Martinique in the town of Saint-Pierre, Auguste Cyparis, was saved by the thick walls of his prison cell. Shortly thereafter the capital shifted to Fort-de-France, where it remains today. During WWII, the Vichy government controlled Martinique and Guadeloupe. German U-boats used Martinique for refueling and re-supply during the Battle of the Caribbean. In 1942, 182 ships were sunk in the Caribbean, dropping to 45 in 1943, and 5 in 1944. Free French forces took over on the island on Bastille Day, 14 July 1943, as Admiral Robert fled. In 1946, the French National Assembly voted unanimously to transform the colony into
Martinique at the CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship was rebranded under that name. Since then, they have qualified for five tournaments, which puts them among the more successful Caribbean teams in tournament history. They qualified for the Knockout Stage once, in 2002, after a 1-0 victory against Trinidad & Tobago. In their first tournament match in 1993, Martinique was on the receiving end of a 9-0 win for Mexico, still the highest victory in tournament history. Seven of those goals were scored by striker Zague, another unique record. Kévin Parsemain, who captained the Martinique national team in 2013 and 2017, is the only Martinican player to score