FRENCH WEST INDIES. The French West Indies form part of that stretch of vol canic islands which seem to connect North and South America. France possesses from the north to the south: the northern part of the island of Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, Guadeloupe and its dependencies, Desirade, Marie Galante, the Saintes Isles and Martinique. Martinique and Guadeloupe — the two sister islands — hold the foremost place among the French Antilles.
Guadeloupe was discovered by Christopher Columbus who, while making a second exploring expedition in the Atlantic, perceived on 4 Nov. 1493 an island which he named after the monks of the convent of Notre Dame de Guadeloupe in Estremadura. The island remained Spanish until 1635 when Du plessis and Olive took possession of it in the name of gla Compagnie des Iles d'Amerique? In March 1674 the colonization companies being in straightened circumstances the islands were made part of the royal domain, but the admin istration of the king was interrupted from 27 April 1759 to 4 July 1763 by a first occupation by the English under the command of Admiral Moore and General Barington. On 21 1794, during the Revolutionary period, the island was retaken by the English, only to be recovered on 2 June following by the delegates of the National Convention, Victor Hugues and Chre tien. A third and last British occupation took place during the Wars of the Empire lasting from 1810 to 1816 when Guadeloupe was definitely restored to France.
Area and Topography, Guadeloupe, which has an area of 1,780 kilometers (583 square miles), is divided into two islands in dependent of each other : Guadeloupe proper or Basse Terre and Grande Terre, separated by a stretch of sea about six miles in length and of a width varying from 90 to 300 feet. Basse Terre has the form of an irregular ellipse; it possesses many signs of its original volcanic state, there being still some active volcanoes, like the Soufriere. Grande Terre is in the form of a triangle and the principal ports of the colony are found there: Pointe Pitre, Moule, Saint Francois, Sainte Anne and Port Louis. There are three districts in the island: Basse Terre, Pointe a Pitre and Marie Galante. Dur ing winter, Guadeloupe is subject to severe atmospheric perturbations and is frequently dis turbed by cyclones in August and September.
In order to form a correct idea of the traffic movements in the principal products exported, we must take the figures for a normal year and not one which has suffered from the war (the 1914 and 1915 returns amounted to 43,728,540 francs ($8,745,708) and 46,323,164 francs ($9,264,632) respectively).
Moreover, it is not fair to take a year like 1913 when atmospheric conditions were very un favorable —38,462,419 francs ($7,692,483). We will therefore take the year 1912 which may be considered as normal; the commercial move ment amounted to 45,608,418 francs ($9,121,683), made up of 19,524,116 francs ($3,904,823) im ports and 26,084,302 francs ($5,216,860) exports. Sugar-cane products hold the foremost place. The production of cane sugar has reached 39,000 tons, representing a value of 16,660,000 francs ($3,332,000 annually) ; the planters at present concentrate their efforts on better varie ties and pay more attention to the extracting processes. The molasses exported in 1912 amounted to 714,000 litres (188,638 United States gallons) of a value of 103,000 francs ($20,600). Rum is exported to an amount of 9,697,000 litres (2,162,740 gallons) representing a value of 4,155,000 francs $81,000). Coffee is grown more particularly in the middle region, having an altitude of over 600 feet; the kind cultivated is the Arabian coffee or gLe Liberia,x' which at the best is used for grafting. The colony ex ported 1,108 tons of coffee of a value of 2,605, 000 francs ($521,000) in 1912. The cultivation of cocoa has been continually on the increase during the last 20 years, the export figure for 1912 being 925 tons valued at 1,400,000 francs ($280,000). Vanilla and vanilla products, cultivated more especially in Basse Terre, varies from one year to another; in 1912, 25 tons valued at 396,000 francs in 1913, 20 tons, in 1914, 11 tons, representing a value of 220,000 francs ($44,000). The fruit trade is mak ing progress, although this still leaves some thing to be desired; the principal fruits ex ported are bananas (12,800 kgs., 28,160 lbs.), pineapples (156,077 kgs., 343,369 lbs.), coconuts (26,000 kgs., 57,200 lbs.). Commerce in dye producing plants is declining. Rocou is ex ported to an amount of 43 tons representing a value of 17,290 francs ($3,458) as against 88 tons in 1910 of a value of 63,000 francs ($12,600). Wood for cabinet making is ex ported to an amount of 24 tons valued at 5,500 francs ($1,100).