French Guiana — books & literature

The story of French Guiana

Long before Europeans arrived, the coast and rainforest of French Guiana were home to Indigenous peoples including the Kalina (Galibi), Wayampi, and other Amazonian nations. French explorers made early attempts to settle the coast from 1604, and a permanent French settlement took root at Cayenne in 1643; the Treaty of Breda in 1667 confirmed French control. From the late 18th century, French governments used the colony to exile political prisoners , a practice that culminated in the notorious Devil's Island penal colony, opened in 1852 and operated for 101 years until 1953. Enslaved Africans brought to work the colony's plantations included ancestors who escaped into the rainforest and formed autonomous Maroon communities that endure today. French Guiana became a full overseas department of France in 1946, giving its people French citizenship, and in 1964 was chosen as the site of the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou, now Europe's primary spaceport. In 2015, the department and region merged into a single territorial collectivity. Today French Guiana is a layered society of Creole, Maroon, Indigenous, European, and immigrant communities, still part of France and the European Union.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 1500

   Kalina (Galibi), Wayampi, and other Indigenous peoples inhabit the Guiana coast and rainforest before European contact.

2. 1604

   First French exploration and colonisation attempts along the Guiana coast.

3. 1643

   Cayenne founded as a permanent French settlement.

4. 1667

   Treaty of Breda confirms French control of the colony.

5. 1852

   Devil's Island (Îles du Salut) penal colony established under Napoleon III.

6. 1895-1899

   Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully imprisoned on Devil's Island, a scandal that shakes France.

7. 1946

   French Guiana becomes a full overseas department of France.

8. 1953

   The penal colony is formally closed after 101 years of operation.

9. 1964

   The Guiana Space Centre is established near Kourou.

10. 2015

    French Guiana becomes a single territorial collectivity, merging department and region.

Top 10 things to know about French Guiana

1. French Guiana is part of France and the European Union , the only EU territory on the South American mainland.
2. The euro is the official currency, making it the only South American territory to use it.
3. About 98.9% of the land is covered by forest, much of it primeval Amazonian rainforest.
4. Guiana Amazonian Park is the largest national park in the European Union, covering 41% of the territory.
5. The Guiana Space Centre near Kourou is Europe's primary spaceport, chosen for the extra thrust its near-equatorial location gives rockets.
6. From 1852 to 1953, France used French Guiana (Devil's Island and the Îles du Salut) as a notorious penal colony.
7. Capital Cayenne is home to roughly half of the territory's population.
8. The population blends Creole, Maroon communities (descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped into the rainforest), Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and immigrants.
9. French is the official language; Guianese Creole is widely spoken alongside Indigenous and Maroon languages.
10. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was famously imprisoned on Devil's Island during his wrongful espionage conviction.

Famous people from French Guiana

Say it in French Guiana's language

Did you know?

• ★Rockets launched from the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou get an extra thrust boost of roughly 24% thanks to its near-equatorial location.
• ★Devil's Island, the notorious penal colony, once held the wrongfully convicted Captain Alfred Dreyfus, whose case became one of the most explosive scandals in French history.
• ★French Guiana is the only place in South America where the euro is legal tender.

French Guiana culture

• The population is a genuine mosaic: Creoles, Maroon communities (Boni/Aluku and Saramaka, descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped to the rainforest), Indigenous peoples (Kalina, Wayampi and others), and immigrants from Brazil, Suriname, Haiti, and Hmong refugees from Laos.
• Carnival in Cayenne runs for weeks before Lent and is one of the most elaborate celebrations in the region.
• Cuisine blends French, Creole, and Amazonian influences , bouillon d'awara, a rich game-meat stew, is a signature Christmas dish.
• French is the official language, but Guianese Creole is the everyday lingua franca alongside Indigenous and Maroon languages.

Why read French Guiana's books

French Guiana's literary voice runs through the Négritude movement Léon-Gontran Damas helped found , poetry and prose forged from the colony's Creole, Maroon, and Indigenous heritage. These shelves hold that voice and the wider story around it.