Les Abymes
|
Les Abymes Zabim or Zabym |
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|---|---|
|
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| region | Guadeloupe |
| Department | Guadeloupe |
| Arrondissement | Pointe-à-Pitre |
| Canton |
Les Abymes-1 , Les Abymes-2 , Les Abymes-3 |
| Community association | Cap Excellence |
| Coordinates | 16 ° 16 ′ N , 61 ° 30 ′ W |
| height | 0-120 m |
| surface | 81.25 km 2 |
| Residents | 53,491 (January 1, 2017) |
| Population density | 658 inhabitants / km 2 |
| Post Code | 97139 and 97142 |
| INSEE code | 97101 |
| Website | www.ville-abymes.fr |
 Town hall ( Mairie ) of Les Abymes |
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Les Abymes ( Guadeloupe Creole : Zabim or Zabym ) is a municipality with 53,491 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe .
geography
Les Abymes is located on the island of Grande-Terre in the Guadeloupe archipelago in the Caribbean Sea . The coast in the north borders the Grand Cul-de-sac marin bay .
Neighboring municipalities are (clockwise from the north): Morne-à-l'Eau , Le Moule , Le Gosier , Sainte-Anne and Pointe-à-Pitre and Baie-Mahault on the neighboring island of Basse-Terre , separated by the Rivière Salée strait .
history
It was first mentioned in 1696 when the missionary Jean-Baptiste Labat , known as Père Labat , visited Guadeloupe. He gave the settlement, which was initially made up of just a few houses, its name. The cultivation of sugar cane , which relied on the labor of slaves, played an important role in the development of the community . In 1846, 4,300 out of 4,400 residents were slaves. In 1852 the settlement was relocated to better meet the needs of sugar growing.
1930–1931, the new church Immaculée-Conception (Immaculate Conception) was built from concrete according to plans by the architect Ali Tur , replacing a previous church from 1846.
Since the 1950s, the community in the neighborhood of Pointe-à-Pitre grew very rapidly. From 1950 to 1990 the population quadrupled.
| Population development | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | 1961 | 1967 | 1974 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2011 |
| Residents | 30,791 | 39,911 | 53,605 | 56,165 | 62,605 | 63,054 | 60,053 | 59,311 |
Economy and Infrastructure
Pointe-à-Pitre Airport is located on the municipality's premises . There is also the seat of the airline Air Caraïbes .
The former main branches of industry, the cultivation and processing of sugar cane , cocoa and coffee, have lost their importance, partly because the land consumption due to strong population growth and traffic construction allows little agricultural use. Due to the proximity to Pointe-à-Pitre, industry and trade play an increasing role.
Town twinning
Les Abymes' partner municipalities are Boucherville in the Canadian province of Québec (since 1999) and Créteil in the banlieue of the French capital Paris (since 1981).
sons and daughters of the town
- Sarah Daninthe (* 1980), fencer
- Wilhem Belocian (* 1995), hurdler
- Wylan Cyprien (born 1995), football player
- Jonathan Jeanne (born 1997), basketball player
- Yanis David (* 1997), long and triple jumper
