A Brief History
About a century before Christopher Columbus stopped in Guadeloupe looking for fresh water, Amerindians known as Caribs overran the island and drove out the Arawaks, a peaceful tribe of skilled fishermen. The Caribs called their newly seized home Karukera, meaning island of beautiful waters.
Discovery by Columbus In 1493, when Columbus spotted the island during his second voyage, he officially named it Santa Maria de Guadeloupe de Estremadura, after a favorite monastery in Spain. Thankfully, no one must mumble that mouthful today because the Spanish were never successful in settling the island. When the French arrived in 1635, they were content to call the island simply Guadeloupe (silent “e”).
Arrival of the Spanish & the French
Spanish explorers tried to settle Guadeloupe, but the Carib inhabitants repeatedly fought them back. In 1635, a French company known as Compagnie des Iles d’Amérique successfully established a colony on the island and eventually forged a peace agreement with the Caribs.
Sugar Plantations & Slavery
Sugar was the match that ignited the economic boom on Guadeloupe. Europeans developed a sweet tooth in the mid 1600s and French farmers brought slaves from western Africa to the islands to work the fertile fields and feed Europe’s insatiable appetite. French plantation owners got rich. Europeans enjoyed their treats. Guadeloupe thrived. Black slaves soon outnumbered white colonists.
The island became an ideal stage for local discontent and English-French territorial battles. Racial problems continued whether England or France had control, and a short reign of terror broke out during the French Revolution when islanders divided between royalists and republicans.
Back-and-forth governments resulted in the abolition and reinstatement of slavery several times between 1789 and 1848. British-backed slavery was abolished in 1794 when Victor Hugues, a black French nationalist, arrived on the island, armed the slaves, and killed more than 1,000 colonists – many of them plantation owners.
Napoleon Bonaparte, in a characteristic power play, sent representatives to Guadeloupe in 1802 to squelch hostilities, restore the pre-revolutionary government, and reestablish slavery. As a result, the island became the most prosperous in the West Indies, and England coveted it jealously.
In 1816, France gained lasting sovereignty over Guadeloupe in the Treaty of Vienna. Thirty-two years later, Victor Schoelcher, a Frenchman, led a successful campaign to permanently abolish slavery. (Indentured servants from India were brought in to keep the plantations productive.)
The 20th Century
Islanders gained full benefits granted all French citizens on March 19, 1946 when Guadeloupe became an official overseas département of France. In 1974, the island was upgraded to a French région, which is governed by an appointed prefect and several elected officials.
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More