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52-459: Zouk is a musical movement and dance pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm ), a percussion-driven rhythm, and a loud horn section. Musicians from Martinique and Guadeloupe eventually added MIDI instrumentation to their compas style, which developed into a genre called zouk-love. Zouk-love

104-587: A French settlement in Grenada in 1649. Despite the long history of British rule, Grenada's French heritage is still evidenced by the number of French loanwords in Grenadian Creole , French-style buildings, cuisine and places name (For ex. Petit Martinique , Martinique Channel , etc.) In 1642, the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique received a twenty-year extension of its charter. The King would name

156-623: A combined 1999 census population of 12,488 inhabitants. The island is more commonly known as la grande galette (‘the Big Biscuit’) due to its round shape and almost flat surface; its highest peak, the Morne Constant Hill , rises to 204 m. Formerly having over 106 sugar mills, it is also called "the Island of a Hundred Windmills" ( French : lîle aux cent moulins ). The island is undulating substrate calcareous, cooled by

208-544: A high cliff, while the highest point, the Morne Constant (204 m altitude), is located to the east, in the territory of the municipality of Capesterre-de-Marie-Galante. The island has one main islet: Two rivers flow there after crossing the island's plateau from the heart of the island: Marie-Galante, like the rest of the Guadeloupe archipelago, enjoys a tropical climate tempered by the maritime influences and

260-589: A large volcano located on the island of Basse-Terre in the Guadeloupe archipelago. The Caribbean islands are often in the path of tropical hurricanes . Located in a very exposed region, Marie-Galante has to face many cyclones. The island is subject to the passage of hurricanes from May to November. They form locally in the West Indies or off Cape Verde , in Africa , and drift in the easterly trade winds. The deadliest hurricane to hit Guadeloupe and its islands

312-508: A single-department overseas region since 1982. Within Marie-Galante the three communes are Capesterre-de-Marie-Galante , Grand-Bourg and Saint-Louis . Together, these were designated as an intercommunal entity on January 8, 1994, the first to be created in an overseas department. In 2007, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy each became an overseas collectivity , making them politically separate from Guadeloupe. Steven Callahan , who

364-554: A small French force attempted to recapture the island but the British garrison, consisting of Royal Marines , augmented by Sir Alexander Cochrane's first Colonial Marines , newly recruited from escaped enslaved Africans of the island, and by some troops from the 1st West India Regiment , defeated and captured the French. The British returned the island to France in 1815. Enslavement of Africans finally came to an end in 1848, thanks to

416-468: A small colony on the island in 1805. As a result, Dominicans speak English as an official language while Antillean creole is spoken as a secondary language and is well maintained due to its location between the French-speaking departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique. In Trinidad , the occupying Spanish had contributed little towards advancements, despite the island's ideal location. Because it

468-519: Is 28 °C. Finally, the island is subject to hurricanes from May to November. These hurricanes form locally in the Antilles or off Cape Verde, in Africa, and drift in the trade winds from the east. In the north of the island the landscape is characterized by the presence of a limestone cliff. To the east and south, the plateau becomes "mornes" to slope towards a coastal plain. The latter borders

520-527: Is effectively the French Lesser Antilles ' compas, and it gradually became indistinguishable from compas. The original fast carnival style of zouk, best represented by the band Kassav', became known as "zouk béton", "zouk chiré", or "zouk hard". Zouk béton is considered a synthesis of various French Antillean dance music styles of the 20th century, including kadans , konpa , and biguine . French Antilles Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc

572-490: Is one of the dependencies of Guadeloupe , an overseas department of France . Marie-Galante has a land area of 158.1 km (61.0 square miles). It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 the total was officially estimated to be 10,655, with a population density of 62.5/km (162/sq mi). Marie-Galante is divided into three communes (with populations as of 1 January 2013): These three communes formed an intercommunal entity in 1994:

