Today I purchased an 1782 A 2 Sous billion piece from the French Colony of Cayenne, more recently known as French Guiana.
By the mid-17th century, the Dutch, British and French had all established colonies in the region. Though territorial and commercial arrangements shifted frequently, France consolidated control of the region in 1817. Sugar and rainforest timber became the colony's economic mainstays. Slaves brought from Africa worked the sugar plantations, though their success was limited by tropical diseases and the hostility of the local Indians. The plantations' output never matched that of other French Caribbean colonies, and after the abolition of slavery in 1848, the local industry virtually collapsed.
At about the same time, it was decided that penal settlements in Guiana would reduce the cost of prisons in France and contribute to the development of the colony. Some 70,000 prisoners - including Alfred Dreyfus and Henri 'Papillon' CharriŠre - arrived between 1852 and 1939. Those who survived their initial sentence were forced to remain in Guiana as exiles for an equal period of time, but as 90% of them died of malaria or yellow fever, the policy did little for population growth.
Guiana remained a penal colony until after WWII, becoming a department of France in 1946. Since then, many natives have called for increased autonomy, though only around 5% favor independence from France, partly due to the vast subsidies the French government supplies. The European Space Centre at Kourou has brought a corner of French Guiana into the modern world and attracted a sizable expatriate work force.
I haven't received the piece yet, and the pictures on
ebay were really small. I'm encouraged that the crown shown on the Obverse is flat toward the bottom. Coins with a rounded crown are apparently contemporary counterfiets. :) I'm very happy though! Another obscure country crossed off that long list of OFEC.
***Edited by Forum Dad to fix image code***
Posted 02/03/2008 07:57 am
