The town of St. Pierre, in northern Martinique, is world-famous for the appalling tragedy that took place here on May 8, 1902, when an eruption of Mount Pelée destroyed the urban area and killed nearly 30,000 people. This marked the end of the history of the “Little Paris of the Antilles”, a prosperous and vibrant city that had one of the busiest ports in the insular Caribbean, a dynamic chamber of commerce, prestigious buildings such as the theater and the Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, and modern services including electricity and telephone. Ten consulates were established there,...

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