Native American origins Before Basse-Terre became a French town it was a village of
American Indian horticulturists and potters. The village was on the site of the present
Basse-Terre Cathedral where archaeological excavations found human remains and other evidence of occupation during the restoration of the cathedral. In 2005 on the lower part of a Native American garbage dump, excavations have uncovered a new dump containing large amounts of archaeological material:
food waste, ceramics, stone tools and shell tools, ornaments, charcoal and a tomb.
Birth of the town of Basse-Terre (1635–1649) In 1635, when it was part of
Saint Kitts and Nevis, an expedition was seeking a place of lasting presence in Guadeloupe. The operation was entrusted to
Charles Liénard de l'Olive and
Jean du Plessis d'Ossonville together with 4 missionaries and 550 colonists. The landing took place on 28 June 1635, at Pointe Allègre, far from Basse-Terre. Famine pushed the party to the south near the present town of
Vieux-Fort in early 1636. The relationship between Native Americans and colonists degraded quickly; Liénard then began a bloody war against the locals. In 1660 a treaty forced him to retreat to
Dominica and Saint Vincent. The war forced him to build a fort, today
Fort Olive at Vieux Fort. In 1640
Jean Aubert succeeded Liénard as the government of the island and he soon left the site to settle on the left bank of the '''', which is the current
Gourbeyre marina. In 1643
Charles Houël du Petit Pré replaced Aubert and, in 1649, he left the marina site for the right bank of the Galion and built a fort. Some religious built the first church, now the , shortly afterwards and the city was organized around the chapel and from the fort to the river of Herbs. This was the beginning of Basse-Terre.
Birth of the town of Saint-François (circa 1680) Around 1680 on the right bank of the (
River of Herbs) the
Capuchins built a chapel dedicated to Saint
Francis of Assisi where the present
Guadeloupe Cathedral is located and a second centre of population grew around this place of worship. The River of Herbs separated the two distinct villages: Basse-Terre and Saint Francis. In reality, people flocked to the new town because of raids by English
privateers who burned the town of Basse-Terre in 1691 and again in 1703. Following these raids the people thought that the fort was attracting foreign privateers and consequently moved to Saint Francis. A stone bridge was built in 1739 replacing a ford and a wooden bridge across the river of Herbs.
British occupation (1759–1763) and tentative revival (1763–1789) On 23 January 1759, a
British expeditionary force
captured the island. Guadeloupe was occupied by the British until 10 February 1763, when it was returned to France in the
Treaty of Paris. Basse-Terre experienced a resurgence of activity despite the founding of
Pointe-à-Pitre in 1764 – a town in a better position to receive the ocean swell – and despite a fire in September 1782. The town was partially redesigned around 1787.
Revolutionary period (1789–1802) The
French Revolution reached the island and therefore Basse-Terre in September 1789. In 1793, counter-revolutionary planters
agreed to cede the island to the British. They
captured Guadeloupe, then governed by
Victor Collot, on 22 April 1794 and appointed
Thomas Dundas as the new governor. As early as May 1794,
Victor Hugues, sent by the
National Convention in Paris, managed to recapture the colony and
abolish slavery. The French dislodged the cannon in December 1794 and installed a guillotine. The city was the scene of military operations conducted by General
Richepanse, who was sent by
Napoleon to reestablish slavery, against
Louis Delgrès in 1802. Delgrès retreated to the fort on 20 May 1802 and abandoned it on 22 May.
Difficult renewal (1802–1870) The town was occupied from 6 February 1810 to 30 May 1814 and again from 10 August 1815 to July 1816. For over 20 years Basse-Terre suffered from the effects of these disturbances. Only after four hurricanes (in 1816, 1821, 1825, and 1844) did Basse-Terre think of rehabilitating the construction and development of the Champ d'Arbaud by building a Military Hospital (now Gerville-Réache High School), a bishopric, sanitation, and expansion of the city by creating new neighbourhoods such as Trianon, Versailles, Petite Guinée, and Petit-Paris but the situation remained unchanged, worsened more by a
cholera epidemic in 1865.
Renewed activity (1870–1976) From 1870 the commune began to recover and inaugurated its town hall in 1899. It was the first city in Guadeloupe to be electrified in 1913. The impetus came from
Ali Tur, who arrived after the cyclone of September 1928 and built the courthouse, the General Council, and a market in the 1930s. A port was built (as wooden quays had previously served as a port) from 1961 to 1964, the boulevard was built in 1962 to serve the port: it was extended in 1964 and again in 1965 along what was once a pebble and black sand beach that ran along the coast. On 26 November 1970, 1.5 inches of rain (38.1 mm) fell in a minute, the heaviest ever recorded. Cyclonic conditions repeatedly ravaged the development of this boulevard in 1989 with
Hurricane Hugo and
Hurricane Marilyn in 1995,
Hurricane Lenny in 1999, and
Hurricane Omar in 2008.
Since 1976 In 1976 73,600 inhabitants of Guadeloupe were evacuated (from 15 August to 18 November 1976) due to the high activity of the
Soufrière volcano. Some evacuees never returned and moved to
Jarry. For 20 years, the town centre was depopulated in favour of peri-urban areas or neighbouring towns such
Baillif,
Saint-Claude, and
Gourbeyre despite attempts at renewal.
Heraldry ==Administration==