[gleeaikin]

Except that in Martinique in 1902 the politics of the French national assembly in which the island had representation reared it’s ugly head. The politicians urged people to stay in San Pierre in order to vote when Mt Pelee was smoking and erupting on a regular basis. Then they had a terrible pyroclastic flow (think Mt. St. Helens). In 3 minutes virtually all the population of over 30,000 people was dead. The city was only 4 miles from the crater. Then refugees were given a frank a day to survive in safer locations if they were white but only 65 centimes a day if they were colored. After 3 months, despite the strong warnings of scientists that more pyroclastic eruptions were likely, the subsidy was stopped and people were forced to move back home near the volcano, especially Morne Rouge. Around 2,000 additional people were killed when the scientists were right. I wonder how the people of Martinique felt about colonial government for many year thereafter? Note, I am working on a novel about these events and related volcanic events at that time period. See video of pyroclastic eruption.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP2dreOI8gI

[grania]

That's interesting information. One of the islands that was a port of call in a 1961 cruise is Martinique. It was distressing to see people living in the volcanic ash, along the drive up to the crater. We got the story of the volcano, but never the part about France being complicit in the horrific death total. The story we were told is that only one person survived, a prisoner in a dungeon. Was that myth, to entertain tourists?

When I think back, the islands that were well-managed were under British or Dutch rule.