Baie-Mahault is a commune in the

overseas department and 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the second most populated

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 ...

of Guadeloupe, 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 ...

. The extensive industrial zone of Jarry in Baie-Mahault is by far the most industrialized commune in the islands and the largest industrial park 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 part of the urban area of

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Pwentapit, , or simply , ) is the second largest (most populous) city of Guadeloupe after Les Abymes. Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the ...

, the largest metropolitan area in Guadeloupe, located in the northwest. The inhabitants of Baie-Mahault are called Baie-Mahaultiens.

History

Baie-Mahault may be named for a variety of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

called ''mahault'' or ''mahot'' common in this area. On 29 November 1808, during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, boats from HMS ''Heureux'' attacked French vessels in the harbour and the batteries protecting them. The captain of ''Heureux'' was killed and one of his men was wounded. The British succeeded in destroying the guns of one of the two batteries, and in capturing a schooner. In 1843 there was a severe earthquake. In October 1865, a

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 ...

epidemic flared up. In Guadeloupe, from October 1865 to June 1866, 12,000 inhabitants perished. Mahault Bay was the first and worst hit by the epidemic. In 1910, the Darboussier Factory was constructed. In 1918, the TSF radio station was built. An electric generating plant was built in 1934 which supplied Guadeloupe. 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 ...

destroyed much of the town. The church and the presbytery were rebuilt in 1933. The Gabarre bridge and the industrial and commercial park of Jarry, the largest in Guadeloupe, were built. In 2001, Ary Chalus became mayor.

Geography

Baie-Mahault (''Mangrove Bay'') is located in the borough called Canton and it extends a vast plain of northeastern

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 ...

, where it meets

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 ...

. A channel, navigable by smaller boats, of from 30–100 yards across, called ''Riviere Salee'' or ''Salt River'' separates the two islands. The Baie-Mahault area sets in marshlands and marine cul-de-sacs. The town prospered through fertile arable lands used to grow sugar cane. The mangrove swamps are a few miles east at the Salt River. Baie-Mahault is northwest of the city of

and west of

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 ...

Climate

Baie-Mahault experiences a good amount of rainfall during the year, with a wetter season between July and November which coincides with hurricane season. The town receives 1500 2000 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. The hurricane season occurs from June to November.

Population

Economy

The town is surrounded by one major crop: sugarcane. A sugar factory is southwest of Baie-Mahault. Cane cutters cut cane and sometimes transport it by ox-cart. Southwards, are some banana and pineapple plantations. As the town sits on two bays, there is no surprise that there is a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

port. Basse-Terre grows more crops than Grande-Terre, but has fewer people and most of them are in the

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in de ...

. The artisanal, commercial, and industrial park of Jarry, with more than 3,500 companies is among the very largest industrial parks of France. It accommodates the Port authority of Guadeloupe, the Complex World Trade Center (logistical center of the CCI of Pointe-à-Pitre), the oil terminals of the SARA (Société Anonyme de la Raffinerie des Antilles), and two power plants. The industrial and commercial park of Jarry-Moudong is regarded as the economic lung of the Guadeloupe with employment of more than 10,000. Jarry is ideally located between

and the port, and also accommodates a free zone the EEC intended for the operations of international trade for its warehouses.

Sights

There are two hotels: Hotel-o-Matic in Jarry, and Villa Baie Mahault within walking distance of Baie-Mahault. At the end of the borough, below the town hall, a landing at the edge of the lagoon, is the starting point of tours of the bay. The shopping center of

Carrefour Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, which ...

, in Destrellan is located in Baie-Mahault, sells French imports, such as cologne, perfumes, clothing, food, etc. It is the busiest and largest supermarket zone anywhere in the

, an average of between 5000 and 10,000 shoppers per day. The main sport arena is a single velodrome, the

Vélodrome Amédée Détraux The Vélodrome Amédée Détraux is an outdoor velodrome in Baie-Mahault, Guadeloupe, France. Before 2010 it was called Vélodrome de Gourde-Liane. The concrete track has a length of and is the largest velodrome of the Antilles. It has a capacity ...

, in Gourde-Liane, near Destrellan, and a stadium called Fiesque Duchesne. Artists that have performed there include

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

Diam's Mélanie Georgiades (; born 25 July 1980 in Nicosia), better known by her stage name Diam's (), is a French rapper of Greek Cypriot origin. Biography Mélanie Marie Georgiades was born on July 25, 1980 in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus. Her mother ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

. The industrial park of Jarry has an oil terminal, two electrical and thermal power stations for the many industrial and commercial businesses, and a logistic center for the CCI. A sandy beach near Mahault Bay is protected by

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s. On Pointe Double, you can see a lighthouse and a weather station. A lepers' house, was operated by the ''Soeurs de la Charite'' until 1954.

Sectors

The settlements are depending of the commune are: * Agathon * Beausoleil * Belcourt * Bragelogne * La Jaille * Calvaire * Convenance * Moudong * Jarry * La Retraite * Gourde-Liane * Fonds Richer * Wonche * Destrellan * Trioncelle * La Retraite

Education

Public preschools include:LISTE DES ECOLES PUBLIQUES ET PRIVEES SOUS CONTRAT
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * Ecole maternelle Bourg 2 * Ecole maternelle Lucette Irène Celani * Ecole maternelle de Convenance * Ecole maternelle Edinval Félix * Ecole maternelle Rosita Kammer * Ecole maternelle Merosier Narbal Public elementary and primary schools include: * Ecole primaire Louis Andrea 1 * Ecole primaire Louis Andrea 2 * Ecole primaire de Convenance * Ecole primaire de la Jaille * Ecole primaire Cora Mayeko * Ecole élémentaire Bragelogne 1 Public junior high schools include:Établissements du 2nd degré PUBLIC 2017-2018
" . Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * Collège Maurice Satineau * Collège Gourdeliane Public senior high schools include: *

LP Augustin Arron LP or lp may stand for: Businesses and organizations *LP, Limited partnership in corporate law or a Limited Partner in a venture capital fund In politics *Labour Party (disambiguation), in several countries *Liberal Party, in several countries ...

* LPO Charles Coeffin Private primary schools under contract include: * Ecole primaire privée Massabielle II Private secondary schools under contract: Etablissements du 2nd degré privé sous contrat 2017-2018
". Retrieved on 10 March 2018. * LP/LT Bel Air * Collège/LP Saint-Joseph de Cluny

Notable residents

Christine Arron Christine Arron (born 13 September 1973) is a former track and field sprinter, who competed internationally for France in the 60 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres and the 4 × 100 metres relay. She is one of the ten fastest female 100 metres spri ...

- Lived in the commune during her childhood. *

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 ...

- Very popular

Guadeloupean 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 tw ...

singer, once lived in the commune. *

Johan Petro Johan Petro (born January 27, 1986) is a French former professional basketball player of Guadeloupean descent, who last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. He was selected by the SuperSonics with the 25th overall pic ...

- Part-time resident *

Thomas Lemar Thomas Benoît Lemar (born 12 November 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the France national team. He is known for his versatility, being able to play on both wings and thr ...

- Footballer

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baiemahault Communes of Guadeloupe Port cities in the Caribbean