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624-583: Is subject to many natural hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and tropical cyclones. It has been the subject of a specific risk prevention plan. On November 21, 2004, Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe and, in particular, the Saintes archipelago were hit by a violent earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale , which caused the death of one person and extensive material damage. On November 29, 2007, an earthquake measuring between 6.8 and 7.3 on

676-598: The Saintes . The Knights of Malta bought Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin , which were made dependencies of Guadeloupe. In 1665, the Knights sold the islands they had acquired to the newly formed (1664) Compagnie des Indes occidentales . Dominica is a former French and British colony in the Eastern Caribbean , located about halfway between the French islands of Guadeloupe (to the north) and Martinique (to

728-651: The biosphere reserve of the Guadeloupe archipelago. Guadeloupe, thanks in part to its islands, has become the overseas department with the most protected areas, including a national park . A 1,780 ha, 14 km long, stretch of Marie-Galante's northern coastline, encompassing the 120 m high cliffs, their inshore waters and the flat islet of Vieux Fort, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports seabird breeding colonies of red-billed tropicbirds , brown noddies and bridled terns . The presence of Audubon's shearwaters has also been reported. Maria Galante

780-473: The forest , the accelerated urbanization of recent years and the development of crops, especially sugar cane, all of which have reduced the importance of the forest and even caused it to disappear in some places. The cultivation of sugar cane has left its mark on the non-mountainous landscapes . The agriculture (mainly exporting) of sugar cane, alcohol (rum) continues to be strongly encouraged, to make it more "sustainable" and to stop its recession by Europe ,

832-580: The trade winds and subject to cyclones and earthquakes . The northern coast is characterized by a high cliff. A fault line called the "Bar" separates the northern quarter from the remainder of the island. To the west, beaches and mangroves extend along the Caribbean Sea . The rivers of Saint-Louis and the Vieux-Fort run through the plateau that sits at the centre of Marie-Galante. In the East and

884-583: The Americas. The term varies in meaning by its usage and frame of reference. It is not used much in France, unless the speaker wants to refer to every French dependency in the Caribbean region. The term's more ambiguous than the term "French West Indies", which refers specifically to the islands that are French overseas departments , which means they have overall the same laws and regulations as departments on

936-626: The Atlantic Ocean, from which it is protected by a barrier reef , the cays. To the west of the island, opposite Basse-Terre, beaches and mangroves extend along the Caribbean Sea and a natural coastal wetland extends into the part corresponding to the Folle-Anse Bay. Marie-Galante is a biodiversity hotspot. Like the other Lesser Antilles , it emerged from the ocean less than five million years ago. This isolation has favored

988-652: The Community of Communes of Marie-Galante ( French : communauté de communes de Marie-Galante ). This is the oldest intercommunal structure of the overseas regions of France . The Huecoids are the oldest known civilizations to have occupied Marie-Galante, followed by Arawaks , and then by the Island Caribs circa 850. The island was called Aichi by the Caribs and Touloukaera by the Arawaks. Marie-Galante

1040-547: The Company of the West Indies, and the island then had its first four ox-powered mills. In 1665, her son Monsieur de Boisseret de Temericourt became the island's governor. The map of the island he established carries his coat of arms. During the second half of the 17th century, the first enslaved people were brought from Africa to Marie-Galante to cultivate plantations. In 1671, 57% of the inhabitants were black. Jewish Dutch exiles from Brazil also settled, bringing new methods for

1092-523: The French State and the local authorities (Region and Department). On the island of Marie-Galante you can find reptiles such as the red-footed tortoise or molokoï, a species of gecko locally called mabouia and small lizards called anolis. Some sea turtles also come to lay their eggs. A variety of crab locally called touloulou is quite common. To the west of the island there is a coral bank at about 20 meters depth. And seagrass beds populate

