Editing History of Martinique (section)

==17th century==
[[File:La fondation de la Martinique en 1635.jpg|thumb|Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc landing in Martinique in 1635.]]
In 1635, after 133 years of Spanish rule, [[Spain]] was forced to cede [[Martinique|Martinica]] to the [[France|French]] under [[Cardinal Richelieu]] who created the [[Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique]] (Company of the Isles of America, the successor to the [[Compagnie de Saint-Christophe]]). The company contracted with Messrs l'Olive and Duplessis to occupy and govern on its behalf the Caribbean islands belonging to the French crown. This led on September 1, 1635, to [[Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc|Pierre Bélain d'Esnambuc]] landing on Martinique with eighty to one hundred French settlers from [[Saint Kitts and Nevis|Saint Cristophe]]. They met some resistance that they were able to dispatch quickly because of their far superior weaponry and armor. They settled in the northwestern region that later became known as [[Saint-Pierre, Martinique|St. Pierre]] at the mouth of the Roxelane River, where they built Fort Saint Pierre. The first governor was [[Jean Dupont (governor)|Jean Dupont]].

The following year, d'Esnambuc fell ill and passed the command of the settlement to his nephew, [[Jacques Dyel du Parquet]]. At this time the colony's population numbered some 700 men. The settlers cleared the land around St. Pierre to grow crops. They grew [[manioc]] and [[potato]]es to live on and [[roucou|rocou]], [[indigo]], [[tobacco]], and later [[Cocoa bean|cacao]] and [[cotton]], for export. French and foreign merchants frequently came to the island to buy these exotic products, transforming Martinique into a modestly prosperous colony. The colonists also established another fort, [[Fort Saint Louis (Martinique)|Fort Saint Louis]] in 1638. This fort, like Fort Saint Pierre, was little more than a wooden stockade. In 1640, the fort was improved to include a ditch, high stone walls and 26 cannons.

Over the next quarter of a century the French established full control of the island. They systematically killed the fiercely resisting Caribs as they expanded, forcing the survivors back to the Caravelle Peninsula in the Cabesterre (the eastern side of the island).

[[Image:Martinique1865.jpg|thumb|250px|1865 map featuring Martinique.]]

Although labor-intensive, sugar was a lucrative product to trade, and cultivation on Martinique soon focused only on growing and trading sugar. In 1685, King [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] proclaimed "Le Code Noir", which aimed to provide a legal framework for the removal of Africans from their homeland and their transport to work as [[slavery|slaves]] on the French sugar plantations. Ever since, a strong theme of [[Culture of Martinique|Martinican culture]] has been [[Creole peoples|creolization]] or interaction between the French colonial settlers, known locally as ''békés'', and the Africans they imported. For over two hundred years, slavery, and slave revolts, would be a major influence on the economy and politics of the island.

The French colonial settlers were peasants attracted by propaganda promising fortune and a life under the sun. The "volunteers" were [[indentured servant]]s who had to work for their master for three years, after which they were promised their own land. However, the tiring work and hot climate resulted in few of the workers surviving their three years, with the result that constant immigration was necessary for maintaining the workforce. Still, under the directorship of du Parquet, Martinique's economy developed as it exported products to France and the neighboring English and Dutch colonies. In 1645, the Sovereign council was established with several powers, among them the right to grant titles of nobility to families in the islands. In 1648, the Company of the Isles of America started to wind up its affairs and in 1650 du Parquet bought the island.

In 1650 Father Jacques du Tetre built a still for converting the waste from the [[sugarcane]] mills into molasses, which became a major export industry.

In 1654, du Parquet allowed 250 Dutch Jews, who were fleeing Brazil following the Portuguese taking back their territory in that colony, to settle Martinique, where they engaged in the sugar trade. This was by far the most sought after product in Europe and the crop soon became Martinique's biggest export.

After the death of du Parquet, his widow ruled on behalf of his children until 1658, when [[Louis XIV]] resumed sovereignty over the island, paying an indemnity of £120,000 to the du Parquet children. At this time, Martinique's population numbered some 5,000 settlers and a few surviving Carib Indians. The [[Carib Expulsion|Caribs]] were eventually exterminated or exiled in 1660.

