A corresponding article in French Wikipedia may contain information and sources useful in building this article. As our policy is not to use Wikipedia itself as a source for articles please ensure you do not use any uncited statements. Also check the sources on cited statements before using - replacing foreign language sources where possible with English language ones. (August 2009) After translating TranslatedfrMartinique must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. Translation instructions  Google translation (for guidance only - text not to be copied into this article) Martinique   Overseas region of France   Flag Logo Country France Prefecture Fort-de-France Departments 1 Government  - President Serge Letchimy Area  - Total 1128 km2 (435.5 sq mi) Population (2007-01-01)1  - Total 397730  - Density 352.6/km2 (913.2/sq mi) Time zone ECT (UTC-04) GDP/ Nominal 7.9 billion (2008)2 GDP per capita 19607 (2008)1 NUTS Region FR9 Website www.CR-Martinique.fr

Martinique (French pronunciation: matinik) is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea with a land area of 1128 km2 (436 sq mi). Like Guadeloupe it is an overseas region of France consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica to the south St Lucia and to the southeast Barbados. As with the other overseas departments Martinique is one of the twenty-seven regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. The first European to encounter the island was Christopher Columbus in 1502.

As part of France Martinique is part of the European Union and its currency is the Euro. Its official language is French although many of its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole (Crole Martiniquais). Contents 1 History 2 Politics 3 Subdivisions 4 Geography 5 Environment 6 Economy 7 Infrastructure 8 Demographics 9 Culture 10 In popular culture 11 In Literature 12 Miscellaneous topics 13 See also 14 References 15 External links History Main article: History of Martinique

The island was occupied first by Arawaks then by Caribs. It was charted by Columbus in 1493 but Spain had little interest in the territory. It was claimed by France in 1635 and despite several interludes of British occupation once during the Seven Years' War and twice during the Napoleonic Wars has remained a French possession. In 1946 the French National Assembly voted unanimously to transform the colony into an overseas department. Politics Main article: Politics of Martinique

The inhabitants of Martinique are French citizens with full political and legal rights.

Martinique sends four deputies to the French National Assembly and two senators to the French Senate. Subdivisions Main article: Arrondissements of the Martinique department Further information: Communes of the Martinique department and Cantons of the Martinique department

Martinique is divided into four arrondissements 34 communes and 45 cantons. Geography Main article: Geography of Martinique Map of Martinique

Location: Caribbean island in the Caribbean Sea north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 1440N 6100W / 14.667N 61W / 14.667; -61

