Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
map was captured along with the island. France retook Guadeloupe the next year for good,
except for a further British occupation from 1810 to 1815. A map such as this which shows a
theatre of conflict in great detail was useful for defender and invader alike.
The map's title states that it is a topographic plan of part of Guadeloupe between the Rivers
of Baillif (lower left) and of Grande-Ance (top right). The town of Basse-Terre is in red in the
centre of the coast, with Fort St Charles above it (to its right), briefly renamed Fort Matilda
by the British between April and December 1794. The map was annotated by the British mil-
itary to show the forces of named generals. These include Thomas Dundas who was briefly
the island's governor but died there of yellow fever in June 1794.
Beyond its narrower military use the map is a hugely detailed topographical study. It shows
part of the western of Guadeloupe's main islands, called Basse-Terre, or 'low land'. Despite
its name, which refers to its situation leeward of the trade winds, this island is very moun-
tainous. At right is the darkly-shaded La Soufrière volcano at 1,467 metres above sea-level,
higher than Ben Nevis, and the tallest mountain in the Lesser Antilles. The map shows how
the dominating rugged relief is interspersed with forests and grasslands, with fertile flatter
lands along river valleys and the coast. It was here that the island's sugar plantations lay.
This map travelled to London and became part of the Colonial Office map library, filed at
a point when Guadeloupe was British for a short time. It joined maps from the other brief
British invasions of the island. Whatever the original reason it reached the archives, the de-
tailed topography and exquisite draughtsmanship continue to command attention.
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