Camopi is a commune of

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, an

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, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

located in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. Camopi is mainly inhabited by Amerindians of the

Wayampi The Wayampi or Wayãpi are an indigenous people located in the south-eastern border area of French Guiana at the confluence of the rivers Camopi and Oyapock, and the basins of the Amapari and Carapanatuba Rivers in the central part of the state ...

and Teko tribes.

History

In 1738, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

mission opened on the river Oyapock near the current town of Camopi. The missionaries brought European diseases and caused a depopulation. In 1763, the Jesuits left and most of the population dispersed. During the 18th and 19th century, the Teko had moved into the area which had been home to the Wayampi, and by the 1830s, their territories overlap, however the tribes remained isolated. In 1930s,

and Brasil renewed their interest in the area, and wanted to establish borders. Medical facilities were established in the mid-1950s followed by a school. In the 1960s attempts were made to group the population into bigger villages with limited success. A

granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon (people), Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka people, Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai people, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaccan people, Paramaka and Kwint ...

(paramount chief) was installed according to the

Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

hierarchy, but failed to catch on. In 1969, the town of Camopi was established. Parts of the tribes rejected the modernisations, and in 1970 access to the commune had been restricted. In 1987,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

had established Zones of Collective Use Rights (ZDUC). ZDUC means that the villages have communal land for hunting, fishing, agriculture and gathering. In the late 1980s, gold had been discovered around the river Camopi. Illegal gold miners have moved into area, and villages of Vila Brasil and

Ilha Bela Ilhabela (Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The largest isla ...

had been established opposite the town of Camopi on the other side of the river Oyapock. The

3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie, 3e REI) is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is stationed in French Guiana. Its mission includes the protection of the C ...

has set up a camp to protect the border. Even though Vila Brasil had been built illegally in a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, Brazil designated Vila Brasil as a district of the municipality in 2011. In 2013, the access to the village of Camopi was no longer restricted, and the town had slowly opened for tourism. The southern village cluster of

Trois Sauts Trois Sauts (English: three waterfalls) or Ɨtu wasu is a cluster of four Amerindian Wayampi and Teko villages on the Oyapock River in French Guiana near the border with Brazil. Trois Sauts contains the villages of ''Roger'', ''Zidock'' (also ''Zi ...

still requires a special permit from the

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

. In the early 21st century, the Amerindians started to built hamlets with subsistence farms several kilometres from the town of Camopi. By 2010, there were 45 hamlets, and most had left the main town.

Geography

With a land area of , it is the third-largest commune of France. The village of Camopi, seat of the commune, lies on the border with

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 ...

at the confluence of the rivers Camopi and Oyapock. The commune can only be reached by boat or via the air. It is served by

Camopi Airport Camopi Airport (sometimes called Vila Brasil Airport) is an airport serving the Oyapock river village of Camopi, French Guiana near the border with Brazil. The airport is at the confluence of the Camopi into the Oyapock, adjacent to the Camopi ...

Mont Itoupé Mont Itoupé (also Sommet Tabulaire) is a 826 metres high mountain on the border of the Camopi and Maripasoula communes in French Guiana, France. It is the second highest mountain in French Guiana after Bellevue de l'Inini. The mountain is locat ...

, the second highest mountain of French Guiana, is located within the commune.

Climate

Camopi has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Am''). The average annual temperature in Camopi is . The average annual rainfall is with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in October, at around , and lowest in February, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Camopi was on 30 October 2018; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 14 September 1978.

Villages

* Alikoto Tapele *

History

Geography

Climate

Villages

See also