Pointe-à-Pitre (; gcf, label=

Guadeloupean 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 Creol ...

, Pwentapit, , or simply , ) is the second largest (most populous) city of

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 ...

after

Les Abymes Les Abymes () is the most populous commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the west side of the island of Grande-Terre, and is part of the largest metropolitan area of Guadel ...

. Guadeloupe is 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 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 ...

, of which it is a ''

sous-préfecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...

'', being the seat of the

Arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre The arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre is an arrondissement of France in the Guadeloupe department in the Guadeloupe region. It has 14 communes. Its population is 204,900 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement of ...

. Although Pointe-à-Pitre is not Guadeloupe's administrative capital (that distinction goes to Basse-Terre), it is nonetheless the region's economic capital. The inhabitants are called "Pointois". In 2018, it had a population of 15,410 in the city ( commune) of Pointe-à-Pitre proper and 250,952 inhabitants in the

urban unit In France, an urban unit (''fr: "unité urbaine"'') is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition , an "unité urbaine" is a ...

Pointe-à-Pitre–Les Abymes.Comparateur de territoire
INSEE It is part of the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

of Les Abymes.

Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport or Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport (french: link=no, Aérodrome de Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet or ''Aéroport Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes'' "Caribbean Hub") is an international airport serving Pointe-à-Pitr ...

, Guadeloupe's main international airport, is located north of downtown Pointe-à-Pitre in the commune of

. Harry Durimel is the current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Pointe-à-Pitre.

Geography

Pointe-à-Pitre is situated on the southwest portion of the island of

Grande-Terre Grande-Terre Island (french: île de Grande-Terre / île de la Grande-Terre; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwantè) is the name of the eastern-half of Guadeloupe proper, in the Lesser Antilles. It is separated from the other half of Guadeloupe ...

, facing the Caribbean Sea; it lies in the centre of Guadeloupe, and is near the Rivière Salée ("Salt River"), which separates Grande-Terre from Basse-Terre Island. The town of Pointe-à-Pitre is surrounded by the communes of

Baie-Mahault Baie-Mahault is a commune in the overseas department and region of Guadeloupe, France. It is the second most populated commune of Guadeloupe, after Les Abymes. The extensive industrial zone of Jarry in Baie-Mahault is by far the most industrializ ...

and

Le Gosier Le Gosier is a commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the south side of the island of Grande-Terre and part of the urban unit of Pointe-à-Pitre-Les Abymes, the largest conurba ...

. Pointe-à-Pitre is on a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

plateau, which was a factor for the construction of the city. The bay, Petit Cul-de-Sac Marin, offers a sheltered port.

Name

The name Pointe-à-Pitre, literally the "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

of Pitre", is often said to derive from a Dutch Jewish sailor/fisherman called "Pieter", who settled in the 17th century on a promontory facing the ''Îlet à Cochon'' ("Hogs Islet"), just to the south of today's downtown Pointe-à-Pitre. The promontory came to be called "Pointe-à-Pieter" (the "headland of Peter") and later "Pointe-à-Pitre".

History

Ancien hôtel de ville de Pointe-à-Pitre 01

French colonial authorities had long thought about establishing a city on the current location of Pointe-à-Pitre, at the junction of Guadeloupe's two main 'island' districts ( Basse-Terre Island and Grande Terre), but several attempts around 1713-1730 failed due to the insalubrious swampy ground. Plan de Pointe-à-Pitre en 1843

During the British occupation of Guadeloupe (1759–1763) a settlement appeared on a hill overlooking the swamps. After the return of Guadeloupe to France in 1763, the city of Pointe-à-Pitre was officially founded under governor Gabriel de Clieu in 1764 by royal edict, and the swamps where downtown Pointe-à-Pitre stands today were drained in the following years, thus allowing the urban development of the city. The development of the city was relatively rapid, partly thanks to the corsairs. In 1780, however, a great fire entirely destroyed the city. Sixty-three years later, in 1843, it was again destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

. The history of Pointe-à-Pitre is marked by many disasters: the fires of 1850, 1871 and 1931, the earthquakes of 1851 and 1897 and the

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s of 1865 and 1928. The city also experienced several epidemics of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

. Its location and large sheltered port have nonetheless allowed Pointe-à-Pitre to become Guadeloupe's largest city and economic capital.

