This article is about the specific polity Martinique (French Colony) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
The Caribbean island of Martinique was colonized ba France from 1674.
Establishment
January 1675: France annexed Guadeloupe to the Martinique Colony.
January 1675: St. Lucia was made an official French crown colony as a dependency of Martinique.
January 1675: The French West India Company was dissolved and its possessions went under direct French control.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Was a global conflict that involved most of the European great powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. At the end of the war the main winner was Great Britain, that obtained territories in North America, the Caribbean and India, becoming the most powerful maritime and colonial of the European powers.
1.1.British expedition against Guadeloupe
Was the British invasion of French Guadeloupe during the Seven Years' War.
May 1759: The French forces on the island of Guadeloupe surrendered to the British after months of fighting, leading to a military occupation by Great Britain.
1.2.British expedition against Martinique
Was the British invasion of French Martinique during the Seven Years' War.
February 1762: On 3 February 1762, Fort Royal in Martinique surrendered to British forces.
February 1762: The rest of the island of Martinique is conquered by British forces.
March 1762: Between 26 February and 3 March, British detachments arrived at the islands Saint Lucia, Grenada and Saint Vincent, all of which fell without resistance.
1.3.Treaty of Paris (1763)
Was a treaty signed on 10 February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement, after Great Britain and Prussia's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War.
February 1763: Treaty of Paris (1763): Britain restored Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Gorée, and the Indian factories to France.
February 1763: France recognized the sovereignty of Britain over Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tobago. France lost all of its territory in mainland North America but had retained fishing rights off Newfoundland and the two small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Was the war of independence of the United States of America (at the time the Thirteen Colonies) against Great Britain.
2.1.Anglo-French War (1778-1783)
Was a war between France, allied to the United States, and Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
January 1780: British occupation of Martinique.
January 1781: French reconquest of Martinique.
April 1782: The French fleet of Comte de Grasse, which aimed to annex British Jamaica, left Martinique and headed towards the archipelago of les Saintes. Caught in the Dominica Passage by the British and inferior in number, it was crushed by the vessels of the vices-admirals of Great Britain, Baron George Brydges Rodney and Viscount Samuel Hood. The defeat put les Saintes under British control.
January 1785: During the Anglo-French War, the British forces led by Admiral George Rodney captured St. Lucia from the French in 1778. However, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 returned the island to French control, officially transferring it back to Martinique in 1784.
2.1.1.Capture of St. Lucia
Was the French capture of St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, during the American Revolutionary War.
December 1778: Upon the British ships' arrival on December 13, Major General James Grant ordered Brigadier General William Medows to land with a force of 1,400 at Grand Cul-de-Sac.
December 1778: In 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, General James Grant led the British forces to capture the fort at Morne Fortune and the capital, Castries, in Saint Lucia. This military occupation was part of Britain's strategy to secure the Caribbean islands during the conflict.
December 1778: Battle of St. Lucia.
December 1778: In 1778, during the Anglo-French War, a force of 9,000 French troops led by Admiral d'Estaing was landed near Castries, St. Lucia to attack General Medows' smaller force of 1,400 British troops. The territory ultimately went to Martinique, a French colony.
December 1778: The French garrison, led by Governor Francois Claude Amour, surrendered to British Admiral Samuel Barrington on 28 December 1778. The remaining French troops, including Governor Amour, embarked on their ships that same night, marking the British military occupation of the coast near Castries.
Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.
3.1.War of the First Coalition
Were a series of wars between the Kingdom of France (later the French Republic) and several European Monarchies. The French Revolution had deteriorated the relations of France with the other European countries, that tried several times to invade France in order to crash the revolutionary government.
January 1793: Marie-Galante, which was Republican, separated itself from the royalist government of Guadeloupe.
March 1794: In the Caribbean, the British fleet landed in Martinique in February, taking the whole island by 24 March.
May 1794: Guadeloupe conquered by great britain.
June 1794: In 1794, the British were driven out of Guadeloupe by Victor Hugues, a French politician and revolutionary.
