Martinique Island is located quite far away from France, in the Caribbean Sea just above Trinidad. Martinique was given the status of being an overseas department of France in the year 1946. It is believed to have been occupied by tribes since the first century CE. History scholars claim that the Caribs and Arawak were the two earlier cultures that existed in Martinique. Some of these cultures had migrated from ancient American regions. Due to eruption of volcanoes in subsequent centuries, these tribes had shifted to other locations while some were wiped out by the volcano.

The Martinique Islands were exposed to Europeans in the fifteenth century, following the expedition of Christopher Columbus. The French settled in Martinique during the seventeenth century. Pierre Belain, who headed a group of French settlers, was the first one to settle in Martinique. It was under his control that the modern city of St. Pierre was established, which was initially named Fort Saint Pierre. In the following years, there were several agricultural activities introduced in this region. The agricultural produce attracted traders to the island, making it a significant location for trade. It was during this century that the first factory for making molasses was established on the island, as manufacturing sugar from sugarcane had become the primary industry in the region. The seventeenth century was an important one in the history of Martinique as there were several developments during this period. Martinique also faced several natural disasters periodically in the seventeenth century.

Martinique was always occupied by slaves who were either from India, China or other locations where the British rulers had control. Though the rulers changed from time to time, the slavery system in Martinique was not completely abolished until the end of the twentieth century. According to the history of Martinique, the two important developments during the same period were the creations of Pierre-Henry Picq, which was the Schoelcher Library, and the Saint-Louis Cathedral, both in the administrative headquarters of Martinique”namely, Fort-de- France.

Martinique has administrative sub divisions that include four arrondissements which are further sub divided into forty-five cantons and thirty-four communes. The recent population of Martinique was found to have exceeded 400,000 in number with less than 50% living in the urban areas. The official dialect of Martinique is French, although there are other Creole dialects spoken throughout the island. It is officially part of the European Union, like other overseas regions of France, and uses Euro as its currency.