- I have been researching the Caribbean island of Martinique. The name of the island is thought to be a variant of the word “Madinina” which means island of flowers. The island is a territorial collectivity of France. The main language is French and it’s currency is the euro.
- Martinique has a fairly high population density
- The islands original population, the Carib Indians, disappeared after the Europeans arrived due to illness, quarrels, and assimilation
- The people of the island today are of mixed European and African ancestry
- Martinique has frequent cultural festivals where people dress up in colorful costumes with the burning of a papier-mâché representing carnival
- The island enjoys a higher standard of living than most other Caribbean islands
- In 1902 the eruption of the volcano Mount Peelée killed around 30,000 people and leveled the town of Saint-Pierre
- Some interesting topics for my project could be the islands potential for natural disasters
- The structure of Martinique’s economy could also be an interesting topic seeing as how most of the economy is controlled by a small European minority on the island
- The slave uprisings in 1789, 1815, and 1822 could also very well be an interesting and insightful historical topic to write about as it is a result of European colonization
- Sources: Cornevin, Robert. "Martinique Overseas Department." July 26th, 1999, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Martinique/History
- https://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Martinique.html
- https://ggccaribbean.wpengine.com/listing/martinique/
Martinique History/Politics Martinique is an overseas Territorial collectivity of France. It has the same political status as homeland regions in France. The island was initially occupied by Arawak and Carib natives. It is believed that the first Arawaks arrived in Martinique from South America in 130 AD. When Mt Pelee erupted in 295 AD, it resulted in the devastation of the island's population. While the Arawaks did return and repopulate the island around 400 AD, the Caribs arrived in 600 AD and they annihilated the Arawak population. The Caribs settled on the island for a couple of centuries after this. During his fourth voyage in 1502, Martinique was discovered by Christopher Columbus. The indigenous Indians referred to the island as “the island of flowers”. In 1625, “Campagnie des lles d’Amerique” was hired with Messrs L’Olive and Duplessis to gain control and govern the islands belonging to the French crown. On Septembe...
You should list some other activities they do for the carnival! Overall these were interesting facts, and I love the photos! The color and quality are very appealing!
ReplyDelete