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1144-480: The French West Indies. The French Caribbean (or Francophone Caribbean ) includes all the French-speaking countries in the region. It can also refer to any area that exhibits a combination of French and Caribbean cultural influences in music, cuisine, style, architecture, and so on. The Francophone Caribbean is a part of the wider French America , which includes all the French-speaking countries in

1196-514: The French settlements in the Caribbean, in 1637 becoming governor of Martinique. He remained in Martinique and did not concern himself with the other islands. The French permanently settled on Martinique and Guadeloupe after being kicked off Saint Kitts and Nevis ( Saint-Christophe in French ) by the British. Fort Royal (Fort-de-France) on Martinique was a major port for French warships in

1248-630: The Governor General of the company, and the company the Governors of the various islands. By the late 1640s, in France Mazarin had little interest in colonial affairs, and the company languished. In 1651 it dissolved itself, selling its exploitation rights to various parties. The du Paquet family bought Martinique, Grenada, and Saint Lucia for 60,000 livres. The sieur d' Houël bought Guadeloupe , Marie-Galante , La Desirade and

1300-627: The Islands of America on September 4, 1649. In 1653, the Carib Indians slaughtered the few remaining colonists who had not surrendered to the harsh living conditions. Sugarcane , which probably originated in India , had been imported to the West Indies by Christopher Columbus. As sugar became a commodity, it was cultivated in Guadeloupe from 1654 by deported Brazilian colonists who created

1352-527: The Richter scale, with its epicenter southeast of Roseau, the capital of Dominica , shook the Antilles. The earthquake was felt strongly in Marie-Galante, but did not cause significant damage. The earthquake of February 8, 1843 is, to this day, the most violent earthquake known. It caused the death of more than a thousand people, as well as very significant damage in Pointe-à-Pitre. La Soufrière ,

1404-779: The South, the plateau descends sharply to a coastal plain skirting the Atlantic Ocean from which it is protected by a barrier coral reef . Marie-Galante is located in the northern hemisphere, it belongs to the Caribbean (or Antilles ) archipelago, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Earth's equator . It is located at 15°56' north latitude and 61°16' west longitude. The island is about 6,200 km from mainland France, about 2,200 km southeast of Florida , about 580 km from

1456-476: The coast of South America ( Venezuela ) and, more specifically, with Guadeloupe, in the heart of the Lesser Antilles . The island of Marie-Galante is an elevated atoll resting on a rugged limestone substrate, located on the outer arc of the Caribbean plate. A fault called "la Barre" separates the northern quarter from the rest of the island. The north coast, facing Grande-Terre, is characterized by

1508-431: The coastal sandy bottoms, discontinuously. In Marie-Galante, the mangroves have almost disappeared, but there is one located in Vieux-Fort, Saint-Louis. Part of the terrestrial animal and plant heritage has been degraded as a result of human activities, except in the west, northwest, towards Saint-Louis, where the poorly developed fringing reefs still harbor many marine species. Since 1992, Marie-Galante has been part of

1560-473: The combined efforts of abolitionists, such as Victor Schœlcher , and repeated revolts of enslaved Africans. The legislative elections of June 24 and June 25, 1849, the first time former enslaved Africans were permitted to vote, were disrupted by the bloody violence of protesters which had risen up out of the black majority in response to ballot-rigging orchestrated by wealthy white plantation owners. Many black people were killed during these uprisings which led to

1612-535: The cultivation of cane sugar. In 1676, a Dutch fleet abducted the population and plundered its facilities. After the repopulation of the island, its new inhabitants were attacked for the third time by the Dutch and by the British in 1690 and 1691. These raids, which resulted in the destruction of the mills, the refineries and the depopulation of the island, caused the Governor-General of Martinique to forbid

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1664-513: The dumping of rum and sugar from the Pirogue plantation into a nearby pond. Today this pond is known as la mare au punch (‘the Punch Pond’) in memory of these tragic events. Guadeloupe ( Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre ), along with its dependencies (Marie-Galante, Saint Martin , Saint Barthélemy , Îles des Saintes and la Désirade), have been an overseas department since 1946 and