March 1802: Great Britain held Martinique until the Peace of Amiens.
3.2.French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars - Theatre of war in the overseas colonies
The theatre of war in the overseas colonies during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
January 1804: British occupation of Saint Lucia.
January 1809: The Royal Navy took possession of Marie-Galante to stop French privateers using its port.
February 1809: 24 Feb 1809 - 9 Dec 1814: British occupation of Martinique.
April 1809: During the Napoleonic Wars, Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane led the British armada to reconquer the Iles des Saintes from French control on 14 April 1809. This strategic victory helped secure British dominance in the Caribbean region.
February 1810: In 1810, the British captured the island of Guadeloupe again.
December 1814: 24 Feb 1809 - 9 Dec 1814: British occupation of Martinique.
June 1815: 5 Jun 1815 - 28 Apr 1816: British occupation of Martinique.
July 1815: After Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the French-controlled Les Saintes islands were annexed by Great Britain on 6 July 1815.
January 1816: The British returned Marie-Galante Island to France.
April 1816: 5 Jun 1815 - 28 Apr 1816: British occupation of Martinique.
July 1816: After being occupied by the British during the Napoleonic Wars, the Iles des Saintes were returned to French control on 22 July 1816.
3.3.War of the Second Coalition
Was the second war that saw revolutionary France against most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples, and various German monarchies. Prussia did not join this coalition, and Spain supported France.
3.3.1.Treaty of Amiens
Was a treaty between France and Great Britain that ended the War of the Second Coalition.
March 1802: The Treaty of Amiens in 1802 restored the island of Marie-Galante to France. With the restoration, slavery too was reinstated .
3.4.War of the Sixth Coalition
Was a war between France and a a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States. The coalition emerged after the decimation of the French army in the French invasion of Russia. The coalition ultimately invaded France and forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.
3.4.1.Treaty of Paris (1814)
Was the treaty that ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.
May 1814: In the 1814 Treaty of Paris, Sweden ceded Guadeloupe to France.
Was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 (it started sooner in certain regions) between the Axis Powers (mainly Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (mainly the Soviet Union, the U.S.A., the U.K., China and France). It was the war with more fatalities in history. The war in Asia began when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. The war in Europe began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The war ended with the complete defeat of the Axis powers, which were occupied by the Allies.
4.1.World War II (All other Vichy France Colonies)
Refers to the events that happened in French Colonies that decided to be loyal to the German puppet state of Vichy France.
June 1940: During the period of June 16, 1940, to July 14, 1943, Guadeloupe was under the administration loyal to Vichy France, led by Marshal Philippe Pétain.
June 1940: During the period of 16 Jun 1940 - 13 Jul 1943, Martinique was under the administration loyal to Vichy France, led by Admiral Georges Robert. Vichy France was the government regime established in unoccupied France during World War II, collaborating with Nazi Germany.
July 1943: During the period of 16 Jun 1940 - 13 Jul 1943, Martinique was under the administration loyal to Vichy France, led by Admiral Georges Robert. Vichy France was the government regime established in unoccupied France during World War II, collaborating with Nazi Germany.
July 1943: From 14 Jul 1943 Martinique was loyal to Free French.
January 1694: British occupation of Martinique.
January 1695: French reconquest of Martinique.
January 1760: British occupation of Martinique.
January 1761: French reconquest of Martinique.
January 1785: During the Anglo-French War, the British forces led by Admiral George Rodney captured St. Lucia from the French in 1778. However, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 returned the island to French control, officially transferring it back to Martinique in 1784.
March 1946: Guadeloupe becomes a French overseas département.
March 1946: Martinique becomes a French overseas département.
Disestablishment
March 1946: Guadeloupe becomes a French overseas département.
March 1946: Martinique becomes a French overseas département.
Selected Sources
Kitchin, T. (1778). The Present State of the West-Indies: Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe
Treaty of Paris (1763), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1763)
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, pp.255-257
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Martinique (French Colony)
