Atlas of the French Overseas Departments, 3: Guadeloupe
Atlas des départements français d'outre-mer, 3: La Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe · Unknown · 1982
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The Atlas of Guadeloupe
Papy, Louis · 1984
The paper reviews *L'Atlas de la Guadeloupe*, the final volume in a collection of atlases of French overseas departments conceived by Guy Lasserre. Created by a multidisciplinary team from research centers and universities, the atlas aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive geographical foundation for regional planning and economic development. The content systematically presents the physical environment, including the complex volcanic geology of Basse-Terre, the karstic landscapes of Grande-Terre, tropical climates and cyclone hazards, and the distribution of vegetation and soils. A detailed historical overview traces population dynamics from the colonial era through the abolition of slavery to the recent demographic transition, highlighting the rapid decline in birth rates and the role of migration to metropolitan France. The socioeconomic analysis focuses on agricultural systems, notably the historical dominance and restructuring of sugar cane and banana exports, the modernization of livestock raising, and efforts to diversify crops. Additional sections assess forestry, artisanal and modernizing fisheries, and the limited industrial sector. The atlas concludes that Guadeloupe’s economy is highly dependent on metropolitan support, with deep ethnic and social divisions overlapping land tenure patterns, while demographic control and agricultural rationalization mark the most significant recent trends. The work stands as an essential reference tool for understanding the island’s spatial organization and the challenges facing its tropical environment.
The Guadeloupean Archipelago as an Atlas
Doumenge, François · 1985
This review highlights the completion of the exhaustive cartographic coverage of the French Overseas Departments through the publication of the Atlas of Guadeloupe by the C.E.G.E.T. in Bordeaux. As the final volume in a series following the atlases of Réunion and Martinique, this work presented exceptional challenges due to the geographical dispersion of the Guadeloupe archipelago, which encompasses not only the main island complex but also outlying territories such as Saint-Barthélemy and the French part of Saint-Martin. Benefiting from progressively refined cartographic techniques and mature conceptual frameworks, the atlas stands as the finest of the series. It also represents the crowning achievement of a monumental scientific cycle shaped by Guy Lasserre, whose earlier doctoral thesis focused on the archipelago. The atlas results from an intimate collaboration among C.E.G.E.T., the University of Bordeaux III, the Centre Universitaire Antilles-Guyane, and numerous other specialists, bringing together 38 co-authors. Drawing on rich and original documentation, it provides a true encyclopedic compendium of local situations. The work offers classic examples of tropical island characteristics in vegetation, pedology, land use, land tenure structures, and urbanization forms. Published under the auspices of the C.N.R.S. and O.R.S.T.O.M., the atlas constitutes a high-level scientific document that honours the French school of tropical geography, strongly influenced by Pierre Gourou and exemplified by Guy Lasserre. Moreover, it serves as an essential instrument for fostering more harmonious and effective regional development through an enhanced understanding of the complex physical, human, and economic environment of the insular region.
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