Martinique
Historical sites worth seeing include La Pagerie, where Napoléon's Empress Joséphine was born in 1763 (the year that France relinquished rights to Canada in exchange for the French West Indies); Diamond Rock, a 600-ft. pinnacle in the sea manned by the British in 1804 and registered in the British Navy as an armed warship for 18 months, and St-Pierre, Martinique's principal city until May 8, 1902 when Mt. Pelée volcano erupted, wiping out the city and its 30,000 people in just three minutes.
Flag
Martinique is an overseas department of France, and therefore flies the flag of France.
The French national flag - the tricolore - consists of three vertical bands of equal width, displaying the country's national colors: blue, white and red. The blue band is positioned nearest the flag-staff, the white in the middle, and the red on the outside.
Red, white and blue have come to represent liberty, equality and fraternity - the ideals of the French Revolution. Blue and red are also the time-honored colors of Paris, while white is the color of the Royal House of Bourbon.
| Flag | Key Dates In Martinique's History |
Climate | Geography | History |
| Martinique Population | Martinique Religion | Culture | See also |
|
Population
Population density Urban population Life expectancy Official language Principal religion GDP/inhab Total GDP Exports Imports Principal suppliers Unemployment rate |
381,427 inhabitants
after the census of 1999 (359,572 en 1990), estimated 401,000
338 inhab./km² (1999, estimated 354 in 2006) 42% 79 years (men) and 82 (women) (2000) French Roman Catholicism 19,050 in 2006, i.e. US$23,931 at 2006 market exchange rates 7.65 billion in 2006, i.e. US$9.61 billion at 2006 market exchange rates 606 million (2006) 2,584 million (2006) Metropolitan France, European Union, Latin America 23% (2004, (without taking into account "non-declared" revenues). 26,3% in 2000). |
History
Before European colonization, Martinique was inhabited by at least two waves of amerindian settlements. Initially, Arawak tribes lived on the island, of which only traces were found. At the time of European colonization, the Carib Indians had taken over the island.
The island
was under Britain's command during the Seven Years' War from
1762 to 1763; during the French Revolutionary Wars from 1794 to 1802;
and again during the Napoleonic wars from 1809 to 1814. The last
British governor was General Sir Charles Wale. Napoleon's wife,
Joséphine, was born in Martinique to a family of the
wealthy Creole elite. The ruins of the Habitation de la Pagerie where
she spent her childhood can still be visited in Trois-Ilets, across the
bay from Fort-de-France, the island's capital.During the French Revolution, severe conflicts rapidly broke out, developing into civil war. In 1789, a slave rebellion was put down. The following year open war broke out when monarchists, who wanted freedom from revolutionary France, massacred troops faithful to the Parisian revolutionary government. The royalist faction gained the upper hand in 1791 and declared the independence of Martinique followed by refusal to grant rights to the free people of colour. In 1793, the republican-Parisian faction gained support from the revolutionary government in Saint Lucia, which prompted the monarchists to invite British occupation in 1794.
Slavery was banned in 1848. People from India and China were brought to work the sugar cane plantations. Mount Pelée erupted in 1902, killing 26,000 to 36,000 people and destroying Saint-Pierre. During World War II the island was controlled by the Vichy regime from 1940-1943; later it was under the Free French Forces. An important role in the independence movement was played by Aimé Césaire (June 26, 1913 April 17, 2008), a famous poet and essayist. Martinique was the home of Frantz Fanon (July 20, 1925 December 6, 1961), an author, essayist, psychoanalyst, and anti-colonialist revolutionary, who was strongly influenced by Césaire.
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Key Dates In Martinique's History
June 15, 1502 Christopher Columbus lands at Carbet on the Caribbean side of the island.
1635 First French settlement under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc.
October 31 1636 King Louis XIII permits the introduction of slaves to the French West Indies.
1685 Establishment of Colbert's "Black Code" which, in 60 articles, officially governs the lives of slaves until 1848.
1762 - 1848 Martinique is occupied several times by the British.
May 22, 1848 Abolition of slavery.
May 8, 1902 Eruption of Mt. Pelée destroying St-Pierre. Fort-de-France becomes the capital.
March 19, 1946 Martinique acquires the status of a French department. The island is represented by four deputies elected to the French National Assembly and 2 senators in the French Senate.