In 1658, [[Dominican Order|Dominican Fathers]] built an estate at Fonds Saint-Jacques. From 1693 to 1705, this was the home of Père Labat, the French Dominican priest who improved the distillery. A colorful character, he was also an explorer, architect, engineer, and historian, and fought as a soldier against the English.

In 1664, Louis transferred the island, this time to the newly established [[French West India Company|Compagnie des Indes Occidentales]]. The next year, during the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]], a Dutch fleet under Admiral [[Michiel de Ruyter]] retired to Martinique to refit after the fleet's indecisive encounter with an English force off [[Barbados]]. Two years later a hurricane devastated Martinique and Guadelope, killing some 2,000 people. This was the first of several natural disasters that would devastate the population of Martinique over the next few centuries.

The French buccaneer [[François l'Ollonais]] (''Jean-David Nau'') spent part of his early life as a servant on Martinique before joining the buccaneers based in [[Saint-Domingue]] (present-day [[Haiti]]). Martinique is a home port to for French buccaneers as well as pirates like [[Captain Crapo|Captain Crapeau]], [[Étienne de Montauban]] and [[Mathurin Desmarestz]] which earned a notorious reputation for their violent tactics against Spanish captives, often referred to as "Fléau des Espagnols" (''Flail of the Spanish''). It allowed the French to operate in the Caribbean against Spanish ships in both [[Hispaniola]] and Martinique. 

In 1666 and 1667 the English unsuccessfully attacked. The [[Treaty of Breda (1667)]] ended the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]] and hence the hostilities.

In 1672, [[Louis XIV]] ordered the construction of a citadel, [[Fort Saint Louis (Martinique)|Fort Saint Louis]], at Fort Royal Bay to defend Martinique. The next year, the Compagnie des Indes Occidentales decided to establish a town at [[Fort Royal]], even though the location was a malarial swamp. The Compagnie des Indes Occidentales failed in 1674, and the colony reverted to the direct administration of the French crown. Martinique's administration was in the hands of council. The King appointed two members: the Lieutenant-general and the administrator. They chose the other council members (the governor, the Attorney General and the ordinary judge). This organization lasted until 1685.

During the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]], de Ruyter returned to Martinique in 1674, this time with the intent to capture Fort Royal. Calm winds and French booms prevented him from sailing his fleet of 30 warships, nine supply ships, and 15 transports into the harbor. The French repulsed his attempt to land his 3,400 troops, causing him to lose 143 men, at a cost of 15 French lives.

In 1675 the first [[List of governors general of the French Antilles|Governor General of the West Indies]], [[Jean-Charles de Baas-Castelmore]], arrived in Martinique and served until 1677. His successor was [[Charles de La Roche-Courbon, comte de Blénac]], who served for the first time from 1677 to 1683. He drew up a plan for the city of Fort Royal and improving the fortifications of [[Fort Saint Louis (Martinique)|Fort Saint Louis]]. de Blénac was responsible for the 10-year effort that resulted in the building of a 487-meter wall around the peninsula on which the Fort stood, the wall being four meters high and two meters thick, and cutting a ditch that separated from the town. de Blénac served as Governor General again from June 1684 to February 1691, and again from 24 Nov 1691 until his death in 1696.

The growth of the town resulted in the progressive clearing and draining of the [[mangrove swamp]]. By 1681, Fort-Royal was the administrative, military and political capital of Martinique. Still, Saint Pierre, with its better harbor, remained the commercial capital.

In 1685, in France King [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] promulgated the "[[Code Noir]]" (literally, ''Black Code''), a collection of law texts whose 60 articles would regulate slavery in the colonies, and which was partially inspired by [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]]. The code forbade some cruel acts, but institutionalized others and slavery itself, relegating the status of slaves to that of [[Personal property|chattel]]. It also ordered the expulsion of the Jews from all the French islands. These Jews then moved to the Dutch island of [[Curaçao]], where they prospered.

In 1692, Charles de La Roche-Courbon, Count of Blénac, the Governor and Lieutenant General of the French colonies in America, named Fort Royal as the capital city of Martinique. In 1693 the English again unsuccessfully attacked Martinique.