Camopi is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of French Guiana, an overseas region and

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of France located in South America. Camopi is mainly inhabited by

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

s of the

Wayampi The Wayampi or Wayãpi are an indigenous people located in the south-eastern border area of French Guiana at the confluence of the rivers Camopi and Oyapock, and the basins of the Amapari and Carapanatuba Rivers in the central part of the state ...

and Teko tribes.

History

In 1738, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

opened on the river Oyapock near the current town of Camopi. The missionaries brought European diseases and caused a depopulation. In 1763, the Jesuits left and most of the population dispersed. During the 18th and 19th century, the Teko had moved into the area which had been home to the Wayampi, and by the 1830s, their territories overlap, however the tribes remained isolated. In 1930s, France and

Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area a ...

renewed their interest in the area, and wanted to establish borders. Medical facilities were established in the mid-1950s followed by a school. In the 1960s attempts were made to group the population into bigger villages with limited success. A

granman Granman (Ndyuka language: ''gaanman'') is the title of the paramount chief of a Maroon nation in Suriname and French Guiana. The Ndyuka, Saramaka, Matawai, Aluku, Paramaka and Kwinti nations all have a granman. The paramount chiefs of Amerindi ...

(paramount chief) was installed according to the Maroon hierarchy, but failed to catch on. In 1969, the town of Camopi was established. Parts of the tribes rejected the modernisations, and in 1970 access to the commune had been restricted. In 1987,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as May ...

as Prime Minister had established Zones of Collective Use Rights (ZDUC). ZDUC means that the villages have

communal land Communal land is a (mostly rural) territory in possession of a community, rather than an individual or company . This sort of arrangement existed in almost all Europe until the 18th century, by which the king or the church officially owned the l ...

for hunting, fishing, agriculture and gathering. In the late 1980s, gold had been discovered around the river

Camopi Camopi is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Camopi is mainly inhabited by Amerindians of the Wayampi and Teko tribes. History In 1738, a Jesuit mission opened on the river ...

. Illegal gold miners have moved into area, and villages of Vila Brasil and

Ilha Bela Ilhabela (Portuguese for ''Beautiful Island'') is an archipelago and city situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil. The city is from the city of São Paulo and from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The larges ...

had been established opposite the town of Camopi on the other side of the river Oyapock. The

3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie, 3e REI) is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is stationed in French Guiana. Its mission includes the protection of the C ...

has set up a camp to protect the border. Even though Vila Brasil had been built illegally in a nature reserve, Brazil designated Vila Brasil as a district of the municipality in 2011. In 2013, the access to the village of Camopi was no longer restricted, and the town had slowly opened for tourism. The southern village cluster of Trois Sauts still requires a special permit from the

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

. In the early 21st century, the Amerindians started to built hamlets with subsistence farms several kilometres from the town of Camopi. By 2010, there were 45 hamlets, and most had left the main town.

Geography

With a land area of , it is the third-largest commune of France. The village of Camopi, seat of the commune, lies on the border with Brazil at the confluence of the rivers

and Oyapock. The commune can only be reached by boat or via the air. It is served by

Camopi Airport Camopi Airport (sometimes called Vila Brasil Airport) is an airport serving the Oyapock river village of Camopi, French Guiana near the border with Brazil. The airport is at the confluence of the Camopi into the Oyapock, adjacent to the Camopi ...

Mont Itoupé Mont Itoupé (also Sommet Tabulaire) is a 826 metres high mountain on the border of the Camopi and Maripasoula communes in French Guiana, France. It is the second highest mountain in French Guiana after Bellevue de l'Inini. The mountain is loca ...

, the second highest mountain of French Guiana, is located within the commune.

Climate

Camopi has a tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Am''). The average annual temperature in Camopi is . The average annual rainfall is with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in October, at around , and lowest in February, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Camopi was on 30 October 2018; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 14 September 1978.

Villages

* Alikoto Tapele * Trois Sauts

History

Geography

Climate

Villages

See also