development of theCreole costume coincided with the desire of slave women to regain their dignity, with the evolution of their employment within the household or Guadeloupean society (specialization in the sewing and dressmaking trades), with the evolution of Guadeloupean society (free women of colour, freed slaves, mulatto women) and with the influence of the European fashionable costume, which the housewife represented.
After the abolition of slavery, the main periods of traditional Guadeloupean dress were the following:
1848 to 1930, establishment of the use of the costume;[113]
From 1930 to 1950, significant decrease in the use of the traditional costume;
From 1950 to 1960, period in which the traje becomes a "folkloric" garment;
From 1960 to the present, the traditional costume has been recovered and is valued both as an everyday garment and as a sign of attachment to the culture of Guadalupe. Today, many designers are inspired by the traditional costume to make some of their creations.[113]
As a result of this fusion of African and European dress codes over the centuries, including materials from distant origins, the Guadeloupean wardrobe includes Creole garments such as: the cozy dress or wòb ti-do, an everyday dress also called "à corps" because it fits the body like a corset; the skirt-shirt, in ceremonial dress (the shirt is made of very fine batiste trimmed with lace, which stops at the elbows and is buttoned with golden buttons. Theskirt, full and very wide in the back with tail, is knotted above the breasts); the bodice dress which is distinguished from the others by the quantity and richness of the fabric used (satin, brocade satin, satin).
The traditional headdress, worn with or without the women's traditional costume, is the subject of a precise codification:[114]
The "tête chaudière" is the ceremonialheaddress with a round, flat shape, topped with a spiked knot;La fête des cuisinières
The four-pointed headdress (headdress with four knots) means "my heart has room for whoever wants it!";
The three-pointed headdress means "my heart is taken!";
The two-pointed headdress means "my heart is compromised, but you can try your luck!";
The one-ended headdress means "my heart is free!"[114]
Guadeloupeancuisine is a mixture of African, European and Asian influences.[115] It uses first of all agricultural products such as poyo (plantain more commonly called green plantain or ti-nain), bread plantain, okra,cabbage, pigeon peas, cristofine, yam or sweet potato.
The sea and rivers provide rays, snappers, octopus (chatou), lambis, burgots (a type of large whelk), sea urchins and ouassous. Orchards provide fruits such as soursop, red jambosier,passion fruit (marakoudja),mango, quenette, and citrus. Condiments sometimes added to dishes are habanero chili, cive (a kind of onion from the country) or roucou seeds that give a red tint to sauces.
The cooking, oftenspicy and seasoned, results from soaking meat or fish for hours before cooking, to enhance its flavour. Typical dishes are: fish blaff, dombrés, bébélé (from Marie-Galante),[115] colombo (equivalent to Indian curry) and matété (rice cooked with crab). As for appetizers or snacks, there are morcillas criollas, accras, cassava cakes and bokit.
As for desserts, there are blancmange, sorbets or various fruit salads. Pastries include pâtés with jam, tournament d'amour (in Les Saintes), caca bœuf (in Marie-Galante)[116] or sacristain.Pain natté, a local brioche bread, is often eaten.
There are local productions of candied fruits (elderberry,pineapple, carambola) and jams (guava, banana, coconut). Sorbets such as coconut sherbet or snowball made with crushed ice to which a syrup (mint, grenadine) is added are also consumed. Sweets includecoconut sugar, kilibibi and konkada (of Beninese origin).
Darse Market, Pointe-à-Pitre
In the category ofbeverages, the consumption of soft drinks is very important in Guadeloupe, as well as that of a drink locally nicknamed black beer. In addition, it is not uncommon to see vendors of sugar cane juice or coconut water on the roads. Chaudeau is consumed on special occasions (weddings, baptisms, communions) and is a Guadeloupean-style eggnog eaten with a whipped cake (génoise). Therum, whose consumption is culturally imbricated in the Guadeloupean society, comes in particular from one of the ten distilleries distributed in the Guadeloupean territory and that produce the rums of Guadeloupe.
At Christmas, families and friends gather during the chanté Nwel, an opportunity to singcarols and celebrate. After thevacations, rehearsals begin for the Guadeloupe carnival. Carnival groups parade through the streets every Sunday afternoon until the Carnival festivities in February or March. For example, the groups with skins, the Akiyo group are groups composed only of large percussion and lambi shell instruments. They have the particularity of having no brass instruments in the band, no choreography, they often parade without themed costumes. Since 2014, the Carnival in kabwèt of Marie-Galante has been registered in the inventory of theintangible heritage of France atUNESCO.[117]
Shrove Tuesday is the big party where carnival groups compete in the main town,Basse-Terre, or in Pointe-à-Pitre, for the best costumes, the best music or the best choreography whose theme is imposed by the carnival committees. The next day, on Ash Wednesday, the day that ends the carnival, the mascot king of the carnival nicknamed Vaval is burned, which signals the end of the festivities, everyone parades in black and white (to mark Vaval's mourning), and then the forty days of Lent begin. Most of the population isCatholic and respects this period. But, given the great fondness for festivities, on the "Thursday of Lent" a parade is organized in red and black identical to that of Carnival, with groups of musicians preceded by people parading.
