LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Martinique
built 633 days ago
At various times Martinique was subjected to attack by various foreign fleets. An attack by the Dutch was repulsed in 1674; further attacks by the English were repelled in 1693 and in 1759. In 1762... the English captured the island, only to return it to France under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The English recaptured it in 1794 and occupied it until 1802; captured once more by the English in 1809, it was definitively restored to France in 1814. Slave uprisings occurred in 1789, 1815, and 1822. The abolition of slavery in 1848 created a labour problem, as a result of which labourers from India and China were introduced.
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Martinique was inhabited by Arawak and Carib peoples at the time Christopher Columbus came across the island in 1493. The island was not colonised by Europeans until 1635 when Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc landed with a hundred French settlers from Saint Kitts. They cleared forests to grow sugar cane... increasing tensions with the native Caribs, and in 1660 those Caribs who had survived the fighting were forcibly removed from the island in what has become known as the Carib Expulsion. In 1642, King Louis XIII authorised an action referred to as "La Traite des Noirs" that allowed for Blacks to be seized in Africa and forcibly brought to work as slaves in the French sugar plantations. The effect of this meant that ensuing Martinican culture and its history has been the result of creolization between the French colonials and their African slaves.
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The best transportation option on Martinique is to rent a car. There are numerous car rental agencies at the airport that can set you up. Be aware that many companies offer a rate that adds on an extra charge for every kilometre you drive. Your home driver's license is valid - as is driving on the right. Motorcycles can ... be rented.
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Pardon. Martinique is a slice of France set down in the tropics. Islanders wear Paris fashions, eat baguettes and croissants from the corner pâtisserie, and pay for them with francs. Zouk music pouring out of tape players, bars and nightclubs will remind you... that Martinicans have a culture of their own that's solidly based on West Indian Creole traditions.
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More than a dozen museums, each with a distinct personality, offer visitors a wonderful opportunity to explore Martinique's history and heritage. The museums are small, designed for easy visiting, and are scattered throughout the island. Some are devoted to famous islanders such as the Empress Joséphine (l'impératrice), others to historical events like the eruption of Mont Pelée volcano and still others to prehistoric Martinique, the abolition of slavery, the production of rum, etc.
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Martinique's most famous daughter is the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon. Legend has it that upon her birth in 1763 in Trois-Ilets a soothsayer took one look at her and declared that one day she would become queen.
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