Battle of Martinique (1779) Battle of Martinique (1779) The Combat de la Martinique, or Battle of Martinique, was a naval encounter on 18 December 1779 between a British squadron under Admiral Hyde Parker and a French squadron under Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte near the island of Martinique in the West Indies. In the fall of 1779, a British fleet under Admiral Hyde Parker was anchored at St. Lucia (which they had captured a year before), while a French fleet under Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte was undergoing a refit at the nearby island of Martinique in the West Indies. Parker was
Coffee production in Martinique Coffee production in Martinique Coffee production in Martinique dates to 1723 and its establishment is credited to the French naval officer Gabriel de Clieu. It later spread to other places in the Caribbean and South America from Martinique, an overseas region of France. Jules Rossignon wrote that in 1723, Royal Physician Pierre Chirac gave Gabriel de Clieu, a French navy lieutenant, a coffee tree to be planted in Martinique. In spite of King Louis XV refusing permission to do so, de Clieu took a cutting from a coffee plant in the royal gardens and planted it in Martinique. He gave