Martinique.
Information.

		MARTINIQUE is an island in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Area - 1 128 кв.км. Population - 381 427 человек (1999) Capital - Fort-de-France. The island was charted by Columbus in 1493, but Spain had little interest in the territory. On 15 September 1635, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, French governor of the island of St. Kitts, landed in the harbor of St. Pierre with 150 French settlers after being driven off St. Kitts by the English. Despite several brief interludes of British occupation, including once during the Seven Years' War and twice during the Napoleonic Wars, Martinique has remained a French possession. In 1946, the French National Assembly voted unanimously to transform the colony into an overseas department. Currency : Euro .