Slaves brought from Africa worked the sugar plantations, though their success was limited by tropical diseases and the hostility of the local Indians. The plantations' output never matched that of other French Caribbean colonies, and after the abolition of slavery in 1848, the local industry virtually collapsed. At about the same time, it was decided that penal settlements in Guiana would reduce the cost of prisons in France and contribute to the development of the colony. Guiana remained a penal colony until after WWII, becoming a department of France in 1946. The European Space Centre at Kourou has brought a corner of French Guiana into the modern world and attracted a sizable expatriate work force.
Litani rivers encompass a disputed border area.
Most Guianais live along the Atlantic coast, and the area contains most of the country's limited road network. The coast comprises mainly mangrove swamp with a few sandy beaches. Fauna includes monkeys, caimans, tapirs, ocelots and anteaters. The rain falls heaviest from January to June, with May seeing the worst of it. Cayenne, the capital, and Guiana's other Atlantic coast settlements are less muggy than inland areas, but that's not saying much.