History of Martinique survivors were a shoemaker and a prisoner who was saved by his position in a jail dungeon with only a single window. Because Saint Pierre was the commercial capital of the island, there were four banks in the city—the Banque de la Martinique, Banque Transatlantique, a branch of the Colonial Bank of London, and the Crédit Foncier Colonial. All were destroyed. The town had to be completely rebuilt and lost its status as the commercial capital, a title which shifted to Fort-de-France. Due to the eruption, refugees from Martinique arrived in boats to the southern villages of Dominica and some
Martinique the passage in a "unique (only) community" within the framework of article 73 of the French Constitution. This replaces and exercises the skills of the General Council and the regional council. Martinique is divided into four "arrondissements", 34 "communes", and 45 "cantons". The four arrondissements of the island, with their respective locations, are as follows: Part of the archipelago of the Antilles, Martinique is located in the Caribbean Sea about northeast of the coast of South America and about southeast of the Dominican Republic. It is directly north of St. Lucia, northwest of Barbados, southeast of both Cuba and Hispaniola