The Martinique carnival was born during the colonization at Saint-Pierre, which was the biggest city on the island. It was a mixture of the African and European cultures.
Originally, the Carnival dates back to the Middle Ages. To suppress the pagan ideas and traditions, the Catholic Church under duress and for fear of the creation of a new less restrictive religion, cultures the Mardi Gras which is the rite of the celebration of Spring.
Mardi Gras was therefore the day of celebrations, public dances, costumes, and other festivities that fully celebrated European Christians. In addition, all kinds of meat menus were consumed without moderation.
Its position in the calendar, the day before Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lent, the period of fasting and prayers was the last day you could eat fat until Easter. This day will become the Carnival from the Latin carnelevarium which means removal of meat.
The beginning of the Carnival in Martinique
The Carnival from settlers to slaves
Carnival arrives in Martinique with the French Catholic settlers around the 17th century. From the tradition they had in Europe, they impregnated the African slaves from the slave ships. Once settled on the plantations, the masters invited family and friends of their rank to commemorate Carnival according to European traditions imported to the West Indies. Lavish receptions with abundant food were shared among the elite of the day. Guests arrived masked and dressed in luxurious attire.
Further, in their neighborhoods, near their wood houses, slaves repeated this settlers' tradition, trying to copy their masters while keeping their traditional costumes as they were made in Africa. The drum was introduced, and the slaves danced with the timing of this instrument they used formerly in their festivals.
Finally, the festivities were very different depending on the social status of the person celebrating the carnival. For while carnival was a reception in the home of the white settlers, it was a procession, a costumed parade combining dance and music in the slave quarters of the master's plantation. It was forbidden to leave the master's property. Carnival was banned several times for slaves, however, as masters couldn't bear to see slaves running through the streets and celebrating with cutlasses, sticks and other work tools.
At the end of slavery, the entire population dances together and celebrates Carnival, which has become a festivity that the whole island has made its own. Thus,
Creoles, whatever their color, are great lovers of music and dance. You must see them [...] on carnival day. To the sound of a plaintive chant, with a dropping phrase and repeated without intermittence with a few variations, the innumerable procession of men and women marches in time, holding each other's hands, giving each other their arms, separating, uniting according to the movements of this uneven dance, in the midst of cries, songs, laughter, in an endless intoxication."
Note that the Carnival was banned during the First World War as well as the patronal festivals which patriotic festivals have replaced. It would have been frowned upon for the inhabitants of the French colonies to rejoice in the streets while the nation was at war and likewise, popular gatherings did not guarantee the safety of the participants.
A popular success
The carnival was a great success in the 19th century in particular around the end of the period. Popular parades were organized in Saint Pierre, the capital and largest city of Martinique until 1902 and the eruption of Mount Pelee. Carnival will not be commemorated several years later, and resume at Fort-de-France, the new capital of Martinique.
From then on, the carnival's reputation spread to many Caribbean islands and the South American continent via the three Guyanas (French Guiana, Guyana and Surinam). The characters of the Saint-Pierre carnival were recreated in Fort-de-France based on the multicultural heritage that characterized Creole society at the time, as well as on social facts and customs in vogue at the time (trades, regional or international current events).