Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

, an

overseas department and region The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

located in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

. It is also one of the major cities in the

History

In 1638, Jacques Dyel du Parquet (1606–1658), nephew of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and first governor of Martinique, decided to have Fort Saint Louis built to protect the city against enemy attacks. The fort was soon destroyed, and rebuilt in 1669, when

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

appointed the Marquis of Baas as governor general. Under his orders and those of his successors, particularly the Count of Blénac, the fort was built with a Vauban design. Originally named Fort-Royal, the administrative capital of Martinique was over-shadowed by Saint-Pierre, the oldest city in the island, which was renowned for its commercial and cultural vibrancy as "The Paris of the Caribbean". The name of Fort-Royal was changed to a short-lived "Fort-La-Republique" during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, and finally settled as Fort-de-France sometime in the 19th century. The old name of Fort-Royal is still used today familiarly in its Creole language form of "Foyal", with the inhabitants of the city being "Foyalais". The city was captured by a British expedition which captured Martinique in 1762, but the island was returned to French control in the Treaty of Paris. In 1839, the city was struck by a minor

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

, and in 1890 saw an outbreak of fire which razed part of the city. By the turn of the 20th century, however, Fort-de-France became economically important after the

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

eruption of Mount Pelée destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre in 1902. Until 1918, when its commercial growth began, Fort-de-France had an inadequate water supply, was partly surrounded by swamps, and was notorious for

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

. Now the swamps are drained to make room for extensive suburbs.

Geography

Fort-de-France, also known as the Fort of France, lies on Martinique's west coast at the northern entrance to the large

Fort-de-France Bay Fort-de-France Bay is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Martinique. It is named after Martinique's capital, Fort-de-France, the chief town on the bay. Important Bird Area A tract of some 3,361 ha, encompassing the larges ...

, at the mouth of the Madame River. The city occupies a narrow plain between the hills and the sea but is accessible by road from all parts of the island. Fort-Saint-Louis-06

Climate

Fort-de-France has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southe ...

( Köppen ''Af''), characterised by very warm to hot and humid weather year-round. The wettest months are from July to November when hurricanes are a frequent threat, although substantial rainfall occurs in all months. The hottest month on average is September, and the coldest month on average is February.

Population

Naval Port

Fort Saint Louis in Fort-de-France is a French naval base, as is

Dégrad des Cannes Dégrad des Cannes is the main seaport for the French Overseas department of French Guiana, situated in the northern edge of South America and opening into the Caribbean. The seaport is located on the estuary of the Mahury River. Nearly all of ...

(

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

Government

As of 27th June 2021, the Mayor of Fort de France is Serge Letchimy replacing Alfred Marie-Jeanne as the new mayor of the capitol. With a participation rate of little over 44% the Letchimy Party Alians Matinik received 37,72% of the votes, whereas Marie Jeanna who came in a close second with Gran Sanblé Pou Matinik acquired 35,27% of the votes. The commune of Fort-de-France makes up

Martinique's 3rd constituency The 3rd constituency of Martinique is a French legislative constituency in the Martinique ''département''. It consists of the commune of Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. In every election of the Fifth Republic, with the exception of ...

for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

Main sights

In addition to Fort Saint Louis, there are three other forts: *

Fort Desaix Fort Desaix is a Vauban fort and one of four forts that protect Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. The fort was built from 1768 to 1772 and sits on a hill, Morne Garnier, overlooking what was then Fort Royal. Fort Desaix was built in r ...

* Fort Tartenson * Fort Gerbault Other sites of interest include: * Place de la Savane * Schoelcher Library * Jardin de Balata, a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

* Sacré-Cœur de Balata Church, a replica of the parisian Montmartre Church lodged on a cliff surrounded by tropical forest * Fort-de-France Cathedral A statue commemorating Martinique-born Empress Josephine, the wife of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, is in the gardens of La Savane. It was vandalized in the 1990s, presumably by individuals who blamed her for supporting the reestablishment of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

on the island. They removed the head and splashed the body with red paint. It has been further vandalized and destroyed in 2020.

Transport

Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport is located in a suburb outside Fort-de-France and is accessible via the A1 autoroute.

Notable people

Manon Tardon Yvonne Renée Manon Tardon, known as Manon Tardon (17 August 1913–23 December 1989) was a landowner and French Resistance fighter from Martinique, who was one of the only women to be present at the surrender of Nazi Germany. She was awarded a c ...

(1913-1989), Resistance fighter * Frantz Fanon (1925-1961), psychiatrist, political philosopher and revolutionary *

Julienne Salvat Julienne Salvat (12 May 1932 – 11 March 2019) was a French teacher, poet, ''Femme de lettres'', and actress from Martinique who spent a large part of her career in Réunion. She was the recipient of the Silver Medal from the Société Académiqu ...

(1932–2019), teacher, poet, ''femme de lettres'', actress * Karine Jean-Pierre (born 1974), organizer, activist, White House Press Secretary (since 2022)