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
Influx of disease in the Caribbean Influx of disease in the Caribbean The Atlantic slave trade brought an influx of diseases, particularly malaria and yellow fever, to the Caribbean. Malaria and yellow fever were already rampant in Africa, and years of exposure in Africa rendered a great number of the incoming slaves immune to the two diseases, while others were carriers for the diseases. The arriving Europeans brought slaves to the Caribbean islands, both of which were carriers of diseases. The population of the Caribbean is estimated to have been around 750,000 immediately before European contact, although lower and higher figures are given. After contact, social