Carib expulsion from Martinique

Last updated

The Carib Expulsion from Martinique was the French-led ethnic cleansing that removed most of the Kalinago (Island Carib) population in 1660 from the island of Martinique. This followed the French invasion in 1635 and its conquest of the Caribbean island that made it part of the French West Indies.

History

The Carib people had migrated from the mainland to the islands about 1200 AD according to carbon dating of artifacts. [1]

In 1635 the Carib were overwhelmed by French forces led by the adventurer Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and his nephew Jacques Dyel du Parquet, who imposed French colonial rule on the indigenous Carib peoples. Cardinal Richelieu of France gave the island to the Saint Christophe Company, in which he was a shareholder. Later the company was reorganized as the Company of the American Islands. The French colonists imposed French Law on the conquered inhabitants, and Jesuit missionaries arrived to convert them to the Roman Catholic Church. [2]

Because the Carib people resisted working as laborers to build and maintain the sugar and cocoa plantations which the French began to develop in the Caribbean, in 1636 King Louis XIII proclaimed La Traite des Noirs . This authorized the capture or purchase of slaves from Africa, who were then transported as labor to Martinique and other parts of the French West Indies. [1]

In 1650, the Company liquidated and sold Martinique to Jacques Dyel du Parquet, who became governor until his death in 1658. His widow then took control of the island for France. As more French colonists arrived, they were attracted to the fertile area known as Cabesterre (leeward side). The French had pushed the remaining Carib people to this northeastern coast and the Caravalle Peninsula, but the colonists wanted the additional land. The Jesuits and Dominicans agreed that whichever order arrived there first, would get all future parishes in that part of the island. The Jesuits came by sea and the Dominicans by land, with the Dominicans' ultimately prevailing.

When the Carib revolted against French rule in 1660, the Governor Charles Houel sieur de Petit Pré retaliated with war against them. Many were killed; those who survived were taken captive and expelled from the island.

On Martinique, the French colonists signed a peace treaty with the few remaining Carib. Some Carib had fled to Dominica or St. Vincent, where the French agreed to leave them at peace. However, following the British conquest of these islands, the Caribs would eventually be expelled to Central America after losing the Second Carib War.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Saint Lucia</span>

Saint Lucia was inhabited by the Arawak and Kalinago Caribs before European contact in the early 16th century. It was colonized by the British and French in the 17th century and was the subject of several possession changes until 1814, when it was ceded to the British by France for the final time. In 1958, St. Lucia joined the short-lived semi-autonomous West Indies Federation. Saint Lucia was an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979 and then gained full independence on February 22, 1979.

This is a page on the history of the island of Martinique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French West Indies</span> French territories in the Caribbean

The French West Indies or French Antilles are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:

The Garifuna people are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian Creole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antillean Creole</span> French-based creole of the Antilles

Antillean Creole is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of French, Carib, English, and African languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Dominica</span>

The culture of Dominica is formed by the inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Dominica is home to a wide range of people. Although it was historically occupied by several native tribes, it was the Taíno and Island Caribs (Kalinago) tribes that remained by the time European settlers reached the island. "Massacre" is a name of a river dedicated to the murders of the native villagers by both French and British settlers, because the river "ran red with blood for days." Each claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa. The remaining Caribs now live on a 3,700-acre (15 km2) Carib Territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc</span>

Pierre Belain, sieur d'Esnambuc was a French trader and adventurer in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635.

The Company of the American Islands was a French chartered company that in 1635 took over the administration of the French portion of Saint-Christophe island from the Compagnie de Saint-Christophe which was the only French settlement in the Caribbean at that time and was mandated to actively colonise other islands. The islands settled for France under the direction of the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique before it was dissolved in 1651 were:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Martinique</span>

As an overseas department of France, Martinique's culture is French, African and Caribbean. Its former capital, Saint-Pierre, was often referred to as the Paris of the Lesser Antilles. The official language is French, although many Martinicans speak a Creole patois. Based in French, Martinique's Creole also incorporates elements of English, Spanish, Portuguese, and African languages. Originally passed down through oral storytelling traditions, it continues to be used more often in speech than in writing.

As of 2013, people of solely European descent are a small minority in the Commonwealth of Dominica, comprising only 0.8% of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Dyel du Parquet</span> French governor of Martinique and Saint Lucia

Jacques Dyel du Parquet was a French soldier who was one of the first governors of Martinique. He was appointed governor of the island for the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique in 1636, a year after the first French settlement had been established. In 1650 he purchased Martinique, Grenada and Saint Lucia. He did much to develop Martinique as a colony, including introduction of sugarcane.

Médéric Rolle de Goursolas, or Médéric Rools de Gourselas,, was a French soldier who was active in the French colonies in the Antilles, and for a period was governor of Martinique. He organized the expedition that drove the last Caribs out of Martinique and destroyed their villages.

Marie Bonnard du Parquet was the wife of Jacques Dyel du Parquet, one of the first governors of Martinique, who purchased the island in 1650. When her husband died she tried to act as governor in the name of her children, but was forced out of power. She fell ill and died while returning to France.

Jean Dyel, Seigneur de Clermont et d'Enneval was a French aristocrat who was governor of Martinique from 1662 to 1665. The island had been the property of his cousin, Jacques Dyel du Parquet, and he was appointed governor in the name of his cousin's young sons. In 1664 the island was assigned to the newly formed French West India Company, and de Clermont was replaced by the company's appointee early in 1665.

Adrien Dyel, Seigneur de Vaudrocques et de Gournay was a member of the French minor aristocracy who was governor of Martinique from 1658 to 1662.

François Rolle, Sieur de Laubière was a French soldier who was acting governor of Martinique from 1667 to 1672. As a militia leader he helped defeat the indigenous Caribs and established full French control over the island.

Jean Le Comte was the first governor of Grenada, holding office from 1649 to 1654. He led systematic efforts to kill the indigenous Caribs or drive them off the island.

Jean Dupont was the first local governor of Martinique after the island had been taken by French forces under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc in 1635. Accounts of events are confused, but after some fighting he managed to establish an uneasy peace with the island Caribs, who withdrew to the east of the island. He was returning to report to d'Esnambuc in Saint Christophe when he was shipwrecked, taken captive by the Spanish, and held captive for the next three years.

Jérôme du Sarrat, sieur de La Pierrière was a French soldier who was interim governor of Martinique in 1646–47 when the governor, Jacques Dyel du Parquet, was the prisoner of Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, governor of Saint Christophe.

Vincentian nationality law is regulated by the Saint Vincent Constitution Order of 1979, as amended; the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Citizenship Act of 1984, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Vincentian nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Vincentian nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. There is not currently a program in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for persons to acquire nationality through investment in the country. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably.

References

  1. 1 2 Sweeney, James L. (2007). "Caribs, Maroons, Jacobins, Brigands, and Sugar Barons: The Last Stand of the Black Caribs on St. Vincent" Archived 2012-02-27 at the Wayback Machine , African Diaspora Archaeology Network, March 2007, retrieved 26 April 2007
  2. ↑ "Institutional History of Martinique" Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine , Martinique Official site, French Government (translation by Maryanne Dassonville). Retrieved 26 April 2007
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.