The town of Basse-Terre is wedged between the Soufrière volcano and the Caribbean Sea. It is located on the southwest coast of the main island of Guadeloupe, in the wrongly named part, considering the presence of the volcano, and which bears the same name as the town “low land”.
Initially, Basse-Terre was the economic and administrative capital of the archipelago. Its critical geographical position, potentially facing natural volcanic threats and striking tropical storms, justified moving the commercial component to Pointe-à-Pitre. Basse-Terre retains the administrative management of the island where you can find the courthouse and the court of appeal to deal with the instances of the island as well as the Diocese of Guadeloupe.
Founded by Governor Charles Houël in 1650, you can discover in this municipality the Fort Delgres built to protect the island from invasions, the Bologne distillery, a major producer of rum in the region, the Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel cathedral built in 1877 of gray stone with the pretty grotto dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, the botanical gardens and the Arbaud field with the imposing monument dedicated to the dead.
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