Capesterre-Belle-Eau is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the French

overseas region The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

and

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

, in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. It is located in the south-east of

Basse-Terre Island Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

. Capesterre-Belle-Eau covers an area of 103.3 km² (39.884 sq mi). The 1999 population was 19,568. The population density is 189 persons per km². The inhabitants are called ''Capesterriens''.

Etymology

Its name comes from an expression of the navy of the 17th century: cab-be-ground, which indicates a ground exposed to the east wind. The abundance of the cascades, the rivers and the water levels led to the addition of the phrase Belle Eau, hence the name Capesterre-Belle-Eau.

History

Petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

discovered in the rivers of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and Bananier show the presence of Native Americans. On 4 November 1493,

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

's second voyage unloaded there. Columbus would have met

Amerindians The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Ame ...

. To commemorate this event, a bust of the navigator was raised in 1916 at the entry of Sainte-Marie. In the 17th century, Charles Houël gave land to Dutch colonists driven out of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, so that they could grow

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

there. After the abolition of

chattel slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in 1848,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

indentured workers Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...

were hired to replace the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

slaves. They built a temple in the Shangy district. Near the Bois Debout estate, on a small way leading to an underwood, a flagstone in the Cemetery of the Slaves, requires the visitors to "Honor and Respect" the memory of the slaves. Several tens of unnamed tombs oriented "head towards Africa" are there.

Geography

The town is located at the south-east of the Basse-Terre and is located south of the Capesterre River. Basse-Terre, the capital is south-west and Pointe-à-Pitre is north-north-east.

Carbet Falls Carbet Falls (french: Les chutes du Carbet) is a series of waterfalls on the Carbet River in Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France located in the Leeward Islands of the eastern Caribbean region. Its three cascades are set amid the tropical ...

comprises three cascades.

Climate

Capesterre-Belle-Eau experiences

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

throughout the year, with a wetter season between July and November that coincides with hurricane season. The city receives 2000–2500 mm of rainfall. Tropical heat brings constant highs of around 32 °C (89 °F) that drop to 20 °C (68 °F) at night.

Trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

, called ''alizés'', blow from the northeast and often temper the climate.

Economy

The economy is geared towards agriculture, particularly

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s, thanks to the quality of the soil. Farmers cultivate sugar cane,

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s and

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s of all kinds. A

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

operates there.

Population

Education

Public preschools include:LISTE DES ECOLES PUBLIQUES ET PRIVEES SOUS CONTRAT
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * Ecole maternelle Cayenne * Ecole maternelle Fonds Cacao * Ecole maternelle Ilet Pérou * Ecole maternelle Saint Sauveur * Ecole maternelle Sainte Marie * Ecole maternelle Sarlasonne Public primary and elementary schools include: * Ecole primaire Beuve Anatole * Ecole primaire Bananier * Ecole primaire Belair * Ecole primaire Cambrefort * Ecole primaire Amédée Fengarol * Ecole primaire Ilet Pérou * Ecole primaire Joliot-Curie Frédéric * Ecole primaire L'Habituée * Ecole primaire Minatchy Léonce * Ecole primaire Sainte Marie * Ecole élémentaire Alexius de lacroix Preschool/primary school groups include: * Groupe scolaire Arsene Monrose Public junior high schools include:Établissements du 2nd degré PUBLIC 2017-2018
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * Collège Germain Saint-Ruf * Collège Sylviane Telchid Public senior high schools include: * LDM de l'automobile Paul Lacave

Personalities

* Amédée Fengarol (1905-1951), Guadeloupean politician *Sonny Rupaire, poet *

Henry Sidambarom Henry Sidambarom (5 July 1863 – 15 September 1952) was a Justice of the Peace and defender of the cause of Indian people, Indian workers in Guadeloupe. He was born in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe, and was a Indians in Guadeloupe, Guadeloup ...

(1863–1952), a Justice of the Peace and defender of the cause of Indian workers in Guadeloupe * Sylviane Telchid, writer and professor

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capesterrebelleeau Communes of Guadeloupe