The french used it as a penal colony between 1852 and 1939, which included the infamous devils island. French guiana has had a stormy history since the site of cayenne was established in 1637. From convicts to rockets in french guiana berkeley. A century later, french settlers moved in, forming trading colony in cayenne and. Along with martinique, guadeloupe, and reunion, it has been a department of france since 1946. Soon afterward the book was adapted for a hollywood film of the same name.
It borders brazil to the east and south and suriname to the west. French guiana media, internet and telecommunications complete profile by world trade press. History the earliest french settlement was in cayenne in 1643, but tropical diseases and hostile local amerindians limited plantation development. The first part deals with van berkels adventures in the dutch colony located on the berbice river in the guianas.
French guiana is an overseas department and region of france on the northern atlantic coast. The 15 best things to do in cayenne 2020 with photos. French guiana, cayenne scanner internet archive html5 uploader 1. French guiana society and culture complete report by world trade press. The delights and challenges of french guiana the new. Geologically, the rock underlying french guiana forms part of the crystalline massif of the guiana highlands.
A century later, french settlers moved in, forming trading colony in cayenne and along the coast. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Jews arrived in french guiana by the way of the dutch west india company. The indian community in french guiana are mostly descendants of indentured workers and immigrants from french indian colonies such as pondicherry, karaikal and yanam. Travellers guide to french guiana wiki travel guide. The remaining examples of french colonial architecture, palmtrees shading plazas, ethnic contributions to culture and cuisine all blend together in an attractive mix.
During the remainder of the year rainfall is always heavy. Later on september 12, 1659, came portuguese jews from brazil. French guiana, lying north of brazil and east of suriname on the northeast coast of south america, was variously settled by the spanish, dutch, and french. History of french guiana lonely planet travel information. Follow john gimlette on his 14week trip along the northeast coast of south america, from guyana formerly british guiana through suriname formerly dutch guiana to french guiana. This book is a history of the three guianas, now known as guyana, suriname, and. Guiana focussing on the late ceramic age ad 9001500 of cayenne island as. Riverswhich flow generally northeastward, to the seahave greatly eroded the massif, and most of french guiana is lowlying. The book covers physical and political geography, political history, social and. Wild coast travels on south americas untamed edge albert a. French guiana history, language and culture history of french guiana. The citys motto is fert aurum industria, which means work brings wealth. It faces the atlantic ocean on the north and east and is enclosed on the west and south within a vast semicircle.
List of books and articles about guyana history online. Archaeological investigations between cayenne island and the. French guiana is an overseas department and region of france on the northern atlantic coast of south america in the guianas. The history of french guiana in terms of european contact began with the arrival of christopher columbus in 1498. French guiana french europe in south america in the downpour of a tropical shower, the ferry over the maroni river takes us in 25 minutes from suriname to french guiana to the small border town of saint laurentdumaroni. University of california press, c2000, by peter redfield framedependent html with commentary at uc press items below if any are from related and broader terms. French guiana church records genealogy familysearch wiki. British guiana s struggle for independence by colin a. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers.
This far flung site in french guiana, an overseas department of france located just above brazil, was once home to some 70,000 convicts that had been banished from france. The cayenne peppers can traced to seven thousand year in history to central and south america as a hot and spicy flavor. The treaty of breda awarded france the territory in 1667. The french, british, and dutch made various attempts at colonization, and france finally took control in 1817.
Geographical and historical treatment of french guiana, overseas territorial collectivity of france, situated on the northeastern coast of south america. With a land area of 83,534 km2, french guiana is the secondlargest region of france and the largest outermost region within the european union. This name was perfectly created to reflect the situation in. French guiana was originally inhabited by tribes of carib and arawak native americans in 1498 french guiana was first visited by europeans when christopher columbus sailed to the region and reportedly named it the land of pariahs. History of french guiana french guiana was discovered by the spanish in 1496, displacing the original inhabitants, who were tribal amerindian peoples, including arawaks and caribs. Enjoy some pictures of the worldrecordtour, taken in french guiana. This book is a reissue of the travelogue of adriaan van berkel, first published in 1695 by johan ten hoorn in amsterdam. We will plant a tree for each order containing a paperback or hardback book. French guiana history, language and culture world travel guide. Hyles offers a lucid portrait of how dutch, english, and french empires. The french settled at sinnemary in 1624, at cayenne in 1643. Along the x axis is time, and on the y axis is the count of editions published.
