The First World War arrived amid a period of great political and economic upheaval in Martinique. Still reeling from the eruption of Mount Pelée, which had claimed nearly 32,000 lives and destroyed its capital, Saint-Pierre, Fort-de-France became the island's main city. It had to take in the many victims and ensure economic continuity.
Martinique in the midst of major changes
A tense social climate
According to the October 1910 census, the island had a population of 184,004. Ten years earlier, the island had been hit by various general strikes and social movements. Sugar cane was the primary economic activity. Colonial cane sugar faced stiff competition from beet sugar, and the French colonies in the Caribbean were now only minor sugar producers. At the time, the sugar industry was the largest employer in Martinique.
On January 7 and 8, 1900, agricultural workers on the sugar cane plantations of the North Atlantic went on strike to demand higher wages following a sharp decline in their purchasing power. Dissatisfied with the solutions proposed by the employers, a general strike ensued in February 1900.
This first major social movement was dubbed the “colonial ant” because of its scale and deadly nature.
On February 2, 1900, tensions rose another notch and, starting on the 5th, spread to various towns: Marigot, Sainte-Marie, Le Lorrain, Le Lamentin, Trinité, Basse-Pointe, and Le Robert.
On February 8, strikers faced off with police in front of the François factory, who opened fire, killing ten strikers and wounding twelve others. This demonstration ended in bloodshed and had international repercussions.
The demand for cane sugar declined in favor of beet sugar production, and it was not until 1908 that Martinique's sugar producers were able to smile again with a resurgence in demand for cane sugar and its cost. This would plunge Martinique into monoculture, which had been its weak point until then. However, awareness grew and Martinique began to produce pineapples and bananas for export.
A new general strike hit the island in 1905, but it was much shorter. This time, the workers intended to put pressure on the employers with the help of the sugar cane workers' unions.
Sugar cane workers' unions were formed in 1900, but their strong community ties proved to be a major disadvantage. The more organized “professional” unions in Fort-de-France, representing metalworkers, construction workers, typographers, and shoemakers, were labeled as socialists and helped spread socialist ideas across the island.