GUADELOUPE

gwädəloopˈ, overseas department and administrative region of France (1995 est. pop. 403,000), 687 sq mi (1,779 sq km), in the Leeward Islands, West Indies. The department comprises the islands of Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe proper) and Grande-Terre, and the dependencies of Marie-Galante and Îles des Saintes to the south, La Désirade to the east, and Saint-Barthélemy ("Saint Bart's") and the northern half of Saint Martin to the north. Basse-Terre, on the island of the same name, is Guadeloupe's capital; Pointe-à-Pitre, on Grande-Terre, is the chief port and commercial center. The islands have a mild, humid climate and are subject to hurricanes.

Tourism is the major industry. Agriculture, sugar and rum production, and service industries are also important. Basse-Terre, volcanic in origin and extremely rugged, is settled along the coasts and produces bananas, coffee, cacao, and vanilla beans. Grande-Terre has low limestone cliffs and little rainfall; sugar and rum are its chief products. Subsistence farming, livestock raising, and fishing are carried on, and some salt and sulfur are mined. France additionally provides many subsidies to Guadeloupe.

The population is mainly of African or mixed descent and largely Roman Catholic. French and a Creole patois are spoken. The head of government is a commissioner appointed by France. The legislature consists of a 36-member, popularly elected general council and a regional council.

Sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Guadeloupe was only feebly colonized by the Spanish and was finally abandoned in 1604. In 1635 settlement was begun by the French, who eliminated the native Caribs and imported slaves from Africa for plantation work. By the end of the 17th cent., Guadeloupe was a leading world sugar producer and one of France's most valuable colonies. The islands were hotly contested with the English until they were confirmed as French possessions in 1815. During World War II, Guadeloupe at first adhered to the Vichy regime in France, but an accord with the United States in 1942 led to its support of the Free French. In 1946 the colony of Guadeloupe became an overseas department of France, and in 1974 it became an administrative center. Its deputies sit in the French National Assembly in Paris.

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