Carib expulsion from Martinique

The Carib Expulsion from Martinique was the

Carib population in 1660 from the island of Martinique. This followed the French invasion in 1635 and its conquest of the Caribbean island that made it part of the French West Indies

.

History

The Carib people had migrated from the mainland to the islands about 1200 AD according to carbon dating of artifacts.[1]

In 1635 the Carib were overwhelmed by French forces led by the

Roman Catholic Church.^[2]

Because the Carib people resisted working as laborers to build and maintain the

purchase of slaves from Africa, who were then transported as labor to Martinique and other parts of the French West Indies.^[1]

In 1650, the Company liquidated and sold Martinique to Jacques Dyel du Parquet, who became governor until his death in 1658. His widow then took control of the island for France. As more French colonists arrived, they were attracted to the fertile area known as Cabesterre (leeward side). The French had pushed the remaining Carib people to this northeastern coast and the Caravalle Peninsula, but the colonists wanted the additional land. The Jesuits and Dominicans agreed that whichever order arrived there first, would get all future parishes in that part of the island. The Jesuits came by sea and the Dominicans by land, with the Dominicans' ultimately prevailing.

When the Carib revolted against French rule in 1660, the Governor Charles Houel sieur de Petit Pré retaliated with war against them. Many were killed; those who survived were taken captive and expelled from the island.

On Martinique, the French colonists signed a peace treaty with the few remaining Carib. Some Carib had fled to

St. Vincent, where the French agreed to leave them at peace. However, following the British conquest of these islands, the Caribs would eventually be expelled to Central America after losing the Second Carib War

.

References

^ ^a ^b Sweeney, James L. (2007). "Caribs, Maroons, Jacobins, Brigands, and Sugar Barons: The Last Stand of the Black Caribs on St. Vincent" Archived 2012-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, African Diaspora Archaeology Network, March 2007, retrieved 26 April 2007
^ "Institutional History of Martinique" Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, Martinique Official site, French Government (translation by Maryanne Dassonville). Retrieved 26 April 2007

[Sweeney-1] Sweeney, James L. (2007). "Caribs, Maroons, Jacobins, Brigands, and Sugar Barons: The Last Stand of the Black Caribs on St. Vincent" Archived 2012-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, African Diaspora Archaeology Network, March 2007, retrieved 26 April 2007

[2] "Institutional History of Martinique" Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, Martinique Official site, French Government (translation by Maryanne Dassonville). Retrieved 26 April 2007

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