TO2X Team will be active from Guadeloupe, IOTA NA - 102 in CQ WW DX SSB Contest, 26 - 27 October 2024.
Team - M5RIC, GW4XUM, K1XX, W1MD.
Recent DX Spots TO2X
TO2X Log search Before and after contest they will be active as FG/M5RIC, FG/GW4XUM, FG/K1XX, FG/W1MD.
QSL via LOTW, ClubLog.
QTH Locator - FK96ia.
The long-suffering Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is a territory in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, which, among other things, is a French overseas department.
Geographically, the Guadeloupe region is part of the Lesser Antilles (or the Lesser Antilles Archipelago). Interestingly, Guadeloupe is actually made up of two islands, Grande Terre (meaning "high land") and Bas Terre (appropriately translated as "low land"). These two islands are separated by a small strait, but many geographers and even natives consider Guadeloupe a single island, and the strait is perceived as a river (even has a name - Salé), which separates the two shores.
In addition, the archipelago includes such islands as La Desirade, Marie-Galant, Les Saintes, and the uninhabited lands of Petit-Terre.
Guadeloupe. Author - Jerome Delaunay.
Climate, flora and fauna of the region
Is it worth talking about the climate in these latitudes? Naturally, it is humid tropical. The average year-round temperature here is 25-29 degrees above zero, although in certain periods it can go as high as 35 degrees. A huge amount of precipitation in the form of tropical rain - water falls from the sky almost all summer and half of the fall.
It goes without saying that in such a climate, the entire territory of the islands should be covered with tropical forests... And so it was until the hand of man began to cruelly cut down trees on a huge industrial scale. As a result - Grand Thera was left without forests at all; Bas Thera is still rich in forests on the slopes of mountains and hills, but the frantic pace of cutting down trees and further exporting them will certainly lead to imminent devastation.
The animal world of Guadeloupe is scarce - mostly inhabited by representatives of birds, among which there are "exclusive" species that live exclusively here - Guadeloupean mellanerpes.
Among mammals one can often find rats and mice, which annually cause enormous damage to the agriculture of the region - namely, plantations with sugar cane, which is grown here everywhere and is an important economic factor in Guadeloupe.
The authorities of the department even decided to introduce mongooses to the islands to exterminate harmful rodents. However, this idea failed and caused even more damage to agriculture and nature of the region - together with rats, mongooses exterminated a huge number of birds and some mammals. As a result, the authorities created another problem - a great number of breeding mongooses on the islands.
The aquatic world (not unlike the terrestrial one) here is extremely dense and diverse - in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea there is a huge number of various exotic fish and mammals. However, the surprising fact is that the fishing business here has not been properly developed and popularized.
Guadeloupe. Author - Phoenix Radieux.
Historical background
The point of historical reference of the islands is considered to be around the 3rd century BC. In those distant times, the Arawaks (ancient Indians) lived here. They were engaged in fishing, as well as cultivation of some crops.
Arawaks lived here without grief and troubles until the VIII century. Then the Caribs came here and drove out the ancient Indians from the places they had occupied for centuries. The territory received a new name - "Islands of beautiful waters" (Karukerra).
The first foreigner who discovered these territories was the famous Christopher Columbus, who came across the islands in 1492 during his second expedition. The navigator named the place Santa Maria of Guadalupe Extremadura.
In 1634, the French "laid their eyes" on the islands. The authorities decided to colonize these territories. French troops landed on the islands a year later and destroyed a huge number of Caribs. The conquered lands began to be used as sugar cane plantations.
Officially, the territory of Guadeloupe passed to France in 1675. However, these lands were also to the liking of the English Crown and attempts were made to drive French troops out of Guadeloupe. Toward the end of the XVII century, the English even conquered the land. But eventually Guadeloupe returned to France - on the basis of the Treaty of Paris.
However, the restless British seized Guadeloupe again in 1811. The islands belonged to England until 1813, then the land was transferred to Sweden, which in turn returned Guadeloupe to France a year later under the same Treaty of Paris.
Finally, in 1846, Guadeloupe became an overseas department of France, which it is to this day....
Guadeloupe. Author - Judith Chagnon.
Conclusion
Guadeloupe is a long-suffering region with a rich and unique history. Despite a colonial past that markedly slowed down the department's development in the past, in the present Guadeloupe is intensively developing and growing in all directions.....
