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Visited
by Columbus, probably in 1502, the island was
ignored by the Spanish; colonization began in
1635, when the French, who had promised the native
Caribs the western half of the island, established
a settlement. The French proceeded to eliminate
the Caribs and later imported African slaves as
sugar plantation workers. In the 18th cent. Martinique's
sugar exports made it one of France's most valuable
colonies; although slavery was abolished in 1848,
sugar continued to hold a dominant position in
the economy. A target of dispute during the Anglo-French
worldwide colonial struggles, Martinique was finally
confirmed as a French possession after the Napoleonic
wars. In 1902 an eruption of Mt. Pelée
destroyed the town of St. Pierre.
Martinique
supported the Vichy regime after France's collapse
in World War II, but in 1943 a U.S. naval blockade
forced the island to transfer its allegiance to
the Free French. It became a department of France
in 1946 and an administrative region in 1974.
Although the island has recovered from the extensive
damage caused by a hurricane in 1980, France has
continued its attempts to improve the economic
life of the Martinique, which is plagued by overpopulation
and a lack of development
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