In partnership with the MINEA laboratory, the Service commun de la Documentation is organising a presentation of the book La colonisation de la Guyane (1626-1696) on Thursday 22 April 2021 at 5pm on its premises. This work is published in two volumes by Editions Hermann, and the texts have been compiled, presented and annotated by Martijn van den Bel and Gérard Collomb.
L' The book is published with the support of the Collectivité territoriale de Guyane and the Aimara association, with contributions from Frédéric Blanchard, William Jennings, Yannick Le Roux, Odile Lescure, Christophe Maneuvrier and Jean-Marc Popineau. The books will be available for sale in partnership with the Casa Bulles bookshop, and the evening will close with a book signing by Martijn van den Bel.
The aim of this collection of original texts is to contribute to a better understanding of the history of French Guiana - and in particular the period of European settlement on what was then known as the "Côte sauvage" throughout the 17th century. The book begins in the mid-1620s, when the first expeditions were organised to establish colonies on the island of Cayenne, on the Oyapock and on the Sinnamary. It ends at the end of the seventeenth century, when the colony is up and running: agricultural production is developing in the dwellings where the African slaves work, and the Jesuit missionaries have set about conquering the souls of the natives. Presented in two volumes and preceded by a detailed chronology, many of these texts are unpublished. Based on the original handwritten or published text, each text is accompanied by an introduction and a set of notes that enable the reader to place it in its historical, cultural and social context, making it easier to understand and use, particularly for teachers and researchers.
Gérard Collomb is an anthropologist and researcher at the IIAC (EHESS-CNRS) and is interested in the history, identity construction and social organisation of the Amerindians of French Guiana and Suriname.Martijn van den Bel is an archaeologist at the INRAP in French Guiana and is interested in pre-Columbian archaeology and the ancient history of French Guiana and the Guiana Plateau.