1716-400: The emergence of a high rate of endemism. The archipelago was completely covered by forests before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. This arrival was accompanied by biological invasions and land clearing that had a serious impact on biodiversity . Many species have disappeared from the island , and the natural environments of Marie-Galante are suffering somewhat from the retreat of

1768-475: The first sugar plantations equipped with small ox-powered mills to crush the cane. In 1660, at Basse-Terre Chateau, a peace treaty was signed in which the Caribs authorized the French and British to settle on the islands of Dominica and Saint Vincent . With the island now at peace, the availability of mill technology was developing into a plantation-based economy by using enslaved Africans . In 1664, Madame de Boisseret gave up her rights to Marie-Galante to

1820-549: The island, including exemption from taxes for ten years and land grants in accordance to the terms set out in the Cedula. This exodus was also encouraged by the French Revolution . These new immigrants established the local communities of Blanchisseuse , Champs Fleurs, Paramin , Cascade, Carenage and Laventille , adding to the ancestry of Trinidadians and creating the creole identity; Spanish, French, and Patois were

1872-515: The islands of the present and former British West Indies were once ruled by France . Among some of them, a French-based creole language is spoken, whereas in others the language is nearing extinction; specific words and expressions may vary among the islands. Marie-Galante 15°56′N 61°16′W  /  15.933°N 61.267°W  / 15.933; -61.267 Marie-Galante ( French pronunciation: [maʁi ɡalɑ̃t] , Antillean Creole : Mawigalant or Marigalant )

1924-513: The languages spoken. Trinidad's population jumped from just under 1,400 in 1777, to over 15,000 by the end of 1789. In 1797, Trinidad became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking population. The two official French overseas departments are Guadeloupe and Martinique. Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, formerly attached to the department of Guadeloupe, have held separate status as overseas collectivities since 2007. These Caribbean Départments et Collectivités d’Outre Mer are also known as

1976-475: The mainland of France. Collectivities can be included too. The following Caribbean regions are predominantly French -speaking and/or French Creole -speaking: * Both countries gained independence from the United Kingdom . English is their official language, but French-based Creole languages are widely spoken by the island population due to a period of French colonization. In addition, some of

2028-579: The passage of Hurricane Maria on September 18 in the Lesser Antilles, particularly in Dominica, where the eye of the cyclone passed, the archipelago of Guadeloupe, including "mainland Guadeloupe" and Marie-Galante saw the arrival of a mass exodus from Dominica , Dominiquais coming to take refuge on neighboring islands of their own, destroyed and almost unlivable. The archipelago also suffered the same phenomenon, this time coming from St. Martin, after

2080-495: The re-population of the island until 1696. The British retook the island from 1759 to 1763, during the Seven Years’ War . Windmills were first seen in 1780. By 1830, 105 mills were put in place, half of which were still ox-drawn. Today, 72 mill towers are still standing. From November 1792 to 1794, Marie-Galante, which was Republican , separated itself from the royalist government of Guadeloupe. European enslavement of Africans

2132-515: The region from which the French were able to explore the region. In 1638, Jacques Dyel du Parquet (1606–1658), nephew of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and first governor of Martinique, decided to have Fort Saint Louis built to protect the city against enemy attacks. From Fort Royal, Martinique, Du Parquet proceeded south in search for new territories and established the first settlement in Saint Lucia in 1643, and headed an expedition which established

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2184-537: The region. In 1690, French woodcutters from Martinique and Guadeloupe begin to set up timber camps to supply the French islands with wood and gradually become permanent settlers. France had a colony for several years, they imported slaves from West Africa , Martinique and Guadeloupe to work on its plantations. In this period, the Antillean Creole language developed. France formally ceded possession of Dominica to Great Britain in 1763. Great Britain established