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 1100 square kilometres (420 sq mi) land: 1060 square kilometres (410 sq mi) water: 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) Environment Tropical forest near Fond St-Denis Les Salines wide sand beach at the western end of the island The north of the island is mountainous and lushly salted. It features four ensembles of pitons (volcanoes) and mornes (mountains): the Piton Conil on the extreme North which dominates the Dominica Channel; Mount Pele an active volcano; the Morne Jacob; and the Pitons du Carbet an ensemble of five extinct volcanoes covered with rainforest and dominating the Bay of Fort de France at 1196 metres (3924 ft). The highest of the island's many mountains at 1397 metres (4583 ft) is the famous volcano Mount Pele. Its volcanic ash has created gray and black sand beaches in the north (in particular between Anse Ceron and Anse des Gallets) contrasting markedly from the white sands of Les Salines in the south. The south is more easily traversed though it still features some impressive geographic features. Because it is easier to travel and because of the many beaches and food facilities throughout this region the south receives the bulk of the tourist traffic. The beaches from Pointe de Bout through Diamant (which features right off the coast of Roche de Diamant) St. Luce the continent of St. Anne and down to Les Salines are popular. Economy Main article: Economy of Martinique Infrastructure Main articles: Transportation in Martinique and Communications in Martinique Martinique Aim Csaire International Airport serves the island. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Martinique Historical population 1700 estimate 1738 estimate 1848 estimate 1869 estimate 1873 estimate 1878 estimate 1883 estimate 1888 estimate 1893 estimate 1900 estimate 1954 census 1961 census 1967 census 1974 census 1982 census 1990 census 1999 census 2006 census 2007 estimate 2008 estimate 24000 74000 120400 152925 157805 162861 167119 175863 189599 203781 239130 292062 320030 324832 328566 359572 381427 397732 400000 402000 Official figures from past censuses and INSEE estimates. Culture Main article: Culture of Martinique See also: Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe Martinique dancers in traditional costume. As an overseas dpartement of France Martinique's culture blends French and Caribbean influences. The city of Saint-Pierre (destroyed by a volcanic eruption of Mount Pele) was often referred to as the "Paris of the Lesser Antilles". Following traditional French custom many businesses close at midday to allow a lengthy lunch then reopen later in the afternoon. The official language is French. Many Martinicans speak Martiniquan Creole a subdivision of Antillean Creole that is virtually identical to the varieties spoken in neighboring English-speaking islands of Saint Lucia and Dominica. Martiniquan Creole is based on French Carib and African languages with elements of English Spanish and Portuguese. It continues to be used in oral storytelling traditions and other forms of speech and to a lesser extent in writing. Its use is predominant among friends and close family. Though it is normally not used in professional situations members of the media and politicians have begun to use it more frequently as a way to redeem national identity and prevent cultural assimilation by mainland France. Indeed unlike other varieties of French creole such as Mauritian Creole Martinican Creole is not readily understood by speakers of Standard French due to significant differences in grammar syntax vocabulary and pronunciation though over the years it has progressively adapted features of Standard French Most of Martinique's population is descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations during the colonial era generally mixed with some French Amerindian (Carib people) Indian (Tamil) Lebanese or Chinese ancestry. Between 5 and 10% of the population is of Indian (Tamil) origin. The island also boasts a small Syro-Lebanese community a small but increasing Chinese community and the Bk community descendants of European ethnic groups of the first French and British settlers who still dominate parts of the agricultural and trade sectors of the economy. Whites represent 5% of the population.3 The Bk people (which totals around 5000 people in the island most of them of aristocratic origin by birth or after buying the title) generally live in mansions on the Atlantic coast of the island (mostly in the Franois - Cap Est district). In addition to the island population the island hosts a metropolitan French community most of which lives on the island on a temporary basis (generally from 3 to 5 years). There are an estimated 260000 people of Martiniquan origin living in mainland France most of them in the Paris region. Today the island enjoys a higher standard of living than most other Caribbean countries. French products are easily available from Chanel fashions to Limoges porcelain. Studying in the mtropole (mainland France especially Paris) is common for young adults. Martinique has been a vacation hotspot for many years attracting both upper-class French and more budget-conscious travelers. Martinique has a hybrid cuisine mixing elements of African French Carib Amerindian and South Asian traditions. One of its most famous