Fuadeloupe

**Fuadeloupe** (Fuadeloupean Creole: *Fwadelup*) is an island territory and overseas region of Marone, located in the Barrabean Sea. The region has a population of 576,190 residents, making it the second most-populous overseas region and most-populous overseas region in the Barrabean Sea.

Like the other overseas regions, Fuadeloupe holds official status as both a region and department of Marone, and is an integral part of the Maronan Republic. The region was formed in 1956, following the decolonization of Marone which led to some colonies becoming overseas regions.

## History

### Early history

It is believed that the island of Fuadeloupe was first settled by indigenous peoples of Espanola, possibly as far back as 2000 BCE. It is unknown which groups originated settlement on the island, but the Barrab people had arrived and conquered the island by 1300 CE. The Barrab settlers on Fuadeloupe began an agricultural society, which was heavily involved in trade with neighboring Barrab settlements on other islands in the region.

Eureans first arrived in Fuadeloupe in 1502, following the arrival of Dario Suárez de Paéz and his crew during the first voyage of the Era of Exploration. With Suárez de Paéz's arrival in Fuadeloupe, this marked the first territory in Espanola that Eureans had arrived to since the beginning of the Era of Exploration, and his voyage influenced other Eurean explorers to venture to other territories in the region. Suárez de Paéz named the island, but attempts at colonization by the Kingdom of Spana consistently failed in the 16th century, due to hostility from the native people.

### Maronan colonization

The Maronans took interest in Fuadeloupe beginning in the 17th century, and a successful expedition was led to expel the Spanians from the island in 1635. Pierre Gargot d'Ébernac took leadership in Maronan colonization efforts, and brought several Maronan farming families to the island to colonize the land. This led to devastation for the indigenous people, with more than 80% of the indigenous population of Fuadeloupe dying due to diseases brought by Maronan settlers within the following ten years. The colony entered an economic downfall in 1684, and was later sold to the Maronan crown in 1688. Following the sale, the Maronan government began importing Tarfican slaves onto the island in order to establish a plantation economy, focused primarily on sugar production, which created a booming economy on the island.

By the 18th century, Fuadeloupe had become the most prosperous of Marone's colonies, and its plantation economy was expanded to include coffee and cocoa production as well. The success of Fuadeloupe's plantations led to immense wealth for the Maronan colonists and slaveowners who resided on the island and owned its plantations. Following the Maronan Revolution in 1799, the republican movement in metropolitan Marone strongly urged the Fuadeloupean authorities to abolish the practice of slavery, but the colonists refused. Taking advantage of the political situation in Fuadeloupe at the time, the Ditrovian Kingdom invaded Fuadeloupe in an attempt to conquer it in 1806, but was met with fierce resistance by the Maronans, resulting in the deaths of more than 20,000 people during the invasion.

Slavery continued in Marone until the nationwide abolition of slavery by the National Congress in 1820. After the abolition of slavery, the Fuadeloupean slaves were freed, with many going on to settle permanently on the island. However, many freed slaves continued to work on plantations, in similar conditions to how they worked as slaves. The government also began bringing Tirians to Fuadeloupe as indentured servants following the abolition of slavery, with many going on to work both on plantations and on infrastructure projects for several years until paying off work contracts and receiving their freedom. Many Tirian indentured servants went on to settle permanently in Fuadeloupe following the completion of their contracts, while others returned to Tiria. Indentured servitude in Fuadeloupe began to decline by the early-20th century, and was outlawed by 1906.

### Modern history

During the Rubenian War (1946–1953), economic issues affected the entirety of Marone and its overseas colonies, leading to a growing movement in Fuadeloupe to seek independence from Marone. The movement also stoked racial tensions, with incidents of racial violence between Fuadeloupe's upper-class white residents and working-class black residents becoming more frequent. In the war's aftermath, the economy improved and support for independence began to decline.

