Black and mixed race, main community
The majority on the islands, the descendants of slaves uprooted from their African homelands form the main community in Guadeloupe. Mixing, some of which was forced during slavery, has given rise to mulattos born of a "domino" (white-black) union, mestizos or quarterons (a quarter of black blood, i.e. a single black grandparent in a white descendants). They are the guarantors of the Creole culture, also mixed, and still very much alive: language, literature, music, dance, culinary arts...
In Les Saintes, the blond locks are undoubtedly of Celtic origin. Many Saintois have kept the light eyes and blond hair of Brittany or Normandy, the homeland of their ancestors. Sometimes, their Breton identity is quite pronounced! Nevertheless, they claim to belong entirely to Guadeloupe.
On the islands of Marie-Galante and Désirade, interbreeding has shaped a plural population that, willy-nilly, has had to adapt, live and work together.
The Coolis Indians, a close-knit community
From 1854, following the abolition of slavery, landowners brought Indians to the archipelago to work in the sugar cane fields and sugar factories. The settlers saw them as cheap labor. Leaving the miserable conditions of their native lands, the Indians hoped for a contract, or even a plot of land. These contract conditions were rarely respected, yet most of them stayed. Settling mainly in the communes of Le Moule, Saint-François, Capesterre-Belle-Eau, on the heights of Saint-Claude and in Matouba, the Indians cultivated the land with skill, sometimes on the side of a volcano, as is the case in Saint-Claude. Even today, the community is close-knit and integrated, but this was not always the case. When they first arrived, the former slaves harbored animosity towards them. It took generations for this hostility to subside. While the Tamil and Hindi languages have all but disappeared, elements of Indian daily life have become part of Guadeloupe's heritage. Everyone is familiar with gumbo, colombo, Madras fabrics... Sugar cane also comes from India. The word "punch", in Sanskrit, comes from the number "five"(pancha), a reminder of the five ingredients of the drink that British masters ordered from their Indian servants. The Indians have chosen to preserve some of their traditions and beliefs, while most have adopted the Christian religion (Catholic, Adventist, Evangelical...). They built several temples in Guadeloupe, including the most spectacular one at Capesterre-Belle-Eau, which can be seen from the main road.
The Békés, descendants of great white families
Descended from some thirty former large white estate-owning families, this group is very present in Martinique, but less so in Guadeloupe. They retain an aristocratic perception of their identity. There are no written codes, but the members of this community are governed by traditional habits and customs that bind them together. Failure to abide by these "rules" can result in exclusion from the community, or even social isolation. Béké culture, founded on the colonial economy, has undergone profound changes since the 1980s. Exchanges with the rest of society have intensified considerably, even in agriculture. Recognized as descendants of the colonists, and thus present on the island for generations, they have a thorough knowledge of their land and the Creole language. While many Békés continue to farm the land, the community has largely reconverted to the secondary and tertiary sectors, notably in local retailing (food, car dealerships, etc.). They are less present than in Martinique, however, because unlike Guadeloupe, which remained under French influence during the Revolution, the sister island is under English tutelage. In Guadeloupe, slavery was abolished for the first time, then the use of the guillotine, which mainly targeted the planter-settler class, upset the pre-established patterns between blacks and whites. Martinique escaped this change and maintained its internal structure. The consequences of this bipolarity are still felt today on the island, where economic power is held mainly by the Békés.
Metropolitans
Retirees, families looking for sun or a new start, Guadeloupe lovers, civil servants... Many Hexagonians have settled and are still settling in the archipelago, for a few months, a few years or a lifetime. While most of the time, these new arrivals have settled in serenely, they have sometimes caused tensions, particularly in the past. Whether on the part of the new arrivals, some of whom make no effort to integrate, or on the part of the West Indians, some of whom, upset by this kind of behavior, can display a certain mistrust.
On average, the "Métro" stays in the Antilles for three years (referring to civil servants from France), which affects lasting relationships. Once the five-year mark has been passed, relationships are likely to change, for the better.
Blanc-Matignon
A group whose name is associated with a section of the Grands-Fonds du Moule. Their descendants and their names have come down to us, accompanied by countless legends... They are even said to have family links with the Grimaldis of Monaco! A priori, they owe their name to a very large family of planters, the first of whom is recorded in Guadeloupe in the mid-17th century: Léonard Matignon. With several hundred members, these landowners specialized in second crops such as coffee, cocoa and cotton, and for a time took particular care to preserve the "uniformity" of their group through internal marriages. The collapse of the colonial economy and the many changes in Guadeloupean society have somewhat upset these habits.
Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese and Syrians
To a lesser extent, the Chinese do as the Indians do and speak perfect Creole. Today, they run restaurants or small food stores. Lebanese and Syrians have also formed a community. The first itinerant traders (clothing, fabrics, jewelry, etc.), they criss-crossed the countryside, offering what they saw as the best credit. They then moved into the main shopping streets of Pointe-à-Pitre and finally into the commercial premises of the Jarry area in Baie-Mahault and the new Providence area in Le Abymes.
Caribbean
Populations from neighboring islands emigrate to Guadeloupe, for its higher-than-average economic level. The Haitian, Dominican (Dominican Republic) and Dominican (Dominica) communities are trying to integrate, despite a certain reluctance on the part of some of the local population. The number of immigrants remains difficult to determine, as a certain number manage to enter illegally. These Caribbean immigrants are often relegated to the least qualified jobs, and their standard of living remains well below that of the rest of the population.
Creole, the imprint of a new culture
With origins dating back over five centuries, the word "Creole" refers to much more than just the living language of the islands. Steeped in history and culture, of which the use of the language is one component, it extends far beyond the borders of Guadeloupe, the Antilles and even the Caribbean. Creole is plural, so it's important to talk about it in all its diversity. The earliest known texts date from the mid-18th century. Born during the colonial period and used by both powers, the word has Spanish(criollo) or Portuguese(crioullo) origins. As with any emigration in successive waves, the slaves were cut off from their natural idioms. Their descendants know only the new environment of the islands and the Americas. The term "Creole" was first used to designate the black population of the islands, and soon came to encompass the entire colonial culture, enriched by the languages spoken in the various Western and African countries that made it up. The mass deportation of people from the African continent, but also from the Indian subcontinent, played a role in its propagation, especially as the groups were systematically separated. From this, it's easy to imagine the incredible mosaic that was formed - fertile ground for the birth and development of a new language. For a long time, Creole was stigmatized and labelled with various terms, often pejorative or ironic. It was derided as "deformed French, oversimplified, with abnormal intonations and gibberish"... Long forbidden in some families, Creole is now used by everyone on a daily basis. Since 2012, Creole has been taught in the archipelago's schools, and it has even been recognized as an official language in Martinique in 2023.
Creole mythology
The revolutionary period ushered in a change: fairy tales, folk songs, humorous texts and political declarations by the Convention were all written in Creole. This was the start of a golden era, with grammars being written in Creole, Lafcadio Hearn publishing tales, and serials appearing in the press, such as Tonton Dumoco's Mémoires d'un vonvon... Children's stories are rich in animals (Kompè Lapen, Kompè Macak, Kompè Tig) and luscious characters (Ti Jean, Ti Chica, Misié Liwa, La Diablès and Manman Dlo). The legends are full of zombies, volants, soucougnans and other mofwazé.
The parenthesis closed in the mid-twentieth century, when the trend was towards assimilation. Writers, with a few exceptions, no longer recognized Creole literature and remained very close to the French language. However, for several decades now, trade union activists, politicians and cultural figures have been seeking to rehabilitate this language, which has become a political and cultural issue, a means of defending West Indian identity against assimilationist conservatives. Poetry and comic books are flooding onto the market in Creole, advertising is being transformed, and zouk music, reggae and even rap are exploding in Creole. In an unprecedented move, the Université Antilles-Guyane instituted a Creole linguistics course in 1973. Since 1981, Aix-en-Provence has been home to an institute for Creole and Francophone studies. Local writers have won prestigious literary prizes, such as Guadeloupean Maryse Condé, who was awarded the alternative Nobel Prize for Literature at the end of 2018. To federate these trends, researchers and pedagogues attempted to establish a common lexicon for Antillean Creole, and in 1981 launched a new movement: Bannzil Kréyôl ("Creole Archipelago"). The term is also used to describe the creolization of the world. International Creole Day is celebrated on October 28. Although the CAPES in Creole language was created in 2002, it wasn't until the start of the 2019 academic year that the agrégation in Creole was launched at the Université des Antilles. Creole teachers are now recruited for both secondary and higher education.
The aging population, a major challenge in the archipelago
Guadeloupe's population is aging. This demographic decline, which is confirmed year after year, can be explained by a number of factors, including longer life expectancy, lower fertility rates and the departure of young people to pursue their studies or find employment in France, due to the lack of local employment opportunities. By way of example, the archipelago lost 23,700 inhabitants between 2010 and 2020.
By 2030, a third of the population will be over 60, compared with a quarter in 2017. Guadeloupe is thus facing a major problem in terms of health, care and care for dependent people. By 2030, the number of dependent persons is expected to reach around 28,000, up from 20,000 in 2021. (Source: Insee.)
This is why, for several years now, West Indian associations such as "Alé Vini" in Guadeloupe, have been working to help the many young graduates and working people who have left France to study or work, to resettle in their home territory.