1983 The Regional Council is established following the French decentralization laws of 1982.
Climate
The mean
temperature averages 79°F. Two regular, alternating wind
currents (east and northeast) cool the atmosphere. These are the tradewinds, called les alizés. There is only about a 5° difference between summer and winter temperatures.
Geography
Martinique lies in the heart of the Caribbean Archipelago and is one of the many islands which make up the group of Lesser Antilles, or "Breezy Islands." The waters of the Atlantic Ocean lap its shores on the east and the Caribbean Sea is to the west.
The island is located 4,261 miles from Paris (8 hours by plane) and approximately 275 miles from the northern coast of the South American continent. The closest two neighboring islands are Dominica (15.5 miles to the north) and Saint Lucia (23 miles to the south.) Martinique is 1,965 miles from New York City, 1,470 miles from Miami, 2,270 miles from Montreal, and 425 miles from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The island has a surface area of 426 square miles and at its greatest length and width measures 50 miles by 22 miles, respectively.
The land rises gradually from the coast toward the center and northern parts of the island. In the north we find the two peaks Carbet and Mont Pelée, a dormant volcano that is the highest mountain on the island at 4,586 ft. This part of Martinique also is a legendary tropical rainforest. In the center of the island, the Lamentin Plain, made up of small rounded hills and enclosed valleys, slopes down toward the south. Salines Beach at the southernmost tip of Martinique comes straight out of a beautiful postcard.
Martinique Population
The local population in Martinique is made up of various types of people. Their diversity is the result of the mixing by different ethnic groups that, at one time or another, have settled on the island.
Martinique Religion
Two Catholic Cathedrals and a large number of parish churches illustrate the importance of Catholicism on the island. However, many religious communities also have their place here, including the Adventist Church and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Culture
As an overseas département of
France, Martinique's culture blends
French and Caribbean influences. The city of Saint-Pierre (destroyed by
a volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée), was often referred to as the Paris
of the Lesser Antilles. Following traditional French custom, many
businesses close at midday, then reopen later in the afternoon. The official language is French, although many Martinicans speak Martinican Creole, a subdivision of Antillean Creole virtually identical to the varieties spoken in neighbouring British-speaking islands of Saint Lucia and Dominica.
Mostly based on French, Martinique's creole also incorporates a few elements of English, Spanish, Portuguese, and African languages. Originally passed down through oral storytelling traditions, it continues to be used more often in speech than in writing. Its use is predominant within friends and the family cell. Though it is normally not to be used in professional situations, it is being increasingly used in the media and by politicians as a way to redeem national identity and by fear from a complete cultural assimilation by mainland France.
Most of Martinique's population is descended from African slaves brought to work on sugar plantations during the colonial era, generally mixed with some French, Amerindian, Indian (Tamil), Lebanese or Chinese elements. Between 5 to 10% of the population is of Eastern Indian (Tamil) origin. The island also boasts a small Syro-Lebanese community, a small but increasing Chinese community, and the "Beke" community, White descendants from the first French and British settlers, which still dominate parts of the Agricultural and Trade sectors.
The Beke people (which total around 5,000 people in the island, most of them of aristocratic origin) generally live in mansions on the Atlantic coast of the island (mostly in the François - Cap Est district). In addition to the island population, the island hosts a metropolitan French community, most of which lives on the island on a temporary basis (generally from 3 to 5 years). There is an estimated 250.000 people of martinican origin living in mainland France, most of them in the Parisian region.
Today, the island enjoys a higher standard of living than most other Caribbean countries. The finest French products are easily available, from Chanel fashions to Limoges porcelain. Studying in the métropole is common for young adults. For the rest of the French, Martinique has been a vacation hotspot for many years, attracting both upper-class and more budget-conscious travelers.
Martinique has a hybrid cuisine, mixing elements of French, African, and Asian traditions. One of its most famous dishes is the Colombo, a unique curry of chicken(curry chicken), meat or fish with vegetables, spiced with a distinctive masala of Bengali or Tamil origins, acidulated with tamarind and often containing wine, coconut milk, and rum. There is also a strong tradition of créole desserts and cakes, often employing pineapple, rum, and a wide range of local ingredients.
See also
Montserrat
Navassa Island
Netherlands Antilles
Panama
Puerto Rico
Saint Barthélemy
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