2236-625: The region. Richelieu became a shareholder in the Compagnie de Saint-Christophe , created to accomplish this with d'Esnambuc at its head. The company was not particularly successful and Richelieu had it reorganized as the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique. In 1635 d'Esnambuc sailed to Martinique with one hundred French settlers to clear land for sugarcane plantations . After six months on Martinique, d'Esnambuc returned to St. Christopher , where he soon died prematurely in 1636. His nephew, Jacques Dyel du Parquet , inherited d'Esnambuc's authority over

2288-552: The respective acts. According to L. Martinez de Isasti, a century after the encounter, the name is due to Captain Vasco Martin Cotillos who chose the name of his wife for the island. On November 8, 1648, Governor Charles Houël du Petit Pré organized the first occupation: about fifty men lived near the site called Vieux Fort "Old Fort". Jacques de Boisseret bought the island back from the French Company of

2340-460: The south). Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday ( domingo in Spanish), 3 November 1493. In the hundred years after Columbus's landing, Dominica remained isolated. At the time it was inhabited by the Island Caribs , or Kalinago people, and over time more settled there after being driven from surrounding islands, as European powers entered

2392-559: The trade winds to which it is subjected. There are two seasons on Marie-Galante and the neighboring islands: a dry season locally called carême which runs from January to June, and a wet season locally called hivernage from July to December. As for the temperature , with an average of 27 °C, there is little difference between the hottest months (from 25 °C to 32 °C) and the coldest (from 23 °C to 29 °C). Marie-Galante and its limestone plateaus can regularly suffer from severe droughts. The average seawater temperature

2444-402: Was a French trader and adventurer in the Caribbean , who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre , on the island of Martinique in 1635. Belain sailed to the Caribbean in 1625, hoping to establish a French settlement on the island of St. Christopher (St. Kitts). In 1626 he returned to France , where he won the support of Cardinal Richelieu to establish French colonies in

2496-590: Was considered underpopulated, Roume de St. Laurent , a Frenchman living in Grenada, was able to obtain a Cédula de Población from the Spanish king Charles III, on 4 November 1783, allowing French planters with their slaves, free coloreds and mulattos from the French Antilles of Martinique , Grenada , Guadeloupe and Dominica to migrate to Trinidad. The Spanish gave many incentives to lure settlers to

2548-520: Was first abolished in 1794. The British captured Guadeloupe, and with it Marie-Galante, la Désirade , and all Guadeloupe's dependencies, in April 1794. The Treaty of Amiens in 1802 restored them to France. With the restoration, the enslavement of Africans too was reinstated in 1802. In March 1808 the Royal Navy took possession of Marie-Galante to stop French privateers using its port. In August

2600-405: Was lost at sea in a small (5-foot-6-inch (1.7 m) inside diameter) Avon life raft for 76 days, was found alive on April 21, 1982, off the coast of Marie-Galante by local fishermen Paulinus Williams, Jules Paquet and Jean-Louis Paquet, from neighbouring Guadeloupe. Marie-Galante comprises three communes of France : Grand-Bourg , Capesterre-de-Marie-Galante , and Saint-Louis, Guadeloupe , with

2652-475: Was the Pointe-à-Pitre hurricane of 1776, which killed at least 6,000 people.12 On September 16, 1989, Hurricane Hugo caused severe damage to the islands of the archipelago. In 1995, three cyclones ( Iris , Luis and Marilyn ) hit the archipelago in less than three weeks. In September 2017, Marie-Galante faced Hurricane Maria , category 5, 4 deaths in Guadeloupe and sustained winds of up to 215 km/h, much higher gusts in Marie-Galante and Les Saintes . Since

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2704-522: Was the second island encountered by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage , after Dominica . On 3 November 1493, he anchored at the islet now called Anse Ballet in Grand-Bourg , and named the island in honor of the flagship Marigalante (‘gallant Mary’) of the second voyage. During his second voyage to the West Indies, he designated the first island he found as La Deseada, both islands were registered under Spanish sovereignty in

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