Submitted by Alana Stewart on the 2018 winter session program in Martinique sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
Over the past week, our group went on a couple of excursions focused on Martinique’s history. I had never heard of Martinique before learning about the study abroad program, and so it has made learning about its rich and significant history that much more interesting and astounding. We visited an old sugar plantation, Martinique’s first major export (to be usurped later on by bananas). It was said that the plantation was a large one, holding around 300 slaves. The tour guide explained that during this time (18th century), Martinique was covered in plantations. Slave rebellions occurred, but were often put out quickly due to the small size of the island; slaves had nowhere to go or hide. “Le Code Noir,” existed at the time thanks to King Louis XIV, which was a harsh, legal framework for removing Africans from their homeland and transporting them to work on French sugar plantations.
In one lecture we listened to, our teacher spoke about the idea of many people, particularly Caribbean inhabitants, as feeling, “in between” identities. They don’t quite identify entirely with the place they come from, nor do they fully identify with the culture they currently exist in. As confusing as this initially sounded to me, it does not have to be scary or a negative thing, my teacher assured us. It is in this “in between” that Martiniquans residents, and residents of other Caribbean Islands, have carved their own niche and begun to form their own identities. Martinique is such an interesting island, full of culture and life and history, and though I am disappointed in not having learned about it prior to my arrival, I feel there is no better way for me to learn it now than living and learning with and among the locals.