Ouanary (; gcr, label=

French Guianese Creole French Guianese Creole (Kriyòl; also called variously Guianan Creole, Guianese Creole in English and Créole guyanais or Guyanais in French) is a French-based creole language spoken in French Guiana, and to a lesser degree, in Suriname and Gu ...

, Wannari) 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 ...

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 and department of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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 sout ...

. Ouanary lies at the mouth of the river

Oiapoque Oiapoque () is a municipality in the north of the state of Amapá, Brazil. Its population is 27,906 and its area is . Oiapoque is also a major river in the same state, forming the international border with French Guiana. The Oyapock River Bridge, ...

. Ouanary is the least populated commune of French Guiana. The settlement of Ouanary is accessible only by boat, helicopter, or light aircraft at Ouanary Airport, a dirt runway.

History

In 1665, the area was claimed for

by Antoine de Noël de la Trompe d'Or. In the 18th century, the Jesuits used the

Palikur The Palikur are an indigenous people located in the riverine areas of the Brazilian state of Amapá and in French Guiana, particularly in the south-eastern border region, on the north bank of the Oyapock River. The Palikur Nation, or ''naoné'', ...

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 ...

for labor. Later they were replaced by slaves from Africa. In 1852, a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

was established on a former coffee plantation, and was the first agricultural penal colony. The colony was finally closed in 1910, and was an economic failure with many prisoners dying or becoming ill. Between 1853 and 1864, 749 prisoners died. In 1950, Ouanary became a commune.

Nature

Montagne d'Argent The Montagne d'Argent or Monte Prata (meaning ''silver mountain'') is a hill in northeast French Guiana, next to Pointe Béhague, on the estuary of the Oyapock River. In 1998, the mountain is protected by Conservatoire du littoral, because 22 p ...

is located in the commune. In 1998, the mountain came under the protection of

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 ...

, because 22 petroglyphs had been discovered on the mountain.

Economy

The economy is based on fishing and agriculture with the main crops being roucou,

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

, and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

References

External links

Official website
(in French) Communes of French Guiana {{FrenchGuiana-geo-stub

History

Nature

Economy

See also

References

External links