Population

Religion

Eglise Saint Pierre et Saint Paul - PA00105864 04

The former cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, Ancienne cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, testifies that Pointe-à-Pitre has been the episcopal seat of a Roman Catholic Diocese of Pointe-à-Pitre on

. This was united with the present diocese for all Guadeloupe, at Basse-Terre, in 1951, since when its full title has been Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre-Pointe-à-Pitre.

Climate

On the

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 ...

, Pointe-à-Pitre is on the border between

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 ...

(''Am'') and

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(''Af''). Like any other Eastern Caribbean city, it experiences rainfall quite evenly spread during the year, with a wetter season between July and November which coincides with the hurricane season. The city receives 1500–2000 mm of rainfall annually. Tropical heat is the norm, bringing steady highs of around 32 °C (89 °F) that drop to 20 °C (68 °F) at night. The trade winds blow from the northeast and often temper the climate.

Urban area and demographics

The tiny commune (municipality) of Pointe-à-Pitre is the center of a larger

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

covering 11 communes.Unité urbaine 2020 de Pointe-à-Pitre - Les Abymes (9A701)
INSEE This urban area – with 250,952 inhabitants at the 2018 census, representing 65% of the population – is the largest in Guadeloupe and one of the largest among French Overseas territories and departments.

Communes

The eleven communes making up the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre, with their populations in 2017,Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017
INSEE are: *

: 53,491 (Les Abymes being the most populated commune in the urban area and indeed in Guadeloupe, the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre is also often called the "Pointe-à-Pitre-Les Abymes" urban area) *

: 30,929 (the location of the urban area's main seaport and largest industrial park in the Lesser Antilles) *

: 26,783 *

Petit-Bourg Petit-Bourg ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Tibou, ) is the seventh-largest commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe. It is located on the east side of the island of Basse-Terre, and is part of the metropolitan area of Pointe-à-P ...

: 24,277 * Sainte-Anne: 23,675 *

Le Moule Le Moule ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Moul) is the sixth-largest commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe. It is located on the northeast side of the island of Grande-Terre. History Beginning 1635 with the arrival of the French ...

: 22,150 * Morne-à-l-Eau: 17,434 *

Lamentin Lamentin ( Guadeloupean Creole: ) is a commune in the French overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. It is part of the agglomeration of Pointe-à-Pitre, in the north part of Basse-Terre. Three islets are included in the commune: Christop ...

: 16,573 * Pointe-à-Pitre: 15,923 (the historic, commercial and administrative heart of the urban area; facing competition from its suburbs, the congested commune of Pointe-à-Pitre has been losing businesses and inhabitants in the past years) * Saint-François: 12,816 * Petit-Canal: 8,220

Economy

The city is the commercial capital of Guadeloupe, serving as the main port of call for cargo and passengers alike. The main seaport is the Port de Jarry located across the Bay of Cul-de-Sac Marin in the commune (municipality) of

. It has one of the biggest container terminals in the Eastern Caribbean with a quay 600m long. The main exports are food crops (bananas, cocoa, coffee and sugar), animal products (beef, milk, yogurt) and manufactured goods (refined petroleum, textiles and medicines). The extensive Zone Industrielle de Jarry, directly west of Pointe-à-Pitre is a major centre of commercial and light industrial activity, notably for warehousing and distribution. Agricultural production continues in the east of the area where cattle rearing, banana and sugarcane growing continues. The nearby suburb of

is Guadeloupe's main seaside resort. Seventy percent of residents of Pointe-à-Pitre resided in subsidized

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

in 2009.