dishes is the Colombo (compare Tamil word kuzhambu for gravy or broth) a unique curry of chicken (curry chicken) meat or fish with vegetables spiced with a distinctive masala of Tamil origins sparked with tamarind and often containing wine coconut milk cassava and rum. A strong tradition of Martiniquan desserts and cakes incorporate pineapple rum and a wide range of local ingredients. In popular culture Martinique is the main setting of the 1944 film To Have and Have Not starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The island is mentioned in the songs "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys and "Uffington wassail" by Half Man Half Biscuit. In the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows the characters of Angelique Bouchard Collins Josette du Pres and Josette's family are from Martinique. Martinique was featured in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair and in the movie Sugar Cane Alley. Setting of Caridad Bravo Adams' novel Corazn Salvaje. Much of the 1979 Italian thriller Concorde Affaire '79 took place on and around the island. The Bugs Bunny cartoon "8 Ball Bunny"' saw Bugs and a showbiz penguin called Playboy stranded on Martinique. "Martinique Blue" was a popular color used by automotive builder Pontiac a division of General Motors on 1978 Firebirds and Trans Ams. Also known as cowl tag color code 24. Martinique is one of the hotel areas at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort a tropical island themed hotel in Walt Disney World. In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Angelica (Penlope Cruz) while talking to Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) mentions that the last time he left her was at "La Martinique" In Literature Martinique is the main setting of Patrick Chamoiseau's novel Solibo Magnificent. Martinique is referenced frequently in Jean Rhys' novel "Wide Sargasso Sea" as the previous home of the protagonist's Mother and caretaker. Aim Csaire's seminal poem "Notebook On Return to My Native Land" envisions the poet's imagined journey back to his homeland Martinique to find it in a state of colossal poverty and psychological inferiority due to the French colonial presence. Miscellaneous topics Saint-Pierre Les Anses d'Arlet Antillean Creole Crolit Aim Csaire Patrick Chamoiseau Guy Deslaurier Frantz Fanon douard Glissant Holidays in Martinique Jimmy Philmond-Montout Ngritude Ronny Turiaf Scouts et Guides de Martinique See also 2009 French Caribbean general strikes Colonial and Departmental Heads of Martinique List of Martinique-related topics Bibliography of Martinique France portal Caribbean portal References a b (French) INSEE. "INSEE Martinique". http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/recensement/populations-legales/departement.aspdep972&annee2007.  (French) IEDOM. "LInstitut dmission des Dpartements dOutre-mer rapport 2009 Martinique". http://www.iedom.fr/IMG/pdf/ra2009martinique.pdf.  Martinique: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA External links Find more about Martinique on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary Images and media from Commons Learning resources from Wikiversity News stories from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Government Prefecture Rgion Martinique - Official site Regional Council of Martinique Official site General information Martinique at the Open Directory Project Wikimedia Atlas of Martinique Travel Martinique Tourism Authority - Official site Martinique travel guide from Wikitravel A glance at Martinique - Documentary by Ali Sattarpour v d e Overseas departments and territories of France  Inhabited areas Overseas departments1 French Guiana  Guadeloupe  Martinique  Runion  Mayotte 2 Overseas collectivities French Polynesia  St. Barthlemy  St. Martin  St. Pierre and Miquelon  Wallis and Futuna Special status New Caledonia  Uninhabited areas Pacific Ocean Clipperton Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands le Amsterdam  le Saint-Paul  Crozet Islands  Kerguelen Islands  Adlie Land Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean Banc du Geyser4  Bassas da India4  Europa Island4  Glorioso Islands3 4 5  Juan de Nova Island4  Tromelin Island5 6 1 Also known as overseas regions.  2 Claimed by Comoros.  3 Claimed by Madagascar.  4 Claimed by Seychelles.  5 Claimed by Mauritius. v d eOutermost regions of European Union states Portugal Azores Madeira Spain Canary Islands France French Guiana Guadeloupe Martinique Runion Saint Barthlemy Saint-Martin v d eCountries and territories of the Caribbean  Sovereign states Commonwealth Realms Antigua and Barbuda  Bahamas  Barbados  Grenada  Jamaica  St. Kitts and Nevis  St. Lucia  St. Vincent and the Grenadines Commonwealth republics Dominica  Trinidad and Tobago Other republics Cuba  Dominican Republic  Haiti  Dependencies and other areas by parent state United Kingdom Anguilla  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Montserrat  Turks and Caicos Islands Netherlands Aruba  Bonaire  Curaao  Saba  Saint Eustatius  Sint Maarten France Guadeloupe  Martinique  St. Barthlemy  St. Martin United States Bajo Nuevo Bank  Navassa Island  Puerto Rico  Serranilla Bank  U.S. Virgin Islands v d eCountries and dependencies of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda  Bahamas  Barbados  Belize  Canada  Costa Rica  