History
Ajoupa-Bouillon is a town in northern Martinique located in a mountainous region between Basse-Pointe to its north, Saint-Pierre to the west, Le Morne-Rouge to the south, and Lorrain to the east. It has no "borders" with the Atlantic Ocean.
This small town of 1,730 inhabitants (2022) owes its name to Jean Gobert, Sieur de Bouillon, originally from Languedoc and who had previously settled in the region of Marigot where he died in 1680. He would have built an ajoupa (shelter for the fortune of the Caribbean), a refuge very popular with travelers on the side of the road linking Morne-Rouge to Grande-Anse. This refuge would become a point of reference for all those coming to the neighborhood. Built on the slopes of Montagne-Pelée, it would later become Ajoupa Bouillon.
Initially, Ajoupa-Bouillon was only a simple district that constituted a passageway between the North Atlantic and the North Caribbean. In 1837, under the July Monarchy, Ajoupa-Bouillon was granted municipal status during the establishment of the colonial organization.
It is then considered a hamlet attached to the municipality of the North, made up of Macouba and Basse-Pointe. In 1848, with the abolition of slavery, it formed a parish of about 1,000 souls and had a church.
It was not until January 11, 1889, that it became a municipality by obtaining its municipal independence.
In August 1902, Ajoupa-Bouillon was severely affected by the eruption of Mount Pelée, and the town was evacuated until 1906. This event will mark a halt to the development of the commune, which had never again found its population at the end of the 19th century.
Today, Ajoupa-Bouillon is counting on the new attraction for green regions to gain in population.
Economy
Ajoupa-Bouillon is an essentially agricultural commune with plantations of bananas, pineapples, food crops, and livestock.
Each year, a gathering called “Convergences” celebrates the natural qualities of this town in the north and in the interior of the island.
With its eight rivers that water its land, it enjoys a profusion of crayfish, the so-called "z'habitants" which have become the culinary specialty of the town and can be tasted in the restaurants there.
It also attracts tourists wishing to be immersed in nature and the green environment of the island.
We must also add the presence of a few shops (grocery stores, butchers, snacks, pizzerias, bakeries, pastry shops, restaurants), a few small businesses (construction and transport), a nursing office, a medical office (doctor and nurse), and tourist accommodation (rural cottages).
Neighborhoods
The municipality's main districts are Rosalie, Sancé, Résidence Maxime, Derrière Cimetière, Route Joachim Omère, Bourg, Ravine des Saints, Mille pas, Dufailly, Résidence la Fortune, Cité Grenade, Cité les Grenadines, Lotissement Deschamps, Lotissement la Falaise, Deschamps, Mondzi, Grande-Savane, Vieux Cacao, Adinet, Croix Laurence, Eden, Morne Coco, La scierie, Semaine, la Racine, Abandonné, Rue Ilmany, and Marie-Louise.