Invasion of Martinique (1674) Martinique, the headquarters of the French colonial venture in the Caribbean. The Dutch believed that the capture of Martinique would enable them to quickly conquer France's other island outposts and rebuild their own war-ravaged network of Caribbean plantations, giving them dominance of the entire Lesser Antilles island chain. To achieve these aims, the Dutch assembled a powerful invasion force under Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, widely regarded as the greatest naval commander of the age, whose crushing victories had driven the English out of the war. Under his commanded sailed a fleet of eighteen major warships including his 80-gun flagship "De
Geography of Martinique Geography of Martinique Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Cuba and north of Trinidad and Tobago Geographic coordinates: Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: <br>"total:" 1,100 km² <br>"land:" 1,060 km² <br>"water:" 40 km² Area - comparative: slightly more than six times the size of Washington, D.C. Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 350 km Maritime claims: <br>"exclusive economic zone:" <br>"territorial sea:" Climate: tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees Celsius; humid Terrain: mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano Elevation