Martinique the French Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro. The official language is French, and virtually the entire population also speaks Antillean Creole ("Créole Martiniquais"). Christopher Columbus landed on 15 June 1502, after a 21-day trade wind passage, his fastest ocean voyage. He spent three days there refilling his water casks, bathing and washing laundry. The island was then called "Jouanacaëra-Matinino", which came from a mythical island described by the Taínos of Hispaniola. According to historian Sydney Daney, the island was called "Jouanacaëra" by the Caribs, which means "the
Martinique macaw Martinique macaw The Martinique macaw or orange-bellied macaw ("Ara martinicus") is a hypothetical extinct species of macaw which may have been endemic to the Lesser Antillean island of Martinique, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was scientifically named by Walter Rothschild in 1905, based on a 1630s description of "blue and orange-yellow" macaws by Père Jacques Bouton. No other evidence of its existence is known, but it may have been identified in contemporary artwork. Some writers have suggested that the birds observed were actually blue-and-yellow macaws ("Ara ararauna"). The "red-tailed blue-and-yellow macaw" ("Ara erythrura"), another species described by Rothschild in