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Martinique - TV Tropes

  • ️Fri Mar 02 2018

UsefulNotes / Martinique

Originally called Martinica by Christopher Columbus, who spent 3 days there refilling his water casks, bathing and washing laundry when he landed there on 15 June 1502, Martinique is an overseas region of France (formerly a part of its colonial empire) located in the Windward Island chain in the Caribbean south of Dominica (Guadeloupe, meanwhile, is North of Dominica). The capital of the territory was originally St.-Pierre, but the volcano of Mont Pelée erupted in the 8th of May, 1902, obliterating the city and killing over 30,000, with refugees arriving in Dominica by boat. The only survivor in St.-Pierre was a convict, Ludger Sylbaris, who was saved by the thick walls of his prison cell. As a result, the capital shifted to Fort-de-France, which remains the capital to this day. The majority of the current population is of Sub-Saharan African descent due to the slave trade.

Martinique was a major topic of one of the only battles set in North America in World War II, the Battle of the Caribbean. Martinique was officially pro-Vichy France until mid-1943, and relations between it and the United Kingdom deteriorated following the Second Armistice at Compiègne, with the territory seen as a possible base for Axis ships, and the US preparing plans for an invasion by an expeditionary force to capture the island, with the US and Britain establishing several blockades. 286 tons of gold from the Bank of France that were originally intended for Canada were also rerouted there and kept in Fort Desaix. In return for the Allies not bombarding and invading the French Antilles, Admiral Robert agreed to keep the French fleet stationed there immobilized, and Free French sympathizers eventually took control of the gold at Fort Desaix and the French fleet in 1943 as Admiral Robert returned to France.

Notable people from Martinique:

Media set in Martinique:

The Martiniquan flag

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_martinique_2023.png

This flag, known as the nationalist rouge-vert-noir ("red-green-black") flag, was adopted as the flag of Martinique on 2 February 2023. Designed by Guy Cabort-Masson and Alex Ferdinand in 1968, it consists of a red triangle based at the hoist over equal-sized bands of green and black, and was/is flown by activists vying for Martinique's independence. As Martinique is an overseas department of France, the French tricolour is also used officially. Wikipedia's article on this flag goes into detail about Martinique's unusual struggles in finding a flag to adopt.

The French national anthem

Allons enfants de la patrie,

Le jour de gloire est arrivé!

Contre nous, de la tyrannie

L'étendard sanglant est levé.

L'étendard sanglant est levé.

Entendez-vous dans les campagnes

Mugir ces féroces soldats?

Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras

Égorger vos fils et vos compagnes!

Aux armes, citoyens!

Formez vos bataillons!

Marchons, marchons,

Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!

—

Let us go, children of the motherland,

The day of glory has come!

Against us, the tyranny's

bloody flag has been raised.

Bloody flag has been raised.

Can you hear in the countryside,

These ferocious soldiers bellowing?

They come all the way into your arms

To arms, citizens!

Form your batallions!

Let us march, let us march,

Government

  • Overseas department under a unitary semi-presidential republic
    • President of Executive Council: Serge Letchimy
  • Capital and largest city: Fort-de-France
  • Population: 375,053
  • Area: 1,128 km

(436 sq mi)

  • Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)
  • ISO-3166-1 Code: MQ