The name of two islands of the West Indies, separated by a narrow channel. Their capital is Basse-Terre. They were discovered by Columbus in 1493, occupied by the French in 1635, held by the British at various times between 1759 and 1813, transferred to Sweden in 1813, and restored to France in 1816. Its status was changed from colony to a French overseas department in 1946. Columbus named it in honor of the monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Spain. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p470 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p221)

Annotation

two islands in the West Indies separated by a narrow channel

dva ostrovy v Západní Indii spojené úzkou šíjí

DUI

D019430 MeSH Browser

CUI

M0028906

Previous indexing

West Indies (1966-1996)

History note

97