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Origin and history

The externate Saint-Joseph-de-Cluny is a Catholic school founded in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century by the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint-Joseph de Cluny. Originally created to educate the young girls of the French colonies, he first settled on the Morne River in Caille in 1840, before moving in 1882 to its current location, at the corner of Arago and Ennery Streets in Pointe-à-Pitre. The architect Alexandre Petit, known for the nearby church Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, would have contributed to its construction. The site, consisting of two bodies of buildings connected by a chapel, was classified as a historical monument in 1988.

The school is part of the congregation's educational mission, encouraged by Minister Joseph-Henri-Joachim Lainé under Louis XVIII to develop teaching in the West Indies. The first stone was laid after the authorization of the governor of Guadeloupe in 1854, allowing the construction of a more spacious boarding school, completed in 1860. The school, first reserved for girls, then opened up to boys and became a private school group in the 20th century.

The architecture mixes colonial and Empire styles, with a brick ground floor and a wooden floor topped with living attices. The entrance gate, made of limestone, features a arch in the middle of the wall and a pediment. The cobbled inner courtyards, bordered by an arcade meadow, and the chapel testify to the typical spatial organization of the religious establishments of the time. The protected elements include buildings, chapel, courtyards and the enclosure wall.

The congregation obtained civil recognition by the French State in 1870, consolidating its role in local education. Today, the externate welcomes nursery and elementary classes, perpetuating the educational and spiritual tradition of Saint Joseph of Cluny. Its ranking among historical monuments underlines its heritage importance in Guadeloupe.

The sisters of Saint-Joseph de Cluny, who had been present in Basse-Terre since 1822, responded in 1839 to the call of the municipality of Pointe-à-Pitre to found a communal school. Their gradual installation, from Morne to Caille in the city centre, reflects their adaptation to the growing needs of the population, in a colonial context marked by the expansion of educational and religious infrastructures.

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