Cuba  Dominica  Dominican Republic  El Salvador  France (Guadeloupe  Martinique)  Grenada  Guatemala  Haiti  Honduras  Jamaica  Mexico  Nicaragua  Netherlands (Bonaire  Saba  Saint Eustatius)  Panama  St. Kitts and Nevis  St. Lucia  St. Vincent and the Grenadines  Trinidad and Tobago  United States Dependencies Denmark Greenland France Clipperton Island  St. Barthlemy  St. Martin  St. Pierre and Miquelon Netherlands Aruba  Curaao  Sint Maarten United Kingdom Anguilla  Bermuda  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Montserrat  Turks and Caicos Islands United States Bajo Nuevo Bank  Navassa Island  Puerto Rico  Serranilla Bank  U.S. Virgin Islands v d eMember states and observers of the Francophonie Members Albania  Andorra  Armenia  Belgium (French Community)  Benin  Bulgaria  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cambodia  Cameroon  Canada (New Brunswick  Quebec)  Cape Verde  Central African Republic  Chad  Comoros  Cyprus1  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Republic of the Congo  Cte d'Ivoire  Djibouti  Dominica  Egypt  Equatorial Guinea  France (French Guiana  Guadeloupe  Martinique  St. Pierre and Miquelon)  Gabon  Ghana1  Greece  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Haiti  Laos  Luxembourg  Lebanon  Macedonia2  Madagascar  Mali  Mauritania  Mauritius  Moldova  Monaco  Morocco  Niger  Romania  Rwanda  St. Lucia  So Tom and Prncipe  Senegal  Seychelles  Switzerland  Togo  Tunisia  Vanuatu  Vietnam Observers Austria  Croatia  Czech Republic  Dominican Republic  Georgia  Hungary  Latvia  Lithuania  Mozambique  Poland  Serbia  Slovakia  Slovenia  Thailand  Ukraine 1 Associate member. 2 Provisionally referred to by the Francophonie as the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"; see Macedonia naming dispute. v d eRegions of France     Alsace Aquitaine Auvergne Burgundy Brittany Centre Champagne-Ardenne Corsica Franche-Comt le-de-France Languedoc-Roussillon Limousin Lorraine Midi-Pyrnes Nord-Pas-de-Calais Lower Normandy Upper Normandy Pays de la Loire Picardy Poitou-Charentes Provence-Alpes-Cte d'Azur Rhne-Alpes Overseas regions:  French Guiana  Guadeloupe  Martinique  Mayotte  Runion v d eDepartments of France 01 Ain  02 Aisne  03 Allier  04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence  05 Hautes-Alpes  06 Alpes-Maritimes  07 Ardche  08 Ardennes  09 Arige  10 Aube  11 Aude  12 Aveyron  13 Bouches-du-Rhne  14 Calvados  15 Cantal  16 Charente  17 Charente-Maritime  18 Cher  19 Corrze  2A Corse-du-Sud  2B Haute-Corse  21 Cte-d'Or  22 Ctes-d'Armor  23 Creuse  24 Dordogne  25 Doubs  26 Drme  27 Eure  28 Eure-et-Loir  29 Finistre  30 Gard  31 Haute-Garonne  32 Gers  33 Gironde  34 Hrault  35 Ille-et-Vilaine  36 Indre  37 Indre-et-Loire  38 Isre  39 Jura  40 Landes  41 Loir-et-Cher  42 Loire  43 Haute-Loire  44 Loire-Atlantique  45 Loiret  46 Lot  47 Lot-et-Garonne  48 Lozre  49 Maine-et-Loire  50 Manche  51 Marne  52 Haute-Marne  53 Mayenne  54 Meurthe-et-Moselle  55 Meuse  56 Morbihan  57 Moselle  58 Nivre  59 Nord  60 Oise  61 Orne  62 Pas-de-Calais  63 Puy-de-Dme  64 Pyrnes-Atlantiques  65 Hautes-Pyrnes  66 Pyrnes-Orientales  67 Bas-Rhin  68 Haut-Rhin  69 Rhne  70 Haute-Sane  71 Sane-et-Loire  72 Sarthe  73 Savoie  74 Haute-Savoie  75 Paris  76 Seine-Maritime  77 Seine-et-Marne  78 Yvelines  79 Deux-Svres  80 Somme  81 Tarn  82 Tarn-et-Garonne  83 Var  84 Vaucluse  85 Vende  86 Vienne  87 Haute-Vienne  88 Vosges  89 Yonne  90 Territoire de Belfort  91 Essonne  92 Hauts-de-Seine  93 Seine-Saint-Denis  94 Val-de-Marne  95 Val-d'Oise Overseas departments: 971 Guadeloupe  972 Martinique  973 French Guiana  974 Runion  976 Mayotte v d eOutlying territories of European countries Territories under European sovereignty but closer to or on continents other than Europe (see inclusion criteria for further information) Denmark Greenland France Clipperton Island  French Guiana  French Polynesia  Guadeloupe  Martinique  Mayotte  New Caledonia  Runion  Saint Barthlemy  Saint Martin  Saint Pierre and Miquelon  Wallis and Futuna French Southern and Antarctic Lands Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean (Banc du Geyser  Bassas da India  Europa Island  Glorioso Islands  Juan de Nova Island  Tromelin Island)  le Amsterdam  le Saint-Paul  Crozet Islands  Kerguelen Islands  Adlie Land Netherlands Aruba  Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire  Saba  Saint Eustatius)  Curaao  Sint Maarten Norway Bouvet Island  Peter I Island  Queen Maud Land Portugal Azores  Madeira Spain Canary Islands  Ceuta  Melilla  Plazas de soberana (Islas Chafarinas  Pen de Alhucemas  Pen de Vlez de la Gomera) United Kingdom Anguilla  Bermuda  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Falkland Islands  Montserrat  Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha  Turks and Caicos Islands  British Antarctic Territory  British Indian Ocean Territory  Pitcairn Islands  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Coordinates: 1440N 6100W / 14.667N 61W / 14.667; -61 v d e CSS Alabama Leadership & Men Raphael Semmes  James Dunwoody Bulloch  Irvine Bulloch  John Laird Sons and Company Expeditionary Raids Eastern Atlantic  New England  Gulf of Mexico  South Atlantic  South African  Indian Ocean  South Pacific Battles Action off Galveston Light  Battle of Cherbourg List of ships of the Confederate States Navy