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Basse-Terre[bAs-ter´] Pronunciation Key, town (1999 pop. 12,410), on Basse-Terre Island, capital of Guadeloupe, a French overseas department in the West Indies. Basse-Terre is a port that ships the products of the surrounding agricultural area. Founded by the French in 1643, it retains its French colonial atmosphere, but its commercial prosperity passed to Pointe-A-Pitre in the late 18th cent. The town was destroyed by a hurricane in 1979, setting back prospects for economic development.
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