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Martinique: Islands
built 631 days ago
Petite Martinique is volcanic in origin, having a cone shape, with the highest hill the 'Piton', rising to 756 feet above sea level. The Caribbean Sea laps the shores on the western side of the island and the dramatic Atlantic swells break on the eastern coast. The main beach located on the western side of the island contains two docks. One privately own by the company B & C Fuel Enterprise and the other belongs to the Government of Grenada.
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Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1,128 km2. It is an overseas department of France. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is ... one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, the currency used is the euro. Its official language is French, although almost all of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Cr�ole Martiniquais). Martinique is pictured on all euro banknotes, on the reverse at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ????
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Martinique has all of the appealing attributes of a Caribbean island, as well as a distinctively French atmosphere. It exudes a cachet that is uniquely its own--in the excellence of its cuisine, the beauty of its language, the spice of its music and dance, the quiet chic of its women, the friendliness of its people and the wealth of its African, European and Hindu heritage. It is definitely an island with style.
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Martinique began in 1973: interpreting children's drawings, a seminar directed by the French child psychiatrist Bernard Bousquet. But the true beginning of psychoanalysis in Martinique dates from 1974. It derived from the presence of a Swiss couple, Pierre and Lucette Stittelmann, two non-physician psychoanalysts. Shipwrecked on their way to the Trobriand Islands (Papua New Guinea), they had to land on the island. Their stay was extended until 1980. The Stittelmanns had been trained by and were members of the Swiss Psychoanalytic Society (affiliated with the International Psychoanalytical Association [IPA]).
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The northern part of Martinique will appeal to nature lovers, hikers, and mountain climbers. The drive from Fort-de-France to St-Pierre is particularly impressive, as is the one across the island, via Morne Rouge, from the Caribbean to the Atlantic. This is Martinique's wild side -- a place of waterfalls, rain forest, and mountains. The highlight is Mont Pelée. The south is the more developed half of the island, where the resorts and restaurants are located, as well as the beaches.
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Martinique's economy was depressed... and massive unemployment worked against the independence movement. Emigration to France and French foreign aid had always been a palliative for Martinique's economic problems, and demands for independence resulted only in Martinique's being given greater autonomy. Even the visits of Charles de Gaulle (1956, 1960, and 1964) could not smooth over the political unrest, however, and by the late 1970s the French government, in an apparent about-face, decided to help Martinique become economically self-sufficient in preparation for independence. Economic problems were exacerbated by the widespread destruction from hurricanes in 1979 and 1980. Liberation groups were responsible in the 1980s for several bombings in Paris and the French Caribbean islands. Despite such actions, there was little official movement toward independence.
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