Martinique is a small (431 square miles) island in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The island is volcanic; the major eruption of Mt. Pelee in 1902 was responsible for massive loss of life and the destruction of the capital of Saint Pierre. The island has been a major agricultural producer for centuries and continues to grow sugar cane and bananas in large quantities. Despite the agricultural focus, the main economic area on the island today is tourism.
Arawak and Carib Indians were the original inhabitants of Martinique. Arawak occupation of the island goes back as far as 7,000 years ago, and Carib invaders began to appear in the 10th century. The island was one of the first discovered by Europeans and was visited by Christopher Columbus in 1502.
French colonists began to arrive on Martinique in 1635. Companies formed by these early colonists controlled the island until 1679, when the French government gained control. The following period was marked by the importation of black slaves to support the plantation economy. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, British colonial expansion efforts attempted to take Martinique, but they failed to hold the island for any extensive length of time. Throughout the 19th century and for the first half of the 20th century, Martinique was grouped with Guadeloupe for administrative purposes as the French Antilles.
Martinique became an overseas department of France in 1946. Increased independence came in 1974, when Martinique was granted some political autonomy from the French government. French decentralization during the early 1980s meant that most of Martinique's affairs were governed internally. Today, only security and defense are administered directly from France.
The French abolition of slavery in 1848 led to the late 19th century arrival of Indian workers needed to keep the plantations running. Today, the descendants of these workers make up a small percentage of the population. The majority of the population has African roots, while a small minority is descended from the early French planters. Due to extensive intermarriage, much of Martinique's population is considered mixed-race.
