Colonial School, mid-19th Century, La Place du gouvernement and Hôtel du gouvernement, Cayenne; and La Place des Palmistes, Cayenne
Colonial School, mid-19th Century
La Place du gouvernement and Hôtel du gouvernement, Cayenne; and La Place des Palmistes, Cayenne
oil on canvas
223⁄8 x 321⁄4in. (56.8 x 81.8cm.)
221⁄2 x 32in. (57.2 x 81.3cm.)
Two rare views of the capital of French Guiana in the 19th century. The Hôtel du gouvernement in Cayenne was built between 1749 and 1752 as a Jesuit convent. Following the prohibition of the Jesuits on French soil in 1762 it housed the colonial administration. It became the 'hôtel du gouvernement' at the beginning of the 19th century, quarters for the governors and their staff during the Second Empire (1852-1870), and then became the hôtel de la préfecture in 1947. It survives today as the Hôtel de préfecture de la Guyane, standing on the renamed Place Léopold-Héder. The Fontaine de Montravel seen here also survives. The Place des Palmistes was named after Royal palms from Guisanbourg in the north east of French Guiana were planted there in the early 19th century.
An overseas department of France, French Guiana lies on the Atlantic coast of South America between Brazil and Suriname. Thickly forested, with poor soil and an unhealthy climate, the territory resisted colonisation and was operated as a Penal Colony by the French between 1852 and 1953. Fewer than ten percent of its 56,000 prisoners survived their sentences. It became notorious when Dreyfus was transported to Devil's Island in the 1890s.
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Colonial School, mid-19th Century
La Place du gouvernement and Hôtel du gouvernement, Cayenne; and La Place des Palmistes, Cayenne
oil on canvas
223⁄8 x 321⁄4in. (56.8 x 81.8cm.)
221⁄2 x 32in. (57.2 x 81.3cm.)
Two rare views of the capital of French Guiana in the 19th century. The Hôtel du gouvernement in Cayenne was built between 1749 and 1752 as a Jesuit convent. Following the prohibition of the Jesuits on French soil in 1762 it housed the colonial administration. It became the 'hôtel du gouvernement' at the beginning of the 19th century, quarters for the governors and their staff during the Second Empire (1852-1870), and then became the hôtel de la préfecture in 1947. It survives today as the Hôtel de préfecture de la Guyane, standing on the renamed Place Léopold-Héder. The Fontaine de Montravel seen here also survives. The Place des Palmistes was named after Royal palms from Guisanbourg in the north east of French Guiana were planted there in the early 19th century.
An overseas department of France, French Guiana lies on the Atlantic coast of South America between Brazil and Suriname. Thickly forested, with poor soil and an unhealthy climate, the territory resisted colonisation and was operated as a Penal Colony by the French between 1852 and 1953. Fewer than ten percent of its 56,000 prisoners survived their sentences. It became notorious when Dreyfus was transported to Devil's Island in the 1890s.
two (2)