Top: Fort-de-France skyline; Middle:Fort-de-France Cathedral, Fort Saint Louis; Bottom:Hôtel de Ville (town hall), Regional Museum of History and Ethnography of Martinique
Coat of arms
Location of the commune (in red) within Martinique
Before it was ceded to France by Spain in 1635, the area of Fort-de-France was known as Iguanacaera, which translates to "Iguana Island" in the indigenousKariʼnja language. In 1638,Jacques Dyel du Parquet (1606–1658), nephew ofPierre 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, whenLouis XIV appointed the Marquis of Baas as governor general. Under his orders and those of his successors, particularly theCount of Blénac, the fort was built with aVauban design. In the 1680s, the area was settled and became the French colonial capital in theCaribbean and theNew World, eventually developing into the city of Fort-de-France and it was governed by theCode Noir ("Black Code"), which was a French decree that regulated slavery in the French colonies including Martinique. King Louis XIV issued the Code Noir in 1685, which detailed the conditions of slavery and also restricted the freedoms of free black people.
Originally namedFort-Royal, the administrative capital of Martinique was over-shadowed bySaint-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 theFrench Revolution, 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 aBritish expedition which captured Martinique in 1762, but the island was returned to French control in theTreaty of Paris.[3] In 1839, the city was struck by a minorearthquake and 1890 saw an outbreak of fire which razed part of the city. TheHôtel de Ville (town hall) was completed in 1901.[4]
By the turn of the 20th century, however, Fort-de-France became economically important after thevolcanic eruption ofMount Pelée destroyed the town ofSaint-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 foryellow fever. Now the swamps are drained to make room for extensive suburbs.
On 3 August 1945, Fort-de-France's hydrobase became the site of Martinique's first fatal airliner crash. ASikorsky S-43 (NC15066) on Pan Am Flight 216 arriving fromPort of Spain at 10:11 was landed in poor weather conditions due to safety concerns by the crew and subsequently sank within 10 minutes, killing 4 of the 14 occupants.[5]
Fort-de-France, also known as the Fort of France, lies on Martinique's west coast at the northern entrance to the largeFort-de-France Bay, 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 seen from the sea.The frigateVentôse seen behind the old fort.
Fort-de-France has atropical rainforest climate (KöppenAf), 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.
Climate data for Fort-de-France (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1932–present)
As of 27 June 2021, the Mayor of Fort de France isSerge Letchimy replacing Alfred Marie-Jeanne as the new mayor of the capitol. With a participation rate of little over 44% the Letchimy PartyAlians Matinik received 37,72% of the votes, whereas Marie Jeanna who came in a close second withGran Sanblé Pou Matinik acquired 35,27% of the votes. The commune of Fort-de-France makes upMartinique's 3rd constituency for theNational Assembly.[12]
^"Fort–de–France Desaix (972)"(PDF).Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Météo France. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved29 March 2018.
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