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
Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships The Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships, or "CISCs", is a biennial aquatics championships held in even years. They are organized by CCCAN and feature age-group competition for teams from Caribbean island nations. They have been held since 1976, and feature competition in 5 of FINA's Aquatics disciplines: swimming, open water, diving, water polo, and synchronized swimming. The CISCs predominantly features teams from the Caribbean, but traditionally also includes Guyana and Suriname, members of CONSANAT--South America's Swimming Confederation. Twenty (21) countries have been invited to the 2016 Championships: Residents of the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique have