- 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/
Research Paper Introduction I am writing a research paper on the cultural history of Martinique and the influence that African slaves had and the islands unique geography have on its culture and history. Martinique is an overseas Territorial collectivity of France. It has the same political status as homeland regions in France. After the Napoleonic wars, the island was given back to the French in 1845. During this period, the use of slaves on the island continued which led to an increased number of slaves in Martinique. This resulted in multiple slave uprisings with the most famous being the ones in 1816 and 1848. The French minister of foreign territories, Victor Schoelcher, abolished slavery in the French Antilles in 1848. The freed slaves made up a large percentage of the population and led to the blend of African and ...
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!
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