There is a legend of an international adventurer Tybalt Rosembraise born in 1798 in the penal colony to a French dissident and a Carib slave woman.

On the few square meters of the "Place du Maire mendiant", named in memory of Joseph Daney de Marcillac, remembered for ''tirelessly'' touring Guadeloupe to finance the reconstruction of the island after the great cyclone of 1928, stands the church of Notre-Dame du bon secours, flanked by its bell tower and a massive pear tree high altar, the small town hall, the bust of the heroic Victor Schœlcher, the cannons and a monument to the dead in tribute to the deceased former sailors, which recalls the primordial place of fishing in the island's economy.

During the government of Nicolas Sarkozy, the opening of the États-Généraux de l'Outre-mer ("General States of the Overseas") was declared.

Several study groups were created, one of which dealt with local governance, leading to the conception of a project of institutional modification or a new status for Guadeloupe with or without the emancipation of its remaining dependencies.

At the same time, the conferences of the "southern islands" (name of the last dependencies of Guadeloupe) were opened (Marie-Galante, les Saintes and la Désirade).

The beach at Pointe Doublé is frequently visited by geologists who come to examine the basalt and composite rocks, which give the area its striking multi-coloured appearance.

Since the breakage of the submarine cable supplying electricity to the island by Hurricane Dean in August 2007, the municipality tried to improve its autonomy from the mainland.

And the island is also accessible by tourist planes that can make rotations at the airfield of La Désirade de Grande-Anse, mainly from the Guadeloupe-Polo airport in the Caribbean.

The main settlement on the island is the village of Beauséjour, which has a post office, a library, several grocery stores and restaurants, as also the community's church, which is famous for its altar carved out of locally grown pear tree wood.

The ‘begging Mayor’ was the nickname given to a former Mayor, Joseph Daney de Marcillac, who, after a terrible fire had destroyed most of the village in 1922, went from door to door in Guadeloupe begging for funds and building materials in order to rebuild the two primary schools of the village.

[11] Close to the square, one can find a statue of the French abolitionist Victor Schœlcher, as also a monument in memory of the fishermen who perished at sea and the town hall, built in the style of architect Ali Tur.

While the arid soil on La Montagne's plateau does not permit cultivation beyond subsistence level, the natural vegetation is amazingly rich and varied.

Some of the plant species found are the gaïac (Guaiacum officinale), the mapou (Myrsine australis) and the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale), as well as a protected species of cacti called the "tête à l’Anglais" (in reference to its similarity to the Queen's Guards’ bearskin hats).

Petite Terre is home to rare species of birds such as the Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), the American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus), as well as various types of sandpipers.

A large procession is taken out, in which Le Vétéran, a model boat normally kept in the town's church (Notre Dame de l’Assomption), is paraded all around Beauséjour.

There are also many traditional goat recipes, including curries and stews, which make up a large part of the island's cuisine.