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
Piracy in the Caribbean in the New World were violated with greater frequency by the merchants of other nations. The Spanish port on the island of Trinidad off the northern coast of South America, permanently settled only in 1592, became a major point of contact between all the nations with a presence in the Caribbean. In the early 17th century, expensive fortifications and the size of the colonial garrisons at the major Spanish ports increased to deal with the enlarged presence of Spain's competitors in the Caribbean, but the treasure fleet's silver shipments and the number of Spanish-owned merchant ships operating in the region