La Désirade
Encyclopedia
French West Indies
The term French West Indies or French Antilles refers to the seven territories currently under French sovereignty in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: the two overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the two overseas collectivities of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, plus...
island located at the eastern of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
.
It has a land area of 20.64 km² (7,97 sq. miles) and a population of 1,595 in 2006 (down from 1,682 in 1974), with a population density of 77 inh. per km² (200 inh. per sq. mile) in 2006. Most residents live in the settlement of Beauséjour.
Geography
Grande-Terre
Grande-Terre is an island in the Guadeloupe, separated by Basse-Terre Island by a salt river. Grande-Terre's northernmost point, Pointe de la Grande Vigie, is also the northernmost point in Guadeloupe....
, the eastern half of the island of Guadeloupe. Its coordinates are 16°19′N 61°3′W. La Désirade is 11 km long and 2 km wide; the interior of the island forms a central plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
.
Administration
Administratively speaking, the island of La Désirade is part of the communeCommunes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
(municipality) of La Désirade
La Désirade (commune)
La Désirade is a commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. The commune of La Désirade is made up of the island of La Désirade and the uninhabited Petite Terre Islands located about to the south of the island of La Désirade.The administrative centre...
which also includes the uninhabited Petite Terre Islands
Petite Terre Islands
Petite Terre Islands are two small uninhabited islands located about to the south-east of the island of Grande-Terre in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, itself in the Lesser Antilles...
.
History
La Désirade was discovered in 1493 by Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
on his second voyage, and was the site of a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
until 1958.
Tybalt Rosembraise
Tybalt Rosembraise
Born on the island of La Désirade in 1798, of a French hebertist father fleeing the repression of the Committee of public Salute, and of a slave mother descended from the Carib Indians...
was born on the island of La Désirade in 1798.
External links
- Desirade-sante.com Everything you should know about the major public health crisis that occurred in La Désirade.