Martinique is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. A part of the French West Indies (Antilles), Martinique is an overseas department and region and a single territorial collectivity of the French Republic. It is a part of the European Union as an outermost region within the special territories of members of the European Economic Area, and an associate member of the CARICOM, but is not part of the Schengen Area or the European Union Customs Union. The currency in use is the euro.
This is a page on the history of the island of Martinique.
Aimé Fernand David Césaire was a Francophone Martinican poet, author, and politician. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word négritude in French. He founded the Parti progressiste martiniquais in 1958, and served in the French National Assembly from 1945 to 1993 and as President of the Regional Council of Martinique from 1983 to 1988.
Bolbec is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Its inhabitants are called Bolbécais or Bolbécaises.
Joseph Zobel is the Martinican author of several novels and short-stories in which social issues are at the forefront. Although his most famous novel, La Rue Cases-Nègres, was published some twenty years after the great authors of Negritude published their works, Zobel was once asked if he considered himself "the novelist of Negritude". The novel was adapted adapted for the screen by Euzhan Palcy in 1983 as Sugar Cane Alley.
The Martinican Communist Party is a political party in the French département d'outre-mer of Martinique. Georges Erichot is the general secretary of the party.
Serge Letchimy is the President of the Executive Council of Martinique and former member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Martinique's 3rd constituency since June 2007, and is a member of The Socialists and affiliated parliamentary group. Letchimy is a member of the Martinican Progressive Party (PPM), or Parti progressiste martiniquais. He was the successor of Aimé Césaire as Mayor of Fort de France from 2001 to 2010 and was the final President of the Regional Council of Martinique from 26 March 2010 until its replacement by the Assembly of Martinique in December 2015.
Raphaël Louis Thomas Tardon was a French writer, novelist and essayist of Martiniquais origin. He was posthumously awarded the Prix littéraire des Caraïbes in 1966 for his complete body of work. He was the father of screenwriter Bruno Tardon.
Juliette Sméralda is a French Afro-descendant sociologist.
Yva Léro was an Afro-Martiniquais writer and painter. She was one of the earliest Antillean writers in Paris preceding the Négritude movement. An ardent feminist, she participated in international congresses and was a co-founder of the Women's Union of Martinique. Her writing and painting depicted the life and culture of Martinique, evaluating class, gender, and race and the multi-layered society which existed in her Caribbean homeland.
Édouard de Lépine was a Martinican historian and politician.
Victor Anicet is a French visual artist and ceramist.
Sabine Andrivon-Milton, is a French historian specialising in the military history of Martinique, a teacher, author and board game designer.
Georges Gratiant, was a lawyer and politician from Martinique. He was mayor of Le Lamentin from 1959 to 1989 and president of the General Council from 1946 to 1947.
Osman Duquesnay was a French politician and physician. He was deputy of Martinique from 1898 to 1902 and from 1906 to 1910.
Marius Hurard was a lawyer, journalist and politician from Martinique. He was the owner of major rum factories and served as deputy of Martinique from 1881 to 1893.
Joseph Lagrosillière was a French lawyer and politician. He was mayor of Sainte-Marie from 1910 to 1936 and deputy of Martinique from 1910 to 1924 and from 1932 to 1942. He was also president of the General Council of Martinique from 1935 to 1937 and from 1945 to 1946. Lagrosillière was the founder of the socialist movement in Martinique and one of the most important political figures on the island during the first half of the 20th century.
Jane Marie Apolinaire Léro was a feminist and communist activist from Martinique.
Camille Petit was a French politician from Saint-Esprit, Martinique.
The Algemene Spaar- en Lijfrentekas / Caisse générale d'épargne et de retraite was a major Belgian public bank, originally created in 1850 as a pension institution. It was acquired in stages between 1993 and 1998 by Fortis Group. In 1999 Fortis merged it with Générale de Banque and other operations to form Fortis Bank, which in turn was integrated from 2009 into BNP Paribas.