Notable people

Maryse Condé Maryse Condé (née Boucolon; February 11, 1937) is a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. Condé is best known for her novel ''Ségou'' (1984–85).Condé, Maryse, and Richard P ...

- writer *

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative ...

Francky Vincent Franck Joseph "Francky" Vincent (born April 18, 1956) is a French singer, songwriter, record producer, painter, talent manager and musician from Guadeloupe. Biography Childhood Francky Vincent was born in Pointe-à-Pitre April 18, 1956, in Gua ...

Rodrigue Beaubois Rodrigue Gabriel "Roddy" Beaubois (; born 24 February 1988) is a French professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the EuroLeague. Early life Beaubois was discovered by NBA player Mickaël Piétrus ...

- NBA

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

player *

Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian (; born 4 August 1789 in Pointe-à-Pitre (also written: Ponte-à-Pitre), Guadeloupe; died 24 February 1839 in Pointe-à-Pitre) was one of the first hearing educators in France to achieve native-level fluency in French ...

Jean-Marc Mormeck Jean-Marc Gilbert Mormeck (born 3 June 1972) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He is a two-time unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC and ''The Ring'' world titles twice between 20 ...

, boxer *

Auguste Plée Auguste Plée, born 1787 in Paris and died 17 August 1825 in Fort Royal, Martinique, was a French naturalist. Biography Between 1821 and 1823 he was sketching military installations, ports and towns in Puerto Rico. (in Spanish). After travelling ...

Firmine Richard Firmine Richard (born 25 September 1947 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France) is a French actress. Her film credits include ''8 Women'' and ''Hunting and Gathering''. Personal life In February 2009, Richard took part in demonstrations in Paris ...

Jacques Schwarz-Bart Jacques Schwarz-Bart (born 22 December 1962 in Les Abymes) is a French jazz saxophonist. Biography His mother is the Guadeloupean novelist Simone Schwarz-Bart, author of ''The Bridge of Beyond''. His father was French-Jewish author André Schwar ...

Louis-Gaston de Sonis Louis-Gaston de Sonis (25 August 1825 – 15 August 1887) was a French Army officer who particularly distinguished himself in the Battle of Loigny during the Franco-Prussian War, where he lost a leg. Life Louis Gaston was born on 25 August 1825 i ...

- French Army officer *

Lilian Thuram Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spai ...

- former

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

and

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player. Won 142 caps for

and the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. * Stéphane Zubar -

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

player *

Laura Flessel-Colovic Laura Flessel-Colovic (born 6 November 1971) is a French politician and épée fencer who served as Minister of Sports from 2017 to 2018. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, she has won the most Olympic medals of any French sportswoman, with f ...

- 5-time Olympic medalist in

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

fencing * Patricia Girard - 1996 Olympic Games silver medallist in 100m hurdles *

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...

Clotilde Armand Clotilde Marie Brigitte Armand (born 28 June 1973) is a French-born Romanian politician and businesswoman. Since October 2020, she is Mayor of Bucharest's Sector 1. Armand first ran for Mayor of Sector 1 in the 2016 Romanian local elections on ...

- Romanian politician * Babette de Rozières, TV chef and politician *

Angela Aquereburu Angela Aquereburu (born 11 January 1977) is a Togolese screenwriter, film producer and film director. Biography Aquereburu was born in Togo to a mother from Guadeloupe. Interested in the arts from a young age, she was educated in Togo and Point ...

, screenwriter, film producer and film director

Education

Public preschools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:LISTE DES ECOLES PUBLIQUES ET PRIVEES SOUS CONTRAT
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * Ecole maternelle Raymonde Bambuck * Ecole maternelle Bébian * Ecole maternelle Salvator Cidemé * Ecole maternelle Dubouchage * Ecole maternelle Bonchamps Fernande * Ecole maternelle Rallion Frantz * Ecole maternelle Raphael Jolivière 2 * Ecole maternelle Lauricisque Public primary schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include: * Ecole primaire Raymonde Bambuck * Ecole primaire Salvator Cidemé * Ecole primaire Raphael Cipolin * Ecole primaire Léon Feix * Ecole primaire Amédée Fengarol 1 * Ecole primaire Amédée Fengarol 2 * Ecole primaire Bonchamps Fernande * Ecole primaire Lauricisque Elementary schools include: * Ecole élémentaire Raphael Jolivière 1 Public junior high schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include:Établissements du 2nd degré PUBLIC 2017-2018
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * Collège Jules Michelet * Collège Sadi Carnot * Collège Nestor De Kermadec * Collège Front de mer Public senior high schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include: * LPO Carnot (including the Micro Lycée) Private preschools and primary schools in Pointe-à-Pitre commune include: * Ecole maternelle privée Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur * Ecole primaire privée Saint Joseph de Clun Private secondary schools under contract in Pointe-à-Pitre commune:Etablissements du 2nd degré privé sous contrat 2017-2018
". Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * LP Boc Calmet * Collège/LGT Massabielle

Monuments

Place de la Victoire Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

* La rue Frébault, marché aux Épices (classé MH.) * The musée Saint-John-Perse (classé MH.) * The musée Schœlcher (classé MH.) * The Pavillon L'Herminier (classé MH.) * The

Mémorial ACTe ''Mémorial'' is the official gazette of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is published by the Central Legislation Service (french: Service central de législation), an agency of the government of Luxembourg. Until the Second World War, ''Mémor ...

Le Mémorial ACTe de Guadeloupe présenté à Paris
* The église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul (classée MH). * The church of Massabielle. * Various elements of the civil and religious heritage of the municipality were built by the architect

Ali Tur Ali Georges Tur (20 February 1889 – 26 September 1977) is a French architect. He is known for the hundreds of buildings he designed and built in Guadeloupe from 1929 to 1937 for a total amount of 72 million francs. Early life Tur was born ...

between 1930 and 1935 in a major works initiative by various institutions after the

1928 Okeechobee hurricane The Okeechobee hurricane of 1928, also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin, and the fourth deadliest hurricane in the United States, only behind the ...

. He realized the palais de justice de Pointe-à-Pitre, the hospice hospital on the island, the fish hall, several schools, and the fire station.. * The statues of

La Mulâtresse Solitude La Mulâtresse Solitude (circa 1772 – 1802) was a historical figure and heroine in the fight against slavery on French Guadeloupe. She has been the subject of legends and a symbol of women's resistance in the struggle against slavery in the h ...

, Colonel

Louis Delgrès Louis Delgrès (2 August 1766 – 28 May 1802) was a leader of the movement in Guadeloupe resisting reoccupation and thus the reinstitution of slavery by Napoleonic France in 1802. Biography Delgrès was mulatto, born free in Saint-Pierre, M ...

, Colonel Joseph Ignace, percussionist (popularly known as "Vélo") and the painting of Marché central de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG, Le marché aux Épices. Musée Saint-John Perse 001.JPG, Musée Saint-John-Perse. Musée Schoelcher de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG, Musée Schœlcher. Externat Saint-Joseph-de-Cluny - Vue générale.JPG, Immeuble rue Saint-John Perse.JPG, Guadeloupe Les Abymes carrefour de Lacroix, sur le boulevard des Héros 2.jpg,

, in

. Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG, Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul. Grotte de Massabielle Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG, La grotte de Massabielle. Office du Tourisme de Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG, Tourism office of Pointe-à-Pitre École maternelle Bébian, Pointe-à-Pitre.JPG, school of Pointe-à-Pitre

References

External links

* (in French)
GigaCatholic- the former bishopric
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pointeapitre Communes of Guadeloupe Subprefectures in France Port cities in the Caribbean