Open Post- Fun Facts About Martinique

Early inhabitants of Martinique were Arawak and Carib people from South America.

The island was called Madinina (Island of Flowers) by the Caribs.

Christopher Columbus sighted Martinique in 1493 and visited the island in 1502.

French settlers arrived in Martinique in 1635; the island was claimed by France.

Slaves were introduced to the French West Indies in 1636.

In the mid seventeenth century sugarcane replaced tobacco as the main crop in Martinique.

Martinique was officially annexed by France in 1674.

The French colony of Guadeloupe became a dependency of Martinique. In 1775 it was decided to administer Guadeloupe and Martinique separately.

Martinique came under brief periods of English rule in the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.

Apart from the brief occupations by the British, Martinique remained a French possession.

Victor Schoelcher, the French abolitionist, contributed to the end of slavery in the French colonies in 1848.

Martinique became a Department of France in 1946. The further status of Region was granted in 1974.