The département of Martinique is an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France, located in the Caribbean Sea. The capital is Fort-de-France.
Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation.
On May 8, 1902 Mount Pelée, a volcano on the island, erupted and destroyed the town of St. Pierre[?] killing over 30,000 people.
Only a small handful of St. Pierre's residents survived the blast.
Martinique became an overseas département of France on March 19, 1946.
Martinique has become internationally famous for a form of music called zouk[?], which developed in the 1980s.
See also: Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe
