Saint-Pierre | |
|---|---|
_avec_Montage_Pel%25C3%25A9e.JPG) Saint-Pierre, withMount Pelée in the background | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of the commune (in red) within Martinique | |
 Location of Saint-Pierre | |
| Coordinates:14°44′30″N61°10′33″W / 14.7417°N 61.1758°W /14.7417; -61.1758 | |
| Country | France |
| Overseas region and department | Martinique |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Pierre |
| Intercommunality | CA Pays Nord Martinique |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Christian Rapha[1] |
Area 1 | 38.72 km2 (14.95 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 4,069 |
| • Density | 105.1/km2 (272.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−04:00 (AST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 97225 /97250 |
| Elevation | 0–1,397 m (0–4,583 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Saint-Pierre (/ˌseɪntpiˈɛər/,/ˌsæ̃-/;French pronunciation:[sɛ̃pjɛʁ]ⓘ;Martinican Creole:Senpiè) is a town andcommune ofFrance'sCaribbeanoverseas department ofMartinique, founded in 1635 byPierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre by avolcanic eruption in 1902, it was the most important city of Martinique culturally and economically, being known as "the Paris of the Caribbean". WhileFort-de-France was the official administrative capital, Saint-Pierre was the cultural capital of Martinique. After the disaster, Fort-de-France grew in economic importance.
Saint-Pierre was founded in 1635 byPierre Belain d'Esnambuc, aFrench trader andadventurer, as the first permanent French colony on the island of Martinique.
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TheGreat Hurricane of 1780 produced a storm-surge of 8 metres (25 ft) which "inundated the city, destroying all houses" and killed 9,000 people.[3]
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The town was again destroyed in 1902, when thevolcanoMount Pelée erupted, killing 28,000 people. The entire population of the town, as well as people from neighboring villages who had taken refuge in the supposedly safe city, died, except for three people—a young girl, Havivra da Ifrile, a prisoner by the name ofLouis-Auguste Cyparis (known also by various other names), who later toured the world with theBarnum and Bailey Circus, andLéon Compère-Léandre, who lived at the edge of the city.[4][5][6]
Legend has it that the town's doom was forecast by loud groaning noises from within the volcano, but themayor of the town had it blocked off to prevent people from leaving during anelection. This story appears to have originated with one of the island's newspapers,[which?] published by a political opponent of the governor. Actually, there was considerable eruptive activity in the two weeks prior to the fatal blast, but since the phenomenon of thepyroclastic flow (French:nuée ardente) was not yet understood, the danger was perceived to be fromlava flows, which, it was believed, would be stopped by two valleys between the volcano and the city.
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On 6 October 2010, Saint-Pierre recorded a temperature of 36.5 °C (97.7 °F), which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Martinique.[7]
Saint-Pierre has atropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classificationAm). The average annual temperature in Saint-Pierre is 27.3 °C (81.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,864.6 mm (73.41 in) with August as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.3 °C (82.9 °F), and lowest in January, at around 25.7 °C (78.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Pierre was 36.5 °C (97.7 °F) on 6 October 2010; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) on 3 February 2005.
| Climate data for Saint-Pierre (1991–2020 averages, extremes 2004−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.9 (89.4) | 32.9 (91.2) | 34.1 (93.4) | 34.8 (94.6) | 35.2 (95.4) | 34.4 (93.9) | 34.5 (94.1) | 34.4 (93.9) | 35.0 (95.0) | 36.5 (97.7) | 34.4 (93.9) | 33.0 (91.4) | 36.5 (97.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.3 (84.7) | 29.6 (85.3) | 30.4 (86.7) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.7 (89.1) | 31.7 (89.1) | 31.9 (89.4) | 32.2 (90.0) | 31.9 (89.4) | 30.9 (87.6) | 29.9 (85.8) | 31.0 (87.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.7 (78.3) | 25.8 (78.4) | 26.4 (79.5) | 27.2 (81.0) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 28.1 (82.6) | 27.3 (81.1) | 26.3 (79.3) | 27.3 (81.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.5 (72.5) | 23.3 (73.9) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.7 (74.7) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.6 (74.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.9 (66.0) | 18.5 (65.3) | 18.8 (65.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 21.5 (70.7) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.8 (71.2) | 20.5 (68.9) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.3 (70.3) | 20.8 (69.4) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 125.2 (4.93) | 81.6 (3.21) | 59.4 (2.34) | 76.9 (3.03) | 118.7 (4.67) | 156.7 (6.17) | 231.7 (9.12) | 244.0 (9.61) | 203.9 (8.03) | 212.7 (8.37) | 182.0 (7.17) | 171.8 (6.76) | 1,864.6 (73.41) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 17.4 | 15.0 | 11.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | 16.1 | 20.6 | 19.4 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 15.6 | 18.2 | 188.9 |
| Source:Météo-France[8] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 6,559 | — |
| 1974 | 6,180 | −0.85% |
| 1982 | 5,438 | −1.59% |
| 1990 | 5,007 | −1.03% |
| 1999 | 4,453 | −1.29% |
| 2007 | 4,539 | +0.24% |
| 2012 | 4,341 | −0.89% |
| 2017 | 4,123 | −1.03% |
| Source: INSEE[9] | ||
The city of Saint-Pierre was never restored to its former entirety, though some villages were built in later decades on its place.
Today, the town is the seat of theArrondissement of Saint-Pierre.[10] It has been designated as a "City of Art and History".[11] There are many historic remains, and a Volcanological Museum (Musée Frank-A.-Perret [fr]).
All that remains are ships sunk due to the volcanic eruption as thewrecks of Saint-Pierre harbor. They were discovered byMichel Météry [fr]. today they are a reference in terms ofscuba diving inMartinique.
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