After this period of deprivation, the Easter celebrations take place, during which families usually go camping on the beach and eat traditional and very popular dishes based on crabs: matété (rice cooked with crab), calalou (crabs with wooden leaves accompanied by white rice) or dombrés with crabs (small balls of flour cooked with crab).
The island is internationally known for hosting the Karujet Race – Jet Ski World Championship since 1998. This nine-stage, four-day event attracts competitors from around the world (mostly Caribbeans, Americans, and Europeans). The Karujet, generally made up of seven races around the island, has an established reputation as one of the most difficult championships in which to compete.
TheRoute du Rhum is one of the most prominent nautical French sporting events, occurring every four years.
BodybuilderSerge Nubret was born inAnse-Bertrand,Grande-Terre, representing the French state in various bodybuilding competitions throughout the 1960s and 1970s including theIFBB'sMr. Olympia contest, taking 3rd place every year from 1972 to 1974, and 2nd place in 1975.[119] BodybuilderMarie-Laure Mahabir also hails from Guadeloupe.
The country has a passion for cycling. It hosted the French Cycling Championships in 2009 and continues to host theTour de Guadeloupe every year. TheVélodrome Amédée Détraux is the largestvelodrome in theAntilles. It has a capacity for 9000 spectators.
Guadeloupe continues to host the OrangeOpen de Guadeloupe tennis tournament (since 2011).
The Tour of Guadeloupe sailing, which was founded in 1981.
In Boxing,Ludovic Proto – as an amateur, he competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics in the men's light welterweight division. As a professional, he was a former French and European welterweight champion;
Gilbert Delé – as a professional, he was a former French and European light-middleweight champion, then he won the WBA world light-middleweight title in 1991;
Jean-Marc Mormeck – as a professional, he was a former French light heavyweight champion and two-time unified world cruiserweight champion—held the WBA, WBC, andThe Ring titles twice between 2005 and 2007.
Guadeloupe is served by a number ofairports; most international flights usePointe-à-Pitre International Airport.[4] Boats and cruise ships frequent the islands, using the ports at Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre.[4]
On 9 September 2013 the county government voted in favour of constructing a tramway inPointe-à-Pitre. The first phase will link northernAbymes to downtown Pointe-à-Pitre by 2019. The second phase, scheduled for completion in 2023, will extend the line to serve the university.[120]
The Guadeloupe academic region includes only the Guadeloupe academy. It employs 9,618 people and its operating budget was €714.3 million for 2018–2019. The territory has 300 elementary schools, including 1 privatekindergarten under contract and 14 private elementary schools under contract. It also has 52 middle schools, including 6 private under contract. And finally, it has 38 high schools, 13 of which are private under contract.[121]
During the 2018–2019 school year were enrolled at Guadeloupe Academy:
The Basse-Terre Nord Pole[123] (Baie-Mahault, Capesterre-Belle-Eau and Sainte-Rose);
The South Pole of Basse-Terre:[123] Basse-Terre and Bouillante (including the islands of Les Saintes);
The North Pole of Grande-Terre:[123] Grande-Terre Nord, Sainte-Anne and Saint-François (including the islands of La Désirade and Marie-Galante);
The South Pole of Grande-Terre:[123] Les Abymes, Gosier and Pointe-à-Pitre.
The islands of Guadeloupe are also home to two campuses of theUniversity of the French Antilles, Camp-Jacob inSaint-Claude and Fouillole inPointe-à-Pitre, the latter being the headquarters of the institution.[124] Student residences are located around each campus. Furthermore, a satellite campus dedicated to healthcare is located in the vicinity of theUniversity Hospital Centre of Pointe-à-Pitre [fr], many schools for apprentices are located throughout the archipelago, an Arts and Crafts Centre acting as local school for fine art is located in Bergevin,Pointe-à-Pitre, and, finally, three sites of the regional second chance school are implanted in various high schools.[124]
The island has great potential for solar, wind and marine energy, but by 2018,biomass and coal energy and petroleum hydrocarbons are still the most used.
Bouillante geothermal power plant, Guadeloupe
TheEnergy transition Law (TECV) provides for 50% renewable energy by 2020 in the territory. And the Guadeloupe EPP plans to develop 66 MW of additional biomass capacity between 2018 and 2023, including 43 MW to replace coal.
For example, theAlbioma Caraïbes (AC) coal-fired power plant will be converted to biomass to help increase the share ofrenewables in Guadeloupe's energy mix from 20.5% to 35%, thereby mitigating the island's dependence on fossil fuels and reducing acidic air pollution and the production of toxic and bottom ash.[125]
This 34 MW power plant, producing 260 GWh/year of electricity in 2018 (i.e. 15% of the island's needs), should reduce 265 000 t ofCO2 equivalent/year throughout the chain (−87% once converted to biomass compared to the previous situation, coal).
