The Atlantic Ocean is to the north.
About 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the
coast is Devil’s Island, once known for
housing France’s political prisoners and
wartime spies. The land is mostly lowlying.
The Tumac-Humac Mountains in
the south rise to 2,300 feet (700
meters). The climate is hot and humid.
Plants and Animals
Tropical rain forests cover much of
French Guiana. Animals of the region
include tapirs, ocelots, sloths, great anteaters,
armadillos, monkeys, and parrots.
People
Mulattoes, or people with both black
and white ancestors, form the largest
ethnic group in French Guiana. There
are smaller groups of French, Haitians,
Surinamese, Antilleans, Chinese, Brazilians,
East Indians, and others. French is
the official language, but different
groups also speak their own languages.
Most people are Roman Catholics.
French Guiana has a small population
for the amount of land it covers. Most
residents live in urban areas along the
coast.
Economy
French Guiana receives much of its
income from a European rocketlaunching
base near the town of
Kourou. Most people work for the government
or in services, including health
care, banking, and tourism. French Guiana
also produces gold, shrimp, rice,
meat, wood products, and rum.
Devil’s Island was once known for the horrible
treatment of prisoners there. Today the
island is a popular tourist destination.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA French Guiana 67
History
The original inhabitants of French Guiana
were Carib and Arawak Indians.
French traders settled there in the 1600s.
The French later brought African slaves
to work on sugar plantations. By the
mid-1800s France was sending prisoners
to the territory. French Guiana became a
department of France in 1946.
#More to explore
Rain Forest • South America
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is a group of about 130
islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It
lies between South America and Australia.
French Polynesia is an overseas country
of France. It mostly rules itself, but
for some things it depends on the
French government. The capital of
French Polynesia is Papeete, on the
island of Tahiti.
Geography
French Polynesia is part of the region
calledOceania.Most of the islands are the
rugged tops of ancient volcanoes. Atolls
make up the rest of the land. They are
coral reefs surrounding a pool of water.
French Polynesia’s climate is tropical.
Sometimes the islands are hit by powerful
storms called typhoons. Rain forests
and coconut, breadfruit, and other fruit
trees grow on the islands.
People
Most of the people of French Polynesia
are Polynesian. They are descended from
the people who first settled the islands.
The rest of the population consists
mostly of French and Chinese. Most of
the people live in or around Papeete.
They speak Polynesian languages or
French. Most people are Christians.
Economy
Tourism is very important to French
Polynesia’s economy. Other industries
include fishing and raising shrimp and
oysters. Pearls, which are made by oysters,
are a valuable export.
History
Polynesians might have settled on the
islands as early as 200 BC. Europeans
started arriving in the 1700s. France
made Tahiti and some surrounding
islands into a colony in 1880. In 1946
France made French Polynesia an overseas
territory, which gave the islands
some power to rule themselves. In 2004
France gave French Polynesia more independence
and named it an overseas
country.
#More to explore
France • Oceania • Volcano
Volcanoes created Bora-Bora, an island in
French Polynesia.
68 French Polynesia BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
French
Revolution
In 1789 the people of France began the
French Revolution. The revolution
brought down their king and made
France a republic—a country ruled by
the people. This republic did not last, but
France never returned to its old, unequal
form of society. The ideas of the French
Revolution spread to many other
countries.
Background
In the 1780s several groups in France
were pushing for change in society. One
of them was a new class of wealthy city
people called the bourgeoisie. They
wanted more power. Meanwhile, farmworkers
and other common people were
tired of working hard for the nobles, or
rich landowners. Many were angry
about paying taxes that nobles did not
have to pay. At the same time, French
thinkers called philosophers called for
new forms of society and government.
The French government was weak. It
had spent too much money on costly
wars. The most recent of its wars was the
American Revolution, in which France
had helped the colonists defeat the British.
King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-
Antoinette also spent a great deal of
money on themselves while the rest of
the country suffered.
Revolution Begins
To help him solve France’s problems,
Louis XVI called together the Estates-
General in May 1789. The Estates-
General was a group made up of
representatives from the three classes, or
estates, of French society: the church,
the nobles, and the commoners. In June
most of the commoners and some members
of the other groups broke away
from the Estates-General. They declared
that they were now a National Assembly
that represented the entire country.
