Figure 1.--This photogrsah wa taken in French Guiana (February 1975). It shows the Amer-Indian people called Antilleans by the French. They constitute only about 5 percent of the population, but his is a larger percentage than most Latin Americb countries other than the Andes and Meso-America. The rivers were vitl to these people.

The population of French Guiana is very diverse, probanly the most diverse in the Americas. The major components is Creole or Guianese Mulatto (about 40 percent). These are the descendents of the enslaved Africans imported by the French planters. The rest of the population is a diverse group of nearly 10 different etnicities, each constituting about 5-10 percent of the poulation. They include Antilleans (Amer-Indians), Brazilians, French, Chinese, Haitians (sometimes included with the Creoles), Maroons, South Asians, Surinamese, and others. The French are one of the largest groups other than the Guianese mulatos, but still less than 10 percent. Many are descendents of paroled criminals because France used French Guiana as a prison colony. More than 70,000 French convicts were deported to French Guiana (1852-1939). Despite this modern image, French Guiana is perhaps best known a kind of huge penal colony where Papillon and Cpt. Alfred Dreyfus were most famously left to rot away. Other groups are the descdents of workers brought in by the French to work the plantations or in more recent years who have emigrated from neigboring countrues because of relatively high wage rates. The indigenous or Amer-Indian population refrerred to as Antillians constitute only about 5 percent of the population. The mother and son here are a good example (figure 1). Many of their communities include the descendents of escaped slaves, but primarily the maroons firmed thdei own destincr communities. Because of the varied origins, a range of languages are spoken. The official language is French. the most widely spoken language is Guianese Creole French. The indigenous languages are Wayampi, Carib, and Emerillon. Many also speak languages of the various immigrant communities. French Guiana is a highly urbanized society. Some 85 percent of the population live in cities and towns, primarily around Cayenne. Almost all of the rest of the population is located in the coastal area. The interior is still largely unihabited.

Created: 1:05 PM 11/20/2021
Last updated: 1:06 PM 11/20/2021