Columbus first sighted Martinique in 1493, but it was later in 1502 when he went ashore to find a population of Carib Indians who by this point had already eliminated the Arawaks. Columbus named the island Martinica in honour of St. Martin. 

Several years later in 1635, the French arrived to claim the island and begin permanent settlement, cultivating sugar cane which led to fierce battles with the Caribs as the French began to clear forests in order to make the room for growing their crops. After some bloody years a treaty was signed in 1660 whereby the Caribs agreed to occupy only the Atlantic side of Martinique… as it happens, they were either killed, or forced off of the island shortly afterwards and so the peace was somewhat short-lived. 

In 1762, the English occupied the island for less than a year before returning it in exchange for Canada but invaded again, this time holding the island for a little longer (between 1794 to 1815) after which it was returned once again to the French. The sugar plantations had relied on the importation of African slaves until 1848, when Victor Schoelcher, a French minister for overseas possessions, convinced the government to sign an Emancipation Proclamation which would end slavery in the French West Indies. 

Remembered as one of the most devastating natural disasters in Caribbean history, the eruption of Mont Pelée volcano on March 8th 1902, claimed the lives of the whole islands’ occupants besides one. The city of St. Pierre was destroyed. Following the devastation, the capital was permanently moved to Fort-de-France.