Cayenne
commune and capital city of French Guiana
Cayenne (; French pronunciation: [kajɛn] ; Guianese Creole French: Kayenn; Sranan Tongo: Kayana, [kajana]; Eastern Maroon Creole: Kayen or Kayeni) is the capital, prefecture, and largest city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "fert aurum industria", which means "work brings wealth". Cayenne is the largest Francophone city of the South American continent.
In the 2023 census, there were 153,884 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Cayenne (as defined by INSEE), 62,675 of whom lived in the city (commune) of Cayenne proper.
History
The Spanish explorers who first visited the area found the region too hot and therefore chose not to settle it. The region was not colonized until 1604, when the French founded their first settlement. However, it was soon destroyed by the Portuguese, determined to enforce the Treaty of Tordesillas. French colonists returned in 1643 and founded Cayenne, but were forced to leave once more following the attacks by the local Indigenous Amerindian population. In 1664, France finally established a permanent settlement at Cayenne.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Cayenne” as commune and capital city of French Guiana. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as commune and capital city of French Guiana. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q44401. VIAF identifies the subject as 147769175. The Library of Congress control number is n82083475. Authority coordinates are 4.939, -52.335. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023, 1604, 1643 and 1664.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cayenne”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cayenne primary sources, Cayenne archive and Cayenne research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cayenne”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cayenne” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.