Guadeloupe has an electricity production plant, in Le Moule, based on the sugar cane agricultural sector, which recovers the residues from sugar cane crushing (bagasse) to produce energy; 12 wind farms, such as in Désirade, Le Moule or Marie-Galante; a geothermal power plant in Bouillante, which uses the energy of water vapor produced by volcanic activity (the plant's electricity production ranks it first nationally); a project to harness the energy of waves and ocean currents; photovoltaic installations that contribute to the operation of solar water heaters for homes and to the development of the electric vehicle sector.[126]
Electricity produced byhydropower, which represents 2.2% of total production, comes from dams built on the beds of certain rivers.
The water distributed by Guadeloupe'sdrinking water network comes mainly from Basse Terre, 70% from river intakes and 20% from spring catchments. The remaining 10% comes from boreholes tapping the groundwater of Grande Terre and Marie-Galante.
Access to water andsanitation is problematic due to the deteriorated state of the network, which causes many losses in the water supply system. For years, water shortages have been recurrent and have forced "water shifts", mainly in the municipalities ofGrande-Terre, which are the most affected, with consequences for private individuals and agricultural activities.
According to statistics from the Water Office (2020 data), 61% of drinking water production is wasted, i.e., almost 50 million cubic metres (65 million cu. yd.) of water per year, due to pipes in poor condition. In addition, 70% of wastewater treatment plants do not meet standards.[127]
Although Guadeloupe is one of the safest islands in the Caribbean,[128] it was the mostviolent overseas Frenchdepartment in 2016.[129] The murder rate is significantly higher than that of Paris, at 8.2 per 100,000. The high level of unemployment caused violence and crime to rise, especially in 2009 and 2010, the years following theGreat Recession.[130] Residents of Guadeloupe describe the island as a place with little everyday crime, and most violence is caused by the drug trade or domestic disputes.[128] In 2021, additional police officers were deployed to the island in the face of rioting arising out of COVID-19 restrictions.[131]
Normally, about 2,000 police officers are present on the island including some 760 activeNational Gendarmerie of the COMGEND (Gendarmerie Command of Guadeloupe) region plus around 260 reservists. The active Gendarmerie include three Mobile Gendarmerie Squadrons (EGM) and aRepublican Guard Intervention Platoon (PIGR).[132] TheMaritime Gendarmerie deploys the patrol boatViolette in the territory, which is planned for replacement by a new PCG-NG patrol boat in about 2025–2026.[133][134]
^Siegel et al –Analyse préliminaire de prélèvements sédimentaires en provenance de Marie-Galante. Bilan scientifique 2006–2008. Service régional de l’archéologie Guadeloupe- Saint-Martin – Saint-Barthélemy 2009.
^La Guadeloupe: renseignements sur l'histoire, la flore, la faune, la géologie, la minéralogie, l'agriculture, le commerce, l'industrie, la législation, l'administration, Volume 1, Partie 2, de Jules Ballet (Imprimerie du gouvernement, 1895) (in French)
^Lindqvist, Herman (2015).Våra kolonier: de vi hade och de som aldrig blev av (in Swedish). Albert Bonniers Förlag. p. 232.ISBN9789100155346.
^abElizabeth Heath, ‘Citizens of the Empire? Indentured Labor, Global Capitalism and the Limits of French Republicanism in Colonial Guadeloupe’, in John Donoghue and Evelyn P. Jennings (eds.),Building the Atlantic empires: unfree labor and imperial states in the political economy of capitalism, ca. 1500-1914, (Leiden & Boston, 2015), 165
^"Guadeloupe"(PDF).Institut de physique du globe de Paris. Universite de Paris.Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 November 2006. Retrieved17 April 2019.
^Samper, A.; Quidelleur, X.; Lahitte, P.; Mollex, D. (2007). "Timing of effusive volcanism and collapse events within an oceanic arc island: Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe archipelago (Lesser Antilles Arc)".Earth and Planetary Science Letters.258 (1–2):175–191.Bibcode:2007E&PSL.258..175S.doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.030.
^"Guadeloupe".Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved12 December 2018.
^Corentin Bochaton; et al. (2021). "Large-scale reptile extinctions following European colonization of the Guadeloupe Islands". Vol. 7, no. 21. Science Advances.doi:10.1126/sciadv.abg2111.
^Un rapport s’alarme de « la dégradation généralisée » des masses d’eau en Guadeloupe,Le Monde, 10 septembre 2019
^ab"Waterfalls".Les îles de Guadeloupe (Guadeloupe Islands). Comité du Tourisme des Îles de Guadeloupe (Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Board). Archived fromthe original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved11 December 2024.
^étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires."La France et les Caraïbes".France Diplomatie – Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (in French).Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved8 July 2021.
^Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin, eds. (2002).Religions of the World(PDF) (Vol 1 ed.). ABC Clio.ISBN1-57607-223-1.Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023.
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