Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe- December 26

We sailed into Basse-Terre under cloudy and rainy skies. The town was springing to life. Flags were raised on the pier- European Union, US and Guadeloupe. People in red and white costumes were assembling under an overpass and the loud speaker began playing “The Star Spangled Banner.” Created a strange feeling.

Commercial vehicles were going up and down the main street that could be seen from our balcony. Long before 8:00 the Leader Price grocery opened and then there must have been 6 trucks with that name the went by and tooted their horn at the grocery.  Jim went to shore in search of mouthwash at a shop that we think is a drug store. We’ll see how that works out.

Dancers on the pier

So it didn't work out at all! The shop would only take Euros- no credits cards and no US dollars. Would have been helpful if something from the ship had said that. Jim walked over, learned that, walked back to discover the elevators were not working on the ship while the emergency generators were being tested. He walked up from deck 4 to deck 7, stopped and rested and then the elevators began to work. Oh well! Some days are like that.

Basse-Terre is a French commune in the Guadaloupe department of France in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the capital city of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located on Basse-Terre Island, the western half of Guadeloupe. Although it is the administrative capital, Basse-Terre is only the second largest city in Guadeloupe behind Pointe-à-Pitre. Together with its urban area it had 44,864 inhabitants in 2012 (11,534 of whom lived in the city of Basse-Terre proper).

Despite its name, Basse-Terre Island (literally "Low Land" Island, "Down Land" Island) is the highest island of Guadeloupe, rising to 4,813 ft above sea-level at the Soufrière volcano.

 The name of the island is the result of French terminology used in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the Caribbean, the prevailing winds blow from the northeast, thus the western side of the Caribbean islands, the leeward side, protected from the trade winds, was called the Basse-Terre ("Down Land") in 17th-century French because it is situated downwind compared to the eastern side of the Caribbean islands, the windward side, which is exposed to the trade winds and was called the Cabesterre.

The earliest settlers on Guadeloupe arrived around 300 AD and developed agriculture on the island. They were removed by the more warlike Caribs. It was the Caribs who called the island "Karukera," which is roughly translated as "island with beautiful waters." They were also the tribe to meet all of the later settlers to the island. Archaeologists suggest that between 800 and 1000 AD drought, desertification and expansion of sand dunes on Guadeloupe led to a period with no active habitation based on the scarcity of remains from the period; this period coincides historically with the droughts and subsequent collapse of the Mayan civilizations in Mesoamerica. Gradual resettlement and recultivation of the land on Guadeloupe occurred between 1000 AD and the arrival of Columbus.

Columbus' second journey brought him to this island on November 14, 1493. He named it for an image in a Spanish monastery he had visited: Santa María de Guadalupe de Extremadura, an image of the Virgin Mary venerated at Villuercas, in Guadalupe, Extremadura.

No settlements were established on the island for many years but it was used as a trading post until 1635 after Captain Pierre Belain d’Ensambuc had sent explorers to Guadeloupe and decided it would be lucrative to settle and cultivate tobacco on the island; thus his corporation, the French Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique sent 550 men under the leadership of Charles Liénard de l’Olive to Guadeloupe on June 27, 1635. De L’Olive waged brutal war against the Caribs in Guadeloupe from 1636 to 1639, throughout which only 30 to 40 French died. Then in 1640, reinforcements from St. Christophe of Frenchmen allowed for the colonists to completely crush Carib resistance except for some few who fled to Basse-Terre and would sign a peace treaty with the French colonists in 1641.

Early tobacco cultivation in Guadeloupe through the first half of the 17th century was sustained by relatively small numbers of indentured servants and European laborers under small scale proprietors, and in 1654 80% of the population of Guadeloupe was of European origin, with two-thirds being indentured servants. Both the numbers of Europeans and the proportion of indentured labor would drop dramatically over the second half of the 17th century with the importation of African slaves: in 1654 67% of the population was of European origin, by 1671 that number dropped to 13%.

From 1672 until 1678–allied with Britain until 1674–France was at war with the Dutch and faced enormous difficulty defending its colonies in the Caribbean; it was in this context of defense that Guadeloupe was royally annexed into the Kingdom of France in 1674. In 1714, the French general government of the American islands divided in two, and Guadeloupe was placed under the control of the governor on Martinique.

During the Seven Years War, British invaded Guadeloupe, plantations devastated; Guadeloupe surrendered to the British; British constructed a port at Pointe-a–Pitre, developed sugar plantations and imported about 18,000 slaves.

Coffee was planted in the 1700s and this accelerated the growth of slavery. Then slavery was abolished by the French Convention. in 1794. Somewhere in this time the French lost control only to regain that in 1802 and Napoleon reinstated slavery.

In 1809 the British recaptured Basse-Terre. In 1813nGuadeloupe ceded to Sweden but the British occupation continued. Not sure how that worked! BUT Sweden outlawed slave trade. In 1814 the Treaty of Paris restored Guadeloupe to French sovereignty.

The area went to the British and back to the French. Despite hurricanes and earthquakes the islands continued to develop. Slavery was abolished again in 1848 and emancipated slaves voted in elections for the first time in 1849.

In 1928 a hurricane hit the island and 2000 people were killed. Plus 90% of the homes were destroyed.

In 1976 Volcano La Soufriere, erupted and caused considerable destruction, 70,000 people evacuated from capital city, Basse-Terre.

Ian, the person from the Front Desk, came to call to be certain our AC was fine and brought an invitation to go to dinner at the Canaletto Restaurant- the Italian restaurant where dinner is an extra $10. They are trying to make things right by paying attention. We still feel they have cut too many corners. We decided last night that this ship- because of its size- has a big following of passengers and therefore Holland America doesn’t need to provide as many activities as they might otherwise need to do.

We are still having a grand time. Meeting interesting people, seeing great sights, eating delicious food and enjoying being together!