Martinique

The département of Martinique is an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France, located in the Caribbean Sea. The capital is Fort-de-France.

History

Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation.

Birthplace of Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

On May 8, 1902 Mount Pelée, a volcano on the island, erupted and destroyed the town of St. Pierre killing over 30,000 people. Only one resident survived the blast - a prisoner, who was protected by the thick walls of his cell.

Martinique became an overseas département of France on March 19, 1946. This means it is treated equally to every other département in France and has full representation in the National Assembly.

Martinique is especially well known for the number of great authors that have come from the island and become extremely famous in France and throughout the world. It has also become known for a form of music called zouk, which developed in the 1980s.

From the CIA World Factbook

• Geography of Martinique
• Demographics of Martinique
• Politics of Martinique
• Economy of Martinique
• Communications in Martinique
• Transportation in Martinique
• Military: defense is the responsibility of France.
  Military branches: French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie
• Foreign relations of Martinique
• Communes of the Martinique département

See also: Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe

Countries in West Indies
Antigua and Barbuda | Bahamas | Barbados | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada | Haiti | Jamaica | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Trinidad and Tobago
Dependencies: Anguilla | Aruba | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Guadeloupe | Martinique | Montserrat | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Turks and Caicos Islands | U.S. Virgin Islands

Christopher Columbus, while on his last New World voyage. During this time, the island (the third largest in the Lesser Antilles) was settled by Caribs. In 1635 a small contingency of French colonizers arrived on the island. They settled on the northwestern portion of the island, later to become known as St. Pierre. As their numbers grew, the French made their way across the island defeating the very aggressive Caribs. About eight years after settling the island the last of the Caribs were massacred in the area now known as Fort-de-France. Fort-de-France would soon become a major port as Martinique was the first stop for ships following the trade winds from Europe.

After their takeover of the island, the French began importing slaves and sugarcane. They had also taken their hand to tobacco, but tobacco being a weed it would grow anywhere and soon Virginia took over the tobacco industry. With all the productivity on the island, the French soon caught the eye of the British near the end of the 1700s. As a result of this interest a power struggle began for the island between the British and French that would last almost two centuries. Martinique changed hands between the two powerhouses several times, including one incident during the French Revolution. The white planters on the island frightened by both the Jacobin reign of terror and a massacre on Saint Dominique representatives willfully placed the island under British rule. The tug of war finally ended in 1815, when the island was returned to France by England on orders from the Vienna Treaty.

The return of Martinique to France was bittersweet, as the endorsement of slavery continued well after the practice ended on neighboring islands around 1833. Another delay in the end of slavery on the island came when Emperor Napoleon married the daughter of a local plantation owner, Josephine Beauharnais ? it was rumored slavery remained the mainstay of plantation owners as a favor to his in laws. Revolution by French abolitionists in 1848 finally brought slavery to an end. Victor Schoelcher was appointed to head the committee on emancipation.

Mount Pelee started the twentieth century with a bang. On May 8, 1902, the volcano on the northern portion of the island erupted, destroying the town of St. Pierre and killing almost all the inhabitants. Although not widely known, there was one survivor, a prisoner who was locked in the jail dungeon. The remainder of the century was marked by social unrest by factions trying to gain independence from France. Several of these occasions turned violent. As a result Martinique, received greater overseas department status and powers in 1982-1983. By taking the power and distributing it more equally between local councils and leaders rather than all power lying with the prefects. Things have settled down quite a bit in the country now. Although some sugarcane is still produced the majority of the economy is based on tourism, with many French citizens coming for holiday and cruise ships docking on almost a daily basis, the island has flourished.