Iracoubo 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 ...

on the coast of

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. ...

, 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 mainla ...

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, ...

of France located in South America].

Geography

The settlement of Iracoubo, seat of the commune, is located between the settlement of

Sinnamary Sinnamary is a town and commune on the coast of French Guiana, between Kourou and Iracoubo. Sinnamary was the second French settlement founded in French Guiana: the town was founded in 1664. Sinnamary lies on the Sinnamary River and is hom ...

and the hamlet of Organabo. The village of Bellevue is west of Iracoubo. Trou Poisson, a near abandoned village is located to the south. The village has a cemetery of priests deported during the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

History

The commune was originally settled by

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 Am ...

near Organabo. The first settlers arrived in 1626, but were driven back. In 1765, the

Galibi The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...

s who had left the area for

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nort ...

because an epidemic had broken out, returned. In the beginning of the 19th century, Iracoubo started as a cotton plantation owned by Colonel Jacquet. In 1859, the cotton shed is donated to the community to serve as church. During the late 19th century indigenous

Kalina Kalina may refer to: People * Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of the northern coastal areas of South America * Kalina language, or Carib, the language of the Kalina people * Kalina (given name) * Kalina (surname) * Noah Kalina, ...

lived along the Rococoua river in Counama and Organabo. In 1886, Father Raffray arrived in the village, and started to build the Saint Joseph's Church which opened in 1893. The church is notable for its elaborate decorations on the walls and ceiling created by Pierre Huguet, a convict of the penal colony. Saint-Joseph was declared a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

in 1978. In 1912, the introduction of

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 and

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

strengthened the economy which remains based on agriculture, hunting and fishing. Iracoubo is located on the

Route nationale 1 The Route nationale 1 is a trunk road ( nationale) in France between Paris and Calais. It is approximately long. Reclassification The majority of the original road has been superseded by the A16 autoroute. As a result, much of the road has n ...

connecting

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's mot ...

Organabo

Organabo is a Galibi village located in the commune. As of 2020, the population is about 200 people, and consisted mainly of elderly people, because the youth had moved on to the city. The village used to be on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environmen ...

of the Iracaoubo River facing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

, but is now several kilometres land inwards. The population primarily lives from fishing, and agriculture. In December 2018, the villagers were given

communal land Communal land is a (mostly rural) territory in possession of a community, rather than an individual or company . This sort of arrangement existed in almost all Europe until the 18th century, by which the king or the church officially owned the l ...

. The village is self sufficient, and therefore self isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

Nature

Crique et Pripri Yiyi is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

and wetland located in the commune.

River

Iracoubo is also a river in French Guiana. Its mouth is located at . The river is 160 kilometres long and flows into Atlantic Ocean.

References

External links

Iracoubo @ Annuaire-mairie
(in French) {{Authority control Communes of French Guiana