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
Caribbean elaenia Caribbean elaenia The Caribbean elaenia ("Elaenia martinica") is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae found in the West Indies and parts of Central America. Its natural habitats are tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and heavily degraded former forest. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Caribbean elaenia in his "Ornithologie" based on a specimen collected on the island of Martinique. He used the French name "Le gobe-mouche hupé de la Martinique" and the Latin "Muscicapa Martinicana cristata". Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not