Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/140

MAKTINI. 118 MARTINIQUE. work is arranfjpd with a view to decorative effect and is charming in finish and coloring, but the faces have tlie old conventional expression of mouth and eyes and lark the character of Giotto. In Siena his important work is a large wall painting in the Palazzo Pubblico, the Madonna, surrounded by saints and angels (1315). On the wall opposite this painting is an equestrian por- trait of a Sienese captain at arms. Guidoriccio Fogliano. An altarpiece which was formerly in the Siena Cathedral, "The Annunciation" (133.3), was painted by Sinione in collaboration with Leppo Memmi, and is now in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence. In the Chapel of Saint Martin at Assisi are ten jjictures of the legends of the saints. In Naples at the Church of San Lorenzo is a fresco, "Saint Louis of Toulouse Crowning His Brother Robert" (1324), painted when the church was completed by King Robert I. At Avignon there are fragments of his work in the Papal palace, and in (he Chapel of Saint .Inhn there are frescoes illustrative of the life of that saint. His other works include: "The Wav to Golgotha" (1333), in the Louvre; "Christ B'Icss- ing," in the Vatican : and "Christ Returning to His Parents," in the Royal Institution, Liverpool. Consult: Crowe and Cavaleaselle. Hixtory of Painting in Italy (London, 1864) ; Berenson, Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance (New York, 1897). MARTINIQUE, mar't^'ni^k'. An island and French colony of the Lesser Antilles, situated between latitudes 14° 23' and 14° 52' X.. and on the meridian of 61° t'., between Dominica on the north and Saint Lueia on the south (Maji: An- tilles, R 7). Area. 381 square miles. Population, in 1894. 187,602, reduced in 1902 by 30,000-35,000 as the result of the destructive eruptions of Mont (Montagnc) PelOe on Jlay 8th and August .30th. The island is in greater part of volcanic origin, the loftier elevations ( Mont Pelce, in the north- west, now about 4900 feet in elevation : the Pitiins du Carbet, 3960 feet; the Vauclin, in the south), being all of lava or agglomerate masses, whose age dates back to some portion of the Tertiary period. Isolated patches of limestone, of Miocene and Pliocene age, occur in the east and in (he south (near TrlnilC the Marin, etc.) , and there is also a detached bordering of recent coral struc- tures. Much of the interior surface is a compara- tively recent alluvium, formed from the disinte- gration of the prehistoric lavas. The relief of the land is essentially moiintaiiinus, the mnrncs and pilons rising with marked abruptness, and form- ing the landscape that is so distinctive of most of the inner (volcanic) islands of the Lesser Antilles. Between these are valleys of beauti- fully (lowing contour and deeply incised canon- like troughs. The culminating point of the island is Mont Pek-e, whose height has increased by nearly or fully 700 feet since >Iay. 1902. A large part of the island, somewhat over a lliird, is under cultivation. The principal crop is the sugar cane, but a siiperior grade of cacao has been raised with success and profit: coffee and tobacco are grown in some parts. Where not under cultivation (he island is still largely cov- ered with woodland, and a forest of strictly tropical luxuriance is found in scattered spots. The higher animal life is not very abundant, and its characterislics are largely Soudi .merican, marked with the deficiencies (hat belong to in- sularity. Of the seemingly native animals, the opossum, which has been known in the island for upward of two hundred years, is the most notable. Of the birds, the most abundant or common species is probably the Martinique black- bird. Of the dreaded fer-de-lance serpent, which was at one time very abundant, but few individ- uals remain to-day, the animal having been all but exterminated by the introduced nuingoos. The interior of the island is crossed by well constructed highroads, but there are as yet no railroads, excepting a few that arc used in pri- vate transport on the cane plantations. The climate is on the whole salul)rious, and the heat is measurably tempered, esp<>cially on the east- ern side, by the steadily blowing trade-winds, the temperature only exceptionally rising above 92° to 94° F. The humidity is, however, high. July and August are ordinarily the rainy months, and February, March, and April the months of least rainfall. The annual prccii)itation is from 85 to 95 inches. Earthquakes are of frequent occur- rence. That of 1839, which destroyed a large part of Fort-de-France, was particularly de- structive. The only hi-storically recorded vol- canic eruptions before the year 1902 were those of 1702 and August, 1851, "both of Mont Pelee. See Pel£e, Mont. Of the population, much the greater part con- sists of the colored races, especially the negroes and mulattoes; hardly a vestige, excc|)t in mi.x- ture, remains of the ancient Carib Indians. The capital of the island is Fort-del" ranee, with a Iioi)ulation (in 1896) of nearly 18,000. Other important to«Tis are Lamentin, Sainte-Marie, Trinity, Francois, Robert, Gros ^lorne, Saint- .Joseph, and Carbet. with populations ranging from 6000 to nearly 11,000. Saint -Pierre, of which nothing but ruins now remain, was, up to the time of its destruction, the largest and most important settlement on the island. The colony is under a Governor (appointed by the Home Government of France) and a General Council, and tiiere are elective municipal coun- cils. It is represented in the Government of France by one Senator and two members in the Chamber of Deputies. In 1900 the imports amounted to 24,929.348 francs (about one-half of which was from France and French colonies), and the exports to 27,160,890 francs, nine-tenths going to France and its colonies, ilartinique was discovered l)y Columbus, who subsequently landed near Carbet, on .June 15, 1502. In 1035 a fort was erected by the Frenchman D'Esnambue on the site of the later Saint-Pierre. The French possession was contested at various times by tlie English, who took the island repeatedly, holding it for the last time during the Napolennie wars. Slavery was abolished on the island liy decree of April 27, 1848. The Empress Josephine was born at Trois-Ilets. Bini,lOGR.rnT. Daney, TJistnirr dc la Marti- niqiir dipiiin la cnlnnisntinn jusqii'rn ISIo (Fort Royal. 1846) : Rey, Etude mir la cnlmiie dr la Martinique (Paris, 1881) ; Aul)e, La Martinique, son present et son arrnir (Paris, 1882) ; Jlonef. La Martinique (Paris, 1882) ; Heilprin. Mnnt Pelfe and the Traqedi/ of Martinique (Philadel- phia, 1903) : Dunioret, Au pays du snore (Paris, 1901) ; Landes. Xotice sur la Martinique (Paris, 1900) ; Russell, "Volcanic Eruptions on Marti- ni<|uc and Saint Vinwnt." in alional (leographir Mtiiia:inr. vol. xiii., contains bibliography (W'asli- ing(on, 1902).