guadeloupe

an island territory of France located in the eastern West Indies

tourism is the major industry

Guadeloupe is an archipelago in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a total area of 1,702 km². It is an overseas ''département'' (''département d'outre-mer, or DOM'') of France. Like the other DOMs, Guadeloupe is also one of the 26 ''Région in Francerégions'' (''région d'outre-mer'') of France, and an integral part of the Republic.

History - 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 Mary, mother of JesusVirgin Mary venerated at the SpainSpanish Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupemonastery of Villuercas, in Guadalupe, Extremadura.The French took possession of the island in 1635 and wiped out many of the Carib. It was annexed to France in 1674. Over the next century, the island was seized several times by the United KingdomBritish. One indication of Guadeloupe's prosperity at this time is that in the Treaty of Paris (1763)Treaty of Paris (1763), France abandoned 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, the nearby island of Saint-Barthélemy, but merely a year later Sweden left the island to France in the Treaty of Paris (1814)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 a blend of Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Indians.Guadeloupe became an overseas ''département'' of France on March 19, 1946. A local independence movement has been involved occasionally in acts of violence against the French government in order to achieve its aims.

Geography - ]] ''Main Article: Geography of Guadeloupe''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 juridiction of Guadeloupe. On December 7, 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity. statoids.com

Demographics - Population: 426,493 (July 2000 est.)Age structure:
''0-14 years25% (male 54,603; female 52,339)
''15-64 years66% (male 139,640; female 142,706)
''65 years and over9% (male 15,647; female 21,558) (2000 est.)Population growth rate:1.11% (2000 est.)Birth rate:17.25 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)Death rate:6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)Net migration rate:-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)Sex ratio:
''at birth1.05 !male(s)/female
''unde r? 15 years1.04 !male(s)/female
''15-6 4? years0.98 male(s)/female
''65 years and over0.73 !male(s)/female
''tota l? population0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)Infant mortality rate:9.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)Life expectancy at birth:
''total population76.99 years
''male73.82 years
''female80.3 years (2000 est.)Total fertility rate:1.93 children born/woman (2000 est.)Nationality:!
''nounGuadeloupia n(s)
''adjectiveGu adeloupeEthnic groups:blacksblack or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, LebanonLebanese, ChinaChinese less than 5%Religions:Roman CatholicismRoman Catholic 95%, HinduismHindu and paganismpagan African mythologyAfrican 4%, ProtestantismProtestant 1%Languages:French languageFrench (official) 99%, Creole languageCreole patoisLiteracy:
''definitionage 15 and over can read and write
''total !population90%
''ma le90%
''female9 0(1982 est.)

Politics - Politics of Guadeloupe CIA National holiday: National Day, Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)Constitution:28 September 1958 (French Constitution)Legal system:French legal systemSuffrage:18 years of age; universalExecutive branch:
''chief of statePresident Jacques Chirac of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique Vian (since 6 August 2002)
''head of governmentPresident of the General Council Jacques Gillot (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Lucette Michaux-Chevry (since 22 March 1992) !
''cabinetNA
''electionsFrench? 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 resultsNALegislative 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 22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004)
''election resultsGeneral 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 - RPR 48.03%, PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 24.49%, PCG 5.29%, diverse right parties 5.73%; seats by party - RPR 25, PS/PPDG/diverse left parties 12, PCG 2, diverse right parties 2
''noteGuadeloupe elects two representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPR 1, FGPS 1; Guadeloupe elects four representatives to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May - 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FGPS 2, RPR 1, PPDG 1Judicial branch:Court of Appeal or ''Cour d'Appel'' with jurisdiction over Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Martinique.Political parties and leaders:

Communist Party of Guadeloupe or PCG Christian Celeste

FGPS Dominique Larifla

Progressive Democratic Party or PPDG Henri Bangou

Rally for the Republic or RPR Aldo Blaise

Socialist Party or PS Georges Louisor

Union for French Democracy or UDF Marcel Esdras Political pressure groups and leaders:

Christian Movement for the Liberation of Guadeloupe or KLPG

General Federation of Guadeloupe Workers or CGT-G

General Union of Guadeloupe Workers or UGTG

Movement for Independent Guadeloupe or MPGIInternational organisation participation:FZ, WCL, WFTU'''''See Also:'''''

Colonial and Departmental Heads of Guadeloupe

Economy - ''Main article: Economy of Guadeloupe'' The economy of Guadeloupe depends on agriculture, tourism, light industry, and services. It also depends on France for large subsidies and imports. Tourism is a key industry, with most tourists from the United States; 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, 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.

See also -

Communications in Guadeloupe

Military of Guadeloupe

Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe

Transportation in Guadeloupe

French overseas departments and territories

Administrative divisions of France

External links - commonsGuadeloupe

supphoto.com - Pictures of Guadeloupe Island

guadeloupe.pref.gouv.fr - Website of the prefecture of Guadeloupe

maps.google.com - Guadeloupe at Google MapsWest_Indies Regions_of_France Category:Caribbean islandsCategory:French !AmericaCategory:Guadeloupe Category:Swedish coloniesCategory:Special territories of the !EUca:Guadeloupeda:Guadeloupede :Guadeloupeeo:Gvadelupoes:Guad alupe? !(Francia)fr:Guadeloupehe:גו� �דלופhr:Gvadalupaio:Guadel upeit:Guadalupalt:Gvadelupamk: Гвадалупеnl:Guadeloup eja:グアドループno:Guade loupepl:Gwadelupapt:Guadeloupe ru:Гваделупаsl:Guadel oupefi:Guadeloupesv:Guadeloupe zh:瓜德罗普zh-min-nan:Guad eloupe

Annuaire du tourisme et des transports
Contacts des professionnels classés par activités et par îles, présentation multi-critères des hôtels, horaires des avions et des bateaux, photothèque sur les Antilles.
http://www.guadeloupe-fr.com

Guadeloupe
Conseil régional Guadeloupe.
http://www.cr-guadeloupe.fr/

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Official site links to each directorate as well as to attorney employment, listserv signup, FAQ, a virtual tour, the CIA Museum, press releases and reports, and reference pages on world geography, history, politics and chiefs of state. Alphabetical site index, site map, search, and a special section on terrorism.
http://www.cia.gov/

Académie de la Guadeloupe
Informations, administration et pédagogie. Aussi une partie présentation de l'archipel.
http://www.ac-guadeloupe.fr/