Guadeloupe
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Guadeloupe. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
one of the Leeward Islands; a French colony. It is divided into two distinct parts by a narrow arm of the sea called Rivière Salée. The larger portion, or Guadeloupe proper, has an area of about 305 square miles, and is of volcanic origin. A ridge of hills traverses it N. and S., the highest points of which are La Soufrière, an active volcano, about 5,108 feet in height, and the extinct volcanoes La Grosse-Montagne, Les Deux Mamelles, and Le Piton-de-Bouillant. The other portion, Grand-terre, has an area of about 300 square miles, and is generally low, never rising to more than 115 feet above the sea-level. The principal exsugar, coffee, dye, cabinet ports are The woods, tafia, hides, copper, etc. principal town, St. Louis, or Point-à- Pitre, was destroyed by an earthquake in February, 1843. Guadeloupe was discovered by Columbus in 1493, and named by him Santa Maria de la Guadalupe, In 1635 it was taken by the French, who held it till 1759, when the English gained possession of it, after which it changed owners several times, till the peace of Pop. 1814 restored it to the French. (1918) 117,219.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
gwa-da-loop, an island of the West Indies . It consists really of two islands separated by a narrow channel. It was discovered by Columbus in 1493 and has belonged to the French since 1634. With a few adjacent islets, it has an area of 688 square miles and a population of 182,000. It is noteworthy as being one of the few French possessions in the new world. There are 11,000 children in school. The trade is chiefly with France. It amounts to about $4,000,000 a year. Sugar, coffee, cocoa, and rum are the principal exports. Slavery was abolished in 1848. The island is of volcanic and coral formation. There are still columns of smoke, and boiling springs. Earthquakes occur
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Both accounts describe a French colony; since 1946 Guadeloupe has been an overseas department of France, so its people are full French citizens, vote in French elections, use the euro and form an outermost region of the European Union. The population Collier's gave as 117,219 in 1918 (Aiton's 182,000, counting the dependencies) is now roughly 375,000, and Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin, long administered from Guadeloupe, were detached as separate French collectivities in 2007. La Soufrière, called "an active volcano" in 1921, threatened to erupt in 1976 and about 70,000 people were evacuated from the Basse-Terre area for months, though the eruption stayed phreatic. Sugar and rum have given way to bananas, tourism and transfers from Paris, and the islands' soils and waters remain contaminated by chlordecone, a pesticide used on banana plantations until 1993.
Written for this edition, 2026.