Guadeloupe History

History
Guadeloupe was discovered in 1493 but it wasn't until 1635 when the island was settled by the French. Most of the indigenous Carib Indians fled the island or were killed in skirmishes with the French.

Guadeloupe remained a French colony until 1946 when it became an Overseas Department of the French Republic. The islands of St. Martin and St. Barthelemy are also included with Guadeloupe. 

Timeline
1493 - Christopher Columbus landed on Guadeloupe, while seeking fresh water 1674 - Guadeloupe was annexed to the kingdom of France 1759 - The British captured Guadeloupe 1763 - The British government decided that Canada was strategically more important and kept Canada while returning Guadeloupe to France in the Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years War 1810 - The British seized the island and continued to occupy it until 1816. 1813 - Britain ceded Guadeloupe to Sweden for a brief period of 15 months. During this time, the British administration remained in place and British governors continued to govern the island 1815 - The Treaty of Vienna definitively acknowledged French control of Guadeloupe 1843 - An earthquake caused the La Soufrière volcano to erupt and killed over 5000 people 1865-1866 - Guadeloupe lost 12,000 of its 150,000 residents in a cholera epidemic 1946 - The colony of Guadeloupe became an overseas department of France 1974 - Guadeloupe became an administrative center and its deputies sit in the French National Assembly in Paris 2007 - The island communes of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy were officially detached from Guadeloupe and became two separate French overseas collectivities with their own local administration 2009 - French Caribbean general strikes exposed deep ethnic, racial, and class tensions and disparities within Guadeloupe