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14 Nov 1493 Discovered and claimed for Spain by Columbus, named Isla de Santa María de Guadalupe de Extremadura. 28 Jun 1635 French colony (under the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique to 1649). 1635 - Apr 1759 Part of the French Antilles colony (Martinique) 1664 - 1674 Administered by the Compagnie des Indies Occidentales. 1674 French crown colony. 22 Apr 1759 - Jun 1763 British occupation. 1768 - 1775 Part of the French Antilles colony (Martinique) 20 Apr 1794 - 07 Jun 1794 British occupation. 25 Oct 1797 - 19 Apr 1801 Organized as a département of France. 06 Feb 1810 - 07 Dec 1814 British occupation. 03 Mar 1813 - 30 May 1814 Ceded to Sweden by France. 10 Aug 1815 - 25 Jul 1816 British occupation. 14 Sep 1939 - 1943 Subordinated to High Commissioner and Commander of the Theater Atlantic West (Martinique). 16 Jun 1940 - 14 Jul 1943 Administration loyal to Vichy France (from 14 Jul 1943, under Free French). 19 Mar 1946 French overseas département. 28 Mar 2003 French overseas region. 07 Dec 2003 Referendum on status change to collectivité territoriale defeated by 72.98%. 22 Feb 2007 Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin separate overseas collectivités. |
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The French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe, located in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies about 300 miles (493 km.) southeast of Puerto Rico, has an area of 687 sq. km (1,780 sq. km.) and a population of 306,000. Guadeloupe is lying between Antigua and Montserrat to the north, and Dominica to the south. Actually it is two islands separated by a narrow saltwater stream: volcanic Basse-Terre to the west and the flatter limestone formation of Grande-Terre to the east. Capital: Basse-Terre (Le Moule 1635-1643), on the island of that name. The principal industries are agriculture, the distillation of liquors, and tourism. Sugar, bananas, and rum are exported. Guadeloupe was discovered by Columbus in 1493 and settled in 1635 by two Frenchmen, L'Olive and Duplessis, who took possession in the name of the French Company of the Islands of America. When repeated efforts by private companies to colonize the island failed, it was relinquished to the French crown in 1674, and established as a dependency of Martinique. The British occupied the island on two occasions, 1759-63 and 1810-16, before it passed permanently to France. | ||||
| A colony until 1946 Guadeloupe was then made an overseas territory of the French Union. In 1958 it voted to become an Overseas Department within the new French Community. | |||||
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Marie-Galante |
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03 Nov 1493 Discovered and claimed for Spain by Christopher Columbus, named Santa Maria la Galante. 08 Nov 1648 Annexed by France, incorporated into Guadeloupe. 04 Sep 1649 - 1653 Leased by the King of France to Jacques de Boisseret; de Boisseret's widow formally cedes family's claim in 1660. 1691 - 1696 Abandoned. 26 May 1759 - 1763 British occupation. 01 Nov 1792 Republican inhabitants of Marie-Galante proclaim their independence from still royalist Guadeloupe while affirming their attachment to the new French republic. 20 Apr 1794 Self-government ended by British occupation. |
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| Currency: Euro is used on this Island. Before Euro, French Franc was used. The well-known R.F. in garland oval countermark of the French Government is only legitimate on a French Colonies C#4 12 deniers 1767. Two other similar but incuse RF countermarks are on cut pieces in the values of 1 and 4 escalins. Contemporary and modern counterfeits are known of both these types. Coins have been made on Martinique dated 1903 and 1921 as modern coinage. | |||||
| 1903 & 1921 Guadeloupe and Dependencies (including Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin) Coinage. | |||||
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