Bouillante

French commune
nomcommune=Bouillante
Malendure Beach and the Pigeon Islets


mapcaption=Location of the commune (in red) within Guadeloupe
région=Guadeloupe
département=Guadeloupe
arrondissement=Basse-Terre
canton=Bouillante
insee=97106
cp=97125
gentilé=Bouillantais
maire=Robert Racon
mandat=2005-present
intercomm="none as of|2007|lc=on"
longitude=-61.75
latitude=16.1
alt moy=
alt mini=0 m
alt maxi=1,096 m
hectares=4,346
km²=43.46
sans=7,536
date-sans=Jan. 2007 census
dens=173
date-dens=2007

Bouillante is "commune" in the French overseas "région" and "département" of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It covers an area of 43.46 km², and as of|1999|lc=on it has a population of 7,336.

History and inheritance

Bouillante was founded about 1635 with the arrival of the first colonists. It was originally named Islet with Goyaves until the XVIII ième century beginning and Fontaines Bouillante of the XVIII ième because of its sources of hot water that were known for their therapeutic virtues.

With the end of Ancien Régime, the civil authorities and religious leaders renamed the city to Bouillante. Moreover, Saint-Louis, religious character, is Patron saint of the commune.

It is at the XVII ième century, period pionnière, that Bouillante knew its apogee. It occupied an important place in the island by the policy of the Kingdom of France. Indeed, the king wanted to make of the Guadeloupe a colony of settlement based on the family small-scale farming and the introduction of volunteers. The latter, from France, were regarded as the first European inhabitants after the Caribbean which lived of an agriculture on denshering and bow net fishing.

It is them which they learned the rudiments from tropical agriculture, if different from their area of origin. These Amerindians were marginalized following the integral report/ratio of the two practical ones and they did not follow all the same route. The two enumerations, that of 1664 and that of 1671, reveal the destiny of the ones and others.

From the years 1960, the commune knew major upheavals with the departure of a great number of young people towards the cities and the metropolis.

Geography

Bouillante is located in the middle of the Coast-under-the-wind, heart of which the shore bouillantais in draws the symbol. Between the communes of Point-Black, Old man-Inhabitants and Small-Borough, the Caribbean Sea, the Crossing and the National forest. The city is to 25 km of Low-ground, the administrative capital, and to 40 km of Point-with-Clown, the commercial city. The territory also extends on the National park.

Its fertile volcanic soil allowed the growing of coffee, which was regarded as one of best in the world. Cotton, market-gardening products, banana, and vanilla also greatly contributed to its economic success for many years.

Today, the economy of the commune is centered on tourism. But agriculture, fishing, the craft industry and geothermics are not negligible activities.

Bouillante profits from a coast cut out with many handles and bays largely open on the broad one and with the shelter of the winds violent one the such Handle to the Boat. One finds beautiful beaches like those of Small-Handle, Anse with sand, Malendure with his famous coral barrier which lodges prestigious Réserve Cousteau.

To the East, a large mountainous chain. Crossing the commune in its North-South axis is the national forest. The climax is the Piton of Bouillante.

External links

* [http://www.bouillante.fr The official website of Bouillante (French version)]
* [http://www.bouillante.fr/index.php?option=com_alphacontent&Itemid=135 The tourism and holidays in Guadeloupe, Bouillante (French version)]