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Guadeloupe
built 500 days ago
Guadeloupe was a surprise qualifier for the regional confederation tournament, the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In their first tournament they were the surprise team. They started out by tying 1-1 to the strong Caribbean team of Haiti, followed by a 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs of Canada, before finally succumbing 1-0 to current Central American champion, Costa Rica. Guadeloupe advanced to the quarterfinals as the 3rd place team with the superior record. In the quarterfinals they shocked Honduras defeating them 2-1, who came from beating Mexico 2-1 and dominating Cuba 5-0. The Cinderellas of the tournament, Guadeloupe lost 0-1 to Mexico in the semifinal.
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Guadeloupe, in the lesser Antilles, is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands in the Caribbean Sea. In 1493, Christopher Columbus became its first European visitor, and the French settled the islands in 1635. The country remains an oversees department of France; the French President is Guadeloupe's head of state, represented locally by a Paris-appointed Prefect. The country is headed by the President of the General Council and the President of the Regional Council. Both positions are elected by the membership of their respective councils. The official language is French, but many speak Creole Patois.
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Part of the French West Indies, Guadeloupe has it all: rainforests, waterfalls, sandy beaches and charming villages. Guadeloupe is really two butterfly-shaped islands connected by a narrow channel. The left “wing” is Grande-Terre, and the right “wing” is Basse-Terre. Offshore, on smaller surrounding islands, you can step into societies that have changed little over the centuries. On Terre-de-Haut, part of the Iles des Saintes, you’ll find pristine beaches and families descended from Breton sailors. Marie-Galante in the southeast, has spectacular beaches and produces some of the Caribbean’s best rum - remnants of colonial sugar mills are quaint reminders of the island’s past as a sugar producer.
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The French territory of Guadeloupe, south of Antigua and north of Dominica, boasts a spirited Creole influence from its French and African roots. Christopher Columbus arrived on the island in 1493 and named it after the sanctuary of Santa Maria de Guadalupe de Estremadura. It was originally called Karuk?ra, or Island of Beautiful Waters by the Carib Indians. In the 1600s the French colonized the island, trading spices, sugar, tobacco, and rum. It is actually several islands scattered about, with the capital island comprised of two parts’Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre. The French part of St. Martin and the island of St. Barth ... belong to Guadeloupe, along with several smaller islands.
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Guadeloupe, like Maui, resembles a butterfly due to the effect of two islands appearing as one. Unlike Maui, the two islands are of distinctly different geological origins. That unique characteristic creates the diversity that is Guadeloupe. Basse Terre, volcanic in origin, is the island of the 74,000 acre Parc Naturel. The Parc is a tropical rain forest which includes the 4,800 feet volcano La Soufriere along with countless waterfalls and tropical pools including the Chutes Carbet (two of which are over 300 feet in height). Grande Terre, a limestone plateau, has white sand beaches, tremendous cliffs, and is home to the majority of the island's farmlands.
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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.
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