Weather
Subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity.
Terrain
Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin.
Currency
Euro (EUR~FRF)
Languages
French (official) 99%, Creole patois
Religion
Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1%
Ethnic groups
black or mulatto 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
History
Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe
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