Many cultures were indigenous to these islands, with evidence dating some of them back to the mid-6th millennium BCE. In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands, where he is believed by historians to have first set foot on land in The Bahamas. After the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia.[citation needed]
In the late sixteenth century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began their operations in the Caribbean Sea, attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping and coastal areas. They often took refuge and refitted their ships in the areas the Spanish could not conquer, including the islands of the Lesser Antilles, the northern coast of South America including the mouth of the Orinoco, and the Atlantic Coast of Central America. In the Lesser Antilles they managed to establish a foothold following the colonisation of St Kitts in 1624 and Barbados in 1626, and when the Sugar Revolution took off in the mid-seventeenth century, they brought in thousands of Africans to work the fields and mills as slave labourers. These Africans wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants.
The struggle between the northern Europeans and the Spanish spread southward in the mid to late seventeenth century, as English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists, and in many cases their slaves from Africa first entered and then occupied the coast of The Guianas (which fell to the French, English and Dutch) and the Orinoco valley, which fell to the Spanish. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco, would eventually carry the struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and then along the northern reaches of the Amazon.
In the late sixteenth century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began their operations in the Caribbean Sea, attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping and coastal areas. They often took refuge and refitted their ships in the areas the Spanish could not conquer, including the islands of the Lesser Antilles, the northern coast of South America including the mouth of the Orinoco, and the Atlantic Coast of Central America. In the Lesser Antilles they managed to establish a foothold following the colonisation of St Kitts in 1624 and Barbados in 1626, and when the Sugar Revolution took off in the mid-seventeenth century, they brought in thousands of Africans to work the fields and mills as slave labourers. These Africans wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants.
The struggle between the northern Europeans and the Spanish spread southward in the mid to late seventeenth century, as English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists, and in many cases their slaves from Africa first entered and then occupied the coast of The Guianas (which fell to the French, English and Dutch) and the Orinoco valley, which fell to the Spanish. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco, would eventually carry the struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and then along the northern reaches of the Amazon.
The French Antilles includes Guadeloupe (16 ° N – 62 ° W) and Martinique (14 ° 40’N – 61 ° W). two tropical islands located 7000 km from mainland France in the archipelago of the Lesser Antilles between the Atlantic Ocean at the east and the Caribbean Sea at the west.
Martinique is located between the island of Dominica to the north (40 km) and that of St. Lucia to the south (30 km). Measuring 64 km long and 24 km wide. Martinique occupies an area of 1100 km². The south of the island is fairly dry and offers many peaks and gentle slopes on which the vegetation is not too large. This is where we find the white sand beaches unlike those of the North whose sand come from volcano. The north of the island has much more mountainous relief. high enough to catch the clouds. The volcano of Mount Pelée (1397 m) is surrounded by humid tropical forest. The temperature is relatively uniform throughout the year with differences up to 3 to 4 degrees are observed between February and September. for an annual average of about 27 °C in the Lamentin. In the dry season the average temperature is 25 °C. and 28 °C in the wet season. In 2018. the Martinican population was estimated at 368.640 inhabitants (-1.1% over one year). It has been declining continuously since 2007. due to a negative migratory balance whose deficit is accelerating. and a slowdown in natural increase. As a result of a declining birth rate. an increasing life expectancy. and the departure of young people of reproductive age. the Martinican population is aging. Nearly 28% of the population is over 60 years old.
Guadeloupe is located 120 km north of Martinique. between the island of Montserrat in the north (53 km) and that of Dominica in the south (23 km). The Guadeloupe archipelago consists of two main islands. separated by a narrow stretch of sea: Grande-Terre (588 km²). where the agglomeration of Pointe-à-Pitre is located. the economic center of the department. and the Basse-Terre (848 km²). where the city of Basse-Terre is located. administrative capital of the department. Basse-Terre is the result of the formation of a recent volcanic chain which culminates in Soufriere (1.467 meters). while the other islands of the archipelago are of coral origin. Guadeloupe benefits from a tropical climate tempered by the winds oriented towards the East due to the Azores High. As in Martinique. there are two seasons whose transitions are more or less marked: – a dry season called Lent from December to May (25 °C on average). and a wetter season called wintering. from July to October (26 °C on average). during which tropical depressions and cyclonic phenomena occur. As of January 1. 2016. Guadeloupe had 394.110 inhabitants. Between 2011 and 2016. it lost 10.525 individuals due to the widening of the migration deficit which is no longer offset by natural increase. The latest estimates show the continuation of this trend (390.704 inhabitants on January 1. 2018 and 382.704 on January 1. 2019). More and more young people aged 18-25 are leaving the territory. The aging of the population is amplified by the fall in the birth rate.
Guadeloupe:
- Population: 405,739 inhabitants in Guadeloupe, 250 Inhab./km2 and
- GDP/capita (€).19,810
Martinique:
- Populatio: 386,486 inhabitants in Martinique, 343 Inhab./km2 and
- GDP/capita (€) 21,527
Saint-Martin:
- 36,992 inhabitants in Saint-Martin, 698 Inhab./km2 and
- GDP /capita (€): 14,700
Saint-Barthélemy:
- Population: 8,938 inhabitants in Martinique, 370 Inhab./km2 and
- GDP: 26,000/capita (€).
Blue economy sectors
In 2019, tourism accounted for 9.5 per cent of Guadeloupe's GDP. The high season for both islands runs from November to April. In recent years, strong growth has been observed in the sector thanks to cruise. It is mainly the landscape and beaches that...
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Local Working group
The following partners are involved in the study of the West Indies: UNIVERSITY OF ANTILLAS – (UA) The following local stakeholders have declared their interest in participating in the local study of the West Indies in the frame of the Soclimpact project....
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Climate and risks
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