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Terre-de-Haut Island (; gcf, label=
Antillean Creole Antillean Creole (Antillean French Creole, Kreyol, Kwéyòl, Patois) is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of Carib, English, and African languages. Antillean Creo ...
, Tèdého; also formerly known as ''Petite Martinique'') is the easternmost island in the
Îles des Saintes The Îles des Saintes (; "Islands of the Female Saints"), also known as Les Saintes, is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided in ...
, part of the archipelago of Guadeloupe. Like name of neighboring
Terre-de-Bas Terre-de-Bas (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Tèdéba) is a commune in the French overseas department and region of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. Terre-de-Bas is made up of Terre-de-Bas Island and several uninhabited islands and islets ...
, name Terre-de-Haut comes from the maritime vocabulary, which called the islands exposed to the "highland" winds and those protected from the wind, "lowlands".


Geography

Terre-de-Haut is separated from Terre-de-Bas by a narrow channel of . Besides Terre-de-Bas, several small islands surround Terre-de-Haut. It is an island of dominated in the north by Morne Mire hill () and Morel hill (). Morel is on the North of the island, between the bay of Marigot and the bay of Pompierre. There is an ancient fortress there, Caroline battery. The Chameau , in the southwest, is the highest elevation in the archipelago. It is covered with forest. On the summit, there is a watchtower, called La tour modèle. Chameau is the property of the
Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on ...
and is a protected site category IV IUCN.Guadeloupe et dépendances
BIODIVERSITÉ ET CONSERVATION EN OUTRE-MER


History

The first recorded European colonizer was
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 ...
in November 1493. He chose the name that the economic powers of the world consider valid. First colonist arrived in 1648. In 1666, the church Notre Dame de l'Assomption was built. The strategic position of Petite Martinique (its former name) was important. In August 1666 French victory over the British ensured French sovereignty over these islands. However, from 1759 to 1815, alternations of British and French Dominions. In 1777 France built the defensive system
Fort Napoléon des Saintes Fort Napoléon (in French: ''Fort Napoléon des Saintes'') is a fortification, located on Terre-de-Haut Island, in the Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe. Property of the Departmental Council of Guadeloupe, it has been classified as a historical m ...
. In April 1782 the
Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...
. The British, who occupied les Saintes in 1809, kept Fort Joséphine and added water butt to it. From the later French dominion it became a
penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
from 1851, but it was ravaged by a hurricane in 1865. It continued however to welcome convicts on the way towards
Îles du Salut The Salvation Islands (french: Îles du Salut, so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland; sometimes mistakenly called Safety Islands) are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about off the coast of Fre ...
, in
French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
until 1902. In 1871, Îlet à Cabrit became a place of
quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
: a lazaretto, was opened instead of the penitentiary. The local vocabulary says: "to go up" to move towards the windward ''quartier'' (to Fort Napoléon) and "to go down" to move towards the leeward ''quartier'' (to Pain-de-sucre).


Demographics

The low
quantitative precipitation forecast The quantitative precipitation forecast (abbreviated QPF) is the expected amount of melted precipitation accumulated over a specified time period over a specified area. A QPF will be created when precipitation amounts reaching a minimum threshold ...
do not allow the establishment of agriculture. Few slaves were brought onto these islands. The population is constituted historically by
Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mo ...
,
Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
and by inhabitants of
Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
who came to fish. In 2017 the population of Terre-de-Haut was 1,532, with a density of population of 255 inhabitants/km2. The number of households was 676.


Populated areas

The oldest settlements are the villages of Mouillage and Fond-du curé. The population is spread among 20 quartiers, grouped into two halves:


See also

*
Fort Napoléon des Saintes Fort Napoléon (in French: ''Fort Napoléon des Saintes'') is a fortification, located on Terre-de-Haut Island, in the Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe. Property of the Departmental Council of Guadeloupe, it has been classified as a historical m ...
*
Dependencies of Guadeloupe The dependencies of Guadeloupe are three islands or island groups in the Leeward Islands chain which are administratively part of the neighboring French overseas department of Guadeloupe in the French Lesser Antilles. They are nearby island entitie ...


Gallery

File:Anse du Fond Curé.JPG, Fond-du-Curé, les Saintes File:Orgues du pain de sucre.jpg, Pain de sucre File:Morne morel.jpg, Morel hill viewed from Fort Napoléon


References

{{authority control Islands of Guadeloupe Inhabited islands of Îles des Saintes