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 of Europeans. The identity and distribution of indigenous macaws in the Caribbean is only likely to be further resolved through palaeontological discoveries and examination of contemporary reports and artwork. Bouton's original description of the Martinique macaw is reproduced below, translated from French: A translation of the original French description of ""Ara erythrura"" by de Rochefort follows below: In spite of the fact that the tail of ""Ara erythrura"" was described as entirely red, the plate in Rothschild's "Extinct Birds" showed a blue tip, which Charles Wallace Richmond complained about in his review of the book. Martinique macaw The Martinique macaw