The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc which begins east of Puerto Rico at the archipelago of the Virgin Islands, swings southeast through the Leeward and Windward Islands towards South America, and turns westward through the Leeward Antilles along the Venezuelan coast.
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and periodic intervals of explosive eruptions and effusive eruptions, although some have collapsed summit craters called calderas. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high to intermediate levels of silica, with lesser amounts of less viscous mafic magma. Extensive felsic lava flows are uncommon, but have traveled as far as 15 km (9 mi).
Fort-de-France is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean.
Mount Pelée or Mont Pelée, meaning "bald mountain" or "peeled mountain" in French, is an active volcano at the northern end of Martinique, an island and French overseas department in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the Caribbean. Its volcanic cone is composed of stratified layers of hardened ash and solidified lava. Its most recent eruption was in 1932.
The French West Indies or French Antilles are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
Athis-Mons is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 16.5 km (10.3 mi) from the center of Paris.
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.
Ludger Sylbaris was an Afro-Caribbean man who was one of the survivors in the city of Saint-Pierre on the Caribbean island of Martinique during the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée on May 8, 1902. Saint-Pierre, known as the "Paris of the West Indies", was in the direct path of a pyroclastic flow, which destroyed the city and killed an estimated 30,000 people.
La Trinité is a town and commune in the French overseas region and department of Martinique.
Sainte-Marie is a town and the fifth-largest commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. It is located on the northeast side of the island of Martinique.
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:
Le Lamentin is a city and town, located in the French overseas department and region of Martinique. With its area of 62.32 km2, it is the town with the largest area in Martinique. Le Lamentin, with close to 40,000 inhabitants, is the second most populated town of Martinique, after Fort-de-France. It is also the first industrial town and the heart of the island's economy.
Basse-Pointe is a town and commune in the French overseas department and region, and island of Martinique.
Le Morne-Rouge is a commune and town in the French overseas department and island of Martinique.
Le Vauclin is a commune in the French overseas department and region, and island of Martinique.
L'Ajoupa-Bouillon, commonly known as L'Ajoupa, is a commune and town in the French overseas department and region, and island, of Martinique.
Fonds-Saint-Denis is a village and commune in the French overseas department and region, and island, of Martinique. It is the smallest commune of the island.
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.
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.
The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée was a volcanic eruption on the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the eastern Caribbean, which was one of the deadliest eruptions in recorded history. Eruptive activity began on 23 April as a series of phreatic eruptions from the summit of Mount Pelée. Within days, the vigor of these eruptions exceeded anything witnessed since the island was settled by Europeans. The intensity then subsided for a few days until early May, when the phreatic eruptions increased again. Lightning laced the eruption clouds and trade winds dumped ash on villages to the west. Heavy ash fell, sometimes causing total darkness. Some of the afflicted residents panicked and headed for the perceived safety of larger settlements, especially Saint-Pierre, about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Pelée's summit. Saint-Pierre received its first ash fall on 3 May.
