Martinique Past and Present

The movement from Martinique's past to present has presented the island with a number of hardships

Looking Back

When Christopher Columbus first spotted Martinique, he said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen, and with its gorgeous yet rugged mountainous terrain, which is covered by lush exotic flowers and vegetation, it's not hard to see what he meant. The Arawaks and Caribs, who were the island's indigenous people, called Martinique"Land of Flowers" because of its breathtaking landscape, featuring a spectrum of vivid and exotic plant and flower species.

Believe it or not, this beautiful Caribbean destination was overlooked by early European explorers, but eventually it was colonized by the French in 1635. French settlers wasted no time taking advantage of the island's rich soil, which was perfect for the cultivation of sugarcane. During colonization, sugarcane was the most profitable industry of the 17th and 18th centuries. After the French settlers devastated the population of the Carib Indians who were living on the island, they proceeded to bring African slaves to the island to fuel the ever-growing sugarcane plantations on Martinique.

Because settlements on Martinique produced so much sugar, the colonies on the island were France's most valuable properties in the Caribbean. Except for a few short periods of British rule, Martinique has remained in France's possession since it was colonized. The French officially annexed the island in 1674 and took firm control in 1815. The history of Martinique was forever changed in 1902 when Mount Pelé erupted and destroyed the then capital city of Sainte Pierre, killing 30,000 of its residents. Fort-de-France took the place of Sainte Pierre and is now the island's capital city.

After 300 years of French rule, Martinique became a Department of France in 1946, and it is a popular tourist destination. Tourism has overtaken Martinique's agriculture as the leading foreign trade moneymaker, and tourism supports a great deal of the island's economy.

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