Fuadeloupe received its official status as both an overseas region and department of Marone in 1956, following the 1954 status referendums. Residents of Fuadeloupe voted for further integration with Marone, with 58.9% of voters in favor and 39.7% opposed. As a result of the referendum, the independence movement in Fuadeloupe died down and most of the former plantation owners and their descendants migrated to metropolitan Marone.

## Demographics

The Maronan census does not ask demographic questions, apart from place of birth. Following the 2018 Maronan census, 89.1% of residents were born in Fuadeloupe, 3.8% of residents were born in metropolitan Marone, 1.0% were born elsewhere in overseas Marone (primarily Tartinique), 0.9% were born abroad with Maronan citizenship at birth, and 5.2% were immigrants. The majority of the immigrant population in Fuadeloupe come from neighboring islands in the Barrabean Sea, largely due to the relatively high quality of life in Fuadeloupe compared to other islands in the region.

### Metropolitan areas

There are three metropolitan areas (Maronan: *métropoles*) located in Fuadeloupe. The largest of which is Haute-Terre, which includes seven communes and has 258,340 residents, making up nearly half of the population of Fuadeloupe.

 Petite-Colline-la-Diotte | **Petite-Colline****La Diotte**Les GaletsGrand-BassinPetit-CanatRoche-Blanche | 196,640

### Ethnic groups

As the Maronan census does not ask respondents about their ethnicity, there are no official numbers regarding the ethnic groups present in Fuadeloupe. The overwhelming majority of the population of Fuadeloupe are believed to be of Tafro-Barrabean ethnic origin, descending from Tarfican slaves brought to the island to work on plantations in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are several ethnic minority communities on the island as well, including Tiro-Barrabeans, descended from indentured servants from Tiria who arrived on the island in the 19th century, Eureans, and Shinese. Much of the Eurean population in Fuadeloupe descend from the original Maronan colonists in Fuadeloupe; the Eurean community in Fuadeloupe is by far the most economically prosperous, and control a significant amount of the business and industry on the island. This has led to increased tensions between the Eurean community and the Tafro-Barrabean community, with much of the Eurean community having migrated to metropolitan Marone in the mid-20th century due to ethnic tensions. Many Fuadeloupeans are also of mixed origin, with the majority of islanders having a mixture of Tarfican, Tirian, and Eurean origins, to varying degrees.

### Languages and religion

The sole official language of Fuadeloupe is Maronan, which is the language of the government, education system, and entertainment industry in Fuadeloupe. Fuadeloupean Creole, a creole language derived predominantly from Maronan, is also widely spoken. However, Fuadeloupean Creole holds no official status and is mainly used in informal contexts. Languages such as Spanian and Shinese are also spoken on the island by recent immigrants, although it is uncommon for these languages to be preserved after several generations.

The predominant religion in Fuadeloupe is Christianity, principally Eurean Catholicism. It is estimated that Eurean Catholics comprise 95% of the population in Fuadeloupe, followed by Tirism at 2%, which is practiced by some members of the Tiro-Barrabean community. The remaining 3% of the population is comprised of adherents to other religions, such as traditional religions or other forms of Christianity, in addition to those identifying as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious.

## Government

### Politics

*Main article: Politics of Fuadeloupe*
Like other overseas regions of Marone, Fuadeloupe has a combined regional and departmental council known as the General Council of Fuadeloupe. The General Council possesses the powers of both a departmental and regional council, and is the chief legislative body within the territory of Fuadeloupe. One of the members of the General Council is also elected by voters to serve as president, a role akin to a prime minister; the president is typically the leader of the electoral list that receives a majority of seats in the General Council.

### Administrative divisions

Like other regions of overseas Marone, Fuadeloupe is divided into communes, which are grouped into arrondissements. There are 28 communes in Fuadeloupe, and two arrondissements.

Arrondissements serve no legal function in Marone, other than being the jurisdictions of prefects and subprefects. Communes elect both a mayor and municipal council, and are responsible for services such as water management, sanitation, garbage disposal, keeping a civil register, and municipal police.