Îles des Saintes
| Îles des Saintes | ||
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| Waters | Caribbean Sea | |
| archipelago | Lesser Antilles | |
| Geographical location | 15 ° 52 ′ N , 61 ° 37 ′ W | |
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| Number of islands | 9 | |
| Main island | Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas | |
| Total land area | 12.8 km² | |
| Residents | 2661 (2015) | |
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The Îles des Saintes (or Les Saintes ) are a group of islands in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe . They are located approx. 15 km southeast of the western main island of Guadeloupe and, like them, belong to the archipelago of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean . They have an area of 12.8 km² and 2661 inhabitants (as of 2015), which are spread over the two main islands of Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas .
geography
The two main islands of the small archipelago are Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas, with Terre-de-Haut being the central square with a unique natural harbor . In the north-east of this island there is also the historic Fort Napoléon , which covered the entrance to the port militarily. Coffee , cotton , pepper and bananas are grown on Terre-de-Bas .
Another seven islands are uninhabited, including the islet Îlet à Cabrit, which protects the harbor bay.
history
The Saintes (originally Los Santos in Spanish ) owe their name to Christopher Columbus , who moored here on All Saints' Day in 1493 and therefore named the archipelago that way. The first French settlers settled around 1648. Because of its strategically excellent location (“ Gibraltar of the Antilles”) , the island was contested between France and England , although the archipelago only became French in 1816.
On April 12, 1782, the sea battle of Les Saintes took place off the coast of the islands .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Discover the overseas territories: La Guadeloupe ( Memento of December 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), france.fr, accessed on December 16, 2013.