colony · South America
Territory of Inini
Origins
In 1930 France separated the interior of French Guiana from the coastal colony, creating the Territory of Inini. The aim was to develop the gold-rich forests and administer the indigenous and maroon peoples directly, outside the control of the coastal elected council.
Rule and society
Inini was governed directly by the governor of French Guiana, with its nominal capital at Saint-Élie, a gold-mining settlement. Gold prospecting was the main economic activity, and there was little infrastructure beyond river transport. The territory covered most of French Guiana's land but held only a small population of indigenous Amerindian peoples, maroon communities and gold miners.
Decline and legacy
In 1946, when French Guiana became an overseas department of France, Inini was merged back into it, though the interior kept a separate administrative status until 1969. Its former area now forms the interior communes of French Guiana, home to Amerindian and maroon communities.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Territory of Inini was a colony of French Empire1930 CE – 1946 CE
More states of South America →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Territory of Inini. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-inini
- MLA
- “Territory of Inini.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-inini. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Territory of Inini.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-inini.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Territory of Inini’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/territory-of-inini (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