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Martinique

Map of 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. It has a Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of .mq.

Contents

History

Main article: History of Martinique

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.


Politics

Main article: Politics of Martinique

(Subdivisions)

Main article: (Subdivisions) of Martinique

See also Communes of the Martinique département

Geography

Main article: Geography of Martinique

Economy

Main article: Economy of Martinique

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Martinique

Culture

Main article: Culture of Martinique

See also: Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe

Miscellaneous topics

External links and references

  • Some material from the CIA World Factbook
  • Maps and Pictures (French) http://www.martinique-nature.com


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 | Navassa Island | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Turks and Caicos Islands | U.S. Virgin Islands




Last updated: 02-07-2005 01:25:46
Last updated: 02-19-2005 10:44:21