ABSTRACT
The Caribbean island of Martinique has been a separate French overseas department since 1946. Its principal ethnic groups include Caribs, Africans, Europeans, and Asians; the latter are mostly Indians. The presence of this Indian population dates back to the manpower shortage faced by the sugar plantations of Martinique. Once slavery was abolished in 1848, the emancipated Black Creoles shunned this labor; it was for this reason that between 1854 and 1883 up to 25,000 Indians were brought over to Martinique to work on the numerous plantations. Most of these immigrants were recruited from Madras in southeastern India, were of low caste, and spoke Tamil.
