geography

Today's Flag - Guadeloupe 1

Today’s Flag – Guadeloupe

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Originally Guadeloupe was inhabited by the relatively peaceful Arawak peoples from about 300 CE and by the 8th century the more hostile and warlike Caribs had taken over.  They remained isolated an in undisputed control until their discovery by Columbus, on his second voyage, in November 1493.  He gave the island the name that it carries to this day.  It is also said that Columbus first saw a pineapple on Guadeloupe even though they had been grown in South America for centuries, but of course, Columbus never found the South American mainland.

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Today's Flag - French Polynesia 3

Today’s Flag – French Polynesia

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The flag consists of two red horizontal bands which encase a wide white band.  The bands are at a fixed width ratio of 1:2:1.  In the center of the white band is a blue and white disk with a blue and white wave pattern which depicts the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern which depicts on the upper half.  There is a Polynesian canoe riding on the wave pattern.  The canoe has a crew of five, represented by five stars.  The five stars are meant to symbolize the five island groups (The Bass Islands are generally grouped with the Austral Islands even though they are geographically distinct and separate from the main Austral archipelago.

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Today's Flag - French Guiana 4

Today’s Flag – French Guiana

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But the prison system wasn’t isolated to the three islands of the Isles of Salvation.  The main prison camp was along the western border with Dutch Guiana, now known as Suriname.  The islands were used to isolate the “worst of the worst” as well as for political prisoners who were housed on Devil’s Island itself.   Île Royale was for the general population of the worst criminals of the penal colony to roam about in moderate freedom due to the difficulty of escape from the island.  Île Saint-Joseph was for the worst of those criminals to be punished in solitary confinement in silence and for extra punishment in darkness of the worst of the worst criminals of the penal colony.  Conditions were so harsh, especially the presence of tropical diseases that would likely go untreated, that of the estimated 56,000 prisoners sent to the islands, only about 10% survived the experience.  Those who survived their sentence enjoyed freedom but were never to be allowed to return to metropolitan France, instead being condemned to live the rest of their days on the mainland.

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The Flag of France 5

The Flag of France

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The tricolor has its origins in the flag of the city of Paris which was blue and red, with blue on the hoist side.  Interestingly, at least to me, this exact flag configuration has also been attributed to the Phoenicians, whom you will recall settled in the south of France near modern day Marseilles.  Perhaps there is a connection? This arrangement is also echoed in the modern flag of Haiti, which we will get to eventually.  During the revolution, partisans would wear red and blue “cockades,”

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Today's Flag - Norway 6

Today’s Flag – Norway

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Norway is likely one of the most progressive and prosperous nations on Earth.  The wealth and social welfare generated by plentiful natural gas and oil resource extraction from the North Sea territorial waters of Norway has been essential in creating the modern nation of Norway.  The Norwegians, recognizing the finite nature of energy resources as well as shifting global demand toward renewable sources of energy, have wisely and prudently invested much of the wealth into long-term strategic investments to provide a trust fund for the nation.

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