Member states of the Caribbean Community British heritage. In November 2013, CARICOM announced that it would "suspend consideration of the request by the Dominican Republic for membership of the Caribbean Community" in response to a Dominican court ruling which revoked citizenship from tens of thousands, mostly descendants from illegal immigrants from Haiti. The French Republic extends to several islands in the Caribbean that are not associated with CARICOM, and are instead part of the European Union: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin, Saint Barthélemy and French Guiana. The CARICOM-DR-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) presently provides these areas with access to CARICOM markets. It was announced during summer of 2012
History of Martinique security payments and unemployment benefits. French funding to the DOM has somewhat made up for the social and economic devastation of the slave trade and sugar crop monoculture. With French funding to Martinique, the island had one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean. However, it remained dependent upon French aid, as when measured by what Martinique actually produced, it was one of the poorer islands in the region. History of Martinique This is a page on the history of the island of Martinique. The island was originally inhabited by Arawak and Carib peoples. Circa 130 CE, the