Martinique Martinique Martinique () is an insular region of France located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of and a population of 385,551 inhabitants as of January 2013. Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of Saint Lucia, southeast of Greater Antilles, northwest of Barbados, and south of Dominica. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the eighteen regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Unable to compete at sea, the French were increasingly confined to their principal naval bases, especially Brest on the Biscay coast and Toulon in the Mediterranean. With British squadrons patrolling the entrances to these ports, the French found it difficult not only to conduct regular overseas trade, but also to supply and reinforce their overseas colonies. As a result, the colonies faced financial collapse and the constant threat of attack by British forces, especially in the Caribbean, where by 1809 their island colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe were surrounded by British held