[3] The main groups being Amerindian, French Guianese, Saint Lucian Arabs, and Chinese.

[2] The Karipuna had long been in contact with French Guianese which intensified during the gold rush of 1854 in Approuague.

[2][5] The borders between French Guiana and Brazil were not clear, and therefore, the area between the Amazon and the Oiapoque was considered a neutral territory.

[9] In the 1920, the Brazilian government started to exert control over the "frenchified" Amerindians in the Oiapoque region, and embarked on a colonization program which failed in 1925.

This resulted in the demarcation by FUNAI of a common area of 5,181 km2 for the Palikur, the Uaçá Galibi, and the Karipuna do Amapá.

[14] The opening of the Oyapock River Bridge has accelerated the migration to the urban area around Cayenne, and led to the founding of Résidence Arc-en-ciel.