Although Pointe-à-Pitre is not Guadeloupe's administrative capital (that distinction goes toBasse-Terre), it is nonetheless the region's economic capital. The inhabitants are called "Pointois". In 2018, it had a population of 15,410 in the city (commune) of Pointe-à-Pitre proper and 250,952 inhabitants in theurban unit Pointe-à-Pitre–Les Abymes.[2] It is part of themetropolitan area of Les Abymes.
Pointe-à-Pitre is situated on the southwest portion of the island ofGrande-Terre, facing the Caribbean Sea; it lies in the centre of Guadeloupe, and is near the Rivière Salée ("Salt River"), which separates Grande-Terre fromBasse-Terre Island. The town of Pointe-à-Pitre is surrounded by the communes ofLes Abymes,Baie-Mahault andLe Gosier. Pointe-à-Pitre is on alimestone plateau, which was a factor for the construction of the city. The bay, Petit Cul-de-Sac Marin, offers a sheltered port.
The name Pointe-à-Pitre, literally the "headland of Pitre", is popularly believed to derive from a Dutch sailor/fisherman called "Pieter", who may have settled in the 17th century on a promontory facing theÎlet à Cochon ("Hogs Islet"), just to the south of today's downtown Pointe-à-Pitre. The promontory came to be called "Pointe-à-Pieter" (the "headland of Peter") and later "Pointe-à-Pitre". However, this theory is now questioned by linguists, with a derivation from the Spanish word "pitera", meaning a type of rope made from agave, suggested as the true etymon of "pitre".[4]
French colonial authorities had long thought about establishing a city on the current location of Pointe-à-Pitre, at the junction of Guadeloupe's two main 'island' districts (Basse-Terre Island andGrande Terre), but several attempts around 1713-1730 failed due to the insalubrious swampy ground.
Plan of Pointe-à-Pitre (1843)
During theBritish occupation of Guadeloupe (1759–1763) a settlement appeared on a hill overlooking the swamps. After the return of Guadeloupe to France in 1763, the city of Pointe-à-Pitre was officially founded under governorGabriel de Clieu in 1764 by royal edict, and the swamps where downtown Pointe-à-Pitre stands today were drained in the following years, thus allowing the urban development of the city.
The development of the city was relatively rapid, partly thanks to thecorsairs. In 1780, however, a great fire entirely destroyed the city. Sixty-three years later, in 1843, it was again destroyed by anearthquake. The history of Pointe-à-Pitre is marked by many disasters: the fires of 1850, 1871 and 1931, the earthquakes of 1851 and 1897 and thehurricanes of 1865 and 1928. The city also experienced several epidemics ofcholera. Its location and large sheltered port have nonetheless allowed Pointe-à-Pitre to become Guadeloupe's largest city and economic capital.
On theKöppen climate classification, Pointe-à-Pitre is on the border betweentropical monsoon climate (Am) andtropical rainforest climate (Af). Like any other Eastern Caribbean city, it experiences rainfall quite evenly spread during the year, with a wetter season between July and November which coincides withthe hurricane season. The city receives 1500–2000 mm of rainfall annually. Tropical heat is the norm, bringing steady highs of around 32 °C (89 °F) that drop to 20 °C (68 °F) at night.
Climate data forAbymes adjacent to Pointe-à-Pitre (Le Raizet Airport) 1981–2010 averages, extremes 1950–present
The tinycommune (municipality) of Pointe-à-Pitre is the center of a largerurban area covering 11 communes.[9] This urban area – with 250,952 inhabitants at the 2018 census,[2] representing 65% of the population – is the largest in Guadeloupe and one of the largest among French Overseas territories and departments.
The eleven communes making up the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre,[9] with their populations in 2017,[10] are:
Les Abymes: 53,491 (Les Abymes being the most populated commune in the urban area and indeed in Guadeloupe, the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre is also often called the "Pointe-à-Pitre-Les Abymes" urban area)
Baie-Mahault: 30,929 (the location of the urban area's main seaport and largest industrial park in the Lesser Antilles)
Pointe-à-Pitre: 15,923 (the historic, commercial and administrative heart of the urban area; facing competition from its suburbs, the congested commune of Pointe-à-Pitre has been losing businesses and inhabitants in the past years)
The city is the commercial capital of Guadeloupe, serving as the main port of call for cargo and passengers alike. The main seaport is the Port de Jarry located across the Bay of Cul-de-Sac Marin in thecommune (municipality) ofBaie-Mahault. It has one of the biggest container terminals in the Eastern Caribbean with a quay 600m[11] long. The main exports are food crops (bananas, cocoa, coffee and sugar), animal products (beef, milk, yogurt) and manufactured goods (refined petroleum, textiles and medicines). The extensive Zone Industrielle de Jarry, directly west of Pointe-à-Pitre is a major centre of commercial and light industrial activity, notably for warehousing and distribution. Agricultural production continues in the east of the area where cattle rearing, banana and sugarcane growing continues. The nearby suburb ofLe Gosier is Guadeloupe's main seaside resort.
Seventy percent of residents of Pointe-à-Pitre resided in subsidizedpublic housing in 2009.[12]
Various elements of the civil and religious heritage of the municipality were built by the architectAli Tur between 1930 and 1935 in a major works initiative by various institutions after the1928 Okeechobee hurricane. He realized thepalais de justice de Pointe-à-Pitre, the hospice hospital on the island, the fish hall, several schools, and the fire station.[22]
^"Le Raizet Aero (971)"(PDF).Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved29 March 2018.
.svg)