Following the history in the well illustrated museum, visiting the single and communal cells. The penal colonies set up there are probably some of the worst ever. Inside the brutal french guiana prison that inspired. French guiana women in culture, business and travel by world trade press. Literature of french guiana french guiana is frances oldest overseas possession dating from the seventeenth century. It was originally inhabited by a number of native american peoples, among them the kalina, arawak, emerillon, galibi, palikur, wayampi, and wayana. It is located at the northwestern end of cayenne island, which is formed by the estuaries of the cayenne and mahury rivers. A kingdom of forests, rivers and animals, french guiana seduces all nature lovers. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Stratigraphic archaeological research in french guiana is barely 50 years old and. The hmong people are also largely catholic owing to the influence of missionaries who helped bring them to french guiana. Worldrecordtour, south america, french guiana, cayenne.
Welcome to cayenne a crossroads of the caribbean, south america and europe, cayenne is a city of myriad cultures surrounded on all sides by the sounds, smells and colors of the tropics. Cayenne, capital and atlantic ocean port of french guiana. Yet, unlike these other french overseas departments, it is the only french territory on the american mainland. The french flag flies over a colonialera building in st.
British guianas struggle for independence by colin a. After various conflicts with the dutch and british and an eightyear occupation by brazil and portugal, the french resumed control only to see slavery abolished 1848, and the few plantations almost collapsed. French guiana has a relatively good functioning road system but mainly along the coastline and several roads leading from cayenne partly into the interior. The first europeans arrived in the expeditions of christopher columbus, shortly before 1500. A crossroads of the caribbean, south america and europe, cayenne is a city of myriad cultures surrounded on all sides by the sounds, smells and colors of the tropics. Part of the guiana guiana, region, ne south america. This is a chart to show the publishing history of editions of works about this subject. On 1 june 2002 air guyane express took over the operations of the former air guyane. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the cayenne river on the atlantic coast. Guianan catholics are part of the diocese of cayenne. French guiana is the only territory of the mainland americas to have full integration in a european country.
French guianas main international airport is cayenne felix eboue airport, located in the commune of. French guiana is bounded by brazil to the south and east, suriname to the west, and the atlantic ocean. Charriere managed to escape and later wrote a best selling book about his. The french started to send prisoners to their colony in french guiana in the nineteenth century. Before the first europeans arrived, there was no written history in the territory. French guiana students britannica kids homework help. It was settled by the french in 1604 after the treaty of paris in 1763, which deprived france of almost all her possessions in the americas other than.
French guiana is an overseas department of france, and french influence is a major part of cayennes attraction. Spanish explorers who followed did not think the densely jungled land was inhabitable, testing with a few feeble colonies, and eventually passing it for other lands. Worldrecordtour, south america, french guiana, cayenne, kourou. Hiring a car is probably the best way of getting around as most destinations outside the main urban centres can only be reached when you have your own vehicle or doing a tour of course. The streets of the town center are lined with colonial wroughtiron balconies with louvered shutters painted in nowfaded tropical pinks, yellows and turquoises. French guiana article about french guiana by the free. French guiana was discovered by the spanish in 1496, displacing the original inhabitants, who were tribal amerindian peoples, including arawaks and caribs. The population is essentially concentrated in the towns of cayenne, kourou, and saintlaurent. The cayenne was first used as a decorative item then introduced to food and medicine. In 1848 the inhabitants of french guiana received full french citizenship and the right to. Part of the guiana region, it is bordered by the atlantic ocean on the north, suriname on the west, and brazil on the south and east. A large part of guianas economy derives from the presence of the guiana space centre, now the european space agencys primary launch site near the equator. Historical background edit edit source the dominant religion of french guiana is roman catholicism.
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