Basse-terre

a seaport in and the capital of guadeloupe, in the french west indies.
see under guadeloupe.
two islands (b-sse-terre and grande-terre) separated by a narrow channel in the leeward islands of the west indies: together with five dependencies they form an overseas department of france. 687 sq. mi. (1179 sq. km).
capital: b-sse-terre.
historical examples

b-sse-terre is supremely beautiful, its cloud-capped mountains being clothed with a mantle of luxuriant vegetation.
encyclopaedia britannica, 11th edition, volume 12, slice 6 various

noun
a mountainous island in the caribbean, in the leeward islands, comprising part of guadeloupe. area: 848 sq km (327 sq miles)
a port in w guadeloupe, on b-sse-terre island: the capital of the french overseas department of guadeloupe. pop: 12 410 (1999)
noun
an overseas region of france in the e caribbean, in the leeward islands, formed by the islands of b-sse-terre and grande-terre and several offlying islands; in 2007 the island of saint-barthélemy and the part-island dependency of saint-martin were separated from guadeloupe to become overseas collectivities directly subordinate to france. capital: b-sse-terre. pop: 405 500 (2007 est). area: 1780 sq km (687 sq miles)
guadeloupe [(gwahd-l-oohp, gwahd-l-oohp)]

island in the eastern portion of the west indies; an overseas territory of france.

note: tourism is a major industry.