Few details are known regarding the trajectory of the French artist Émile Goury, who in 1839 visited what were then the French colonies of the Caribbean. This view depicts the island of Basse-Terre, the largest of the islands that constitute the archipelago of Guadaloupe, located in the eastern Caribbean, known today as the overseas department of France.

Coming out of the high, vast, and clear sky, tropical light harshly bathes the landscape. The view of the spectator is led from the foreground, along the sunny path, through soft hills, until arriving at the tall mountain peaks of the background. Everywhere, the dense, green tropical vegetation of the island appears, its coloring offering the only interruption to the turquoise patch of the sea at the right and the warm orange and red tonalities of the clothes worn by the local character resting at the entrance to the bridge, as well as others who are crossing it.