MARTINIQUE

Martinique (Martinican Creole: Matnik or Matinik) is an island which is part of the French Republic, located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 square kilometres (436 sq mi) and a population of 376,480 inhabitants as of January 2016. It is an overseas territorial collectivity of the French Republic. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of Saint Lucia, northwest of Barbados and south of Dominica. Martinique is also an Outermost Region (OMR) of European Union as a special territories of the European Union and the currency in use is the euro. 

Virtually the entire population speaks both French, the only official language and Martinican Creole, an Antillean Creole. Together with French Guiana, Martinique is one of the Special Collectivity  (Unique in french) of the French Republic. It is also an outermost region of the European Union. The inhabitants of Martinique are French citizens with full political and legal rights. Martinique sends four deputies to the French National Assembly and two senators to the French Senate.

On January 24, 2010, during a referendum, the inhabitants of Martinique approved by 68.4% the change to be an “Special (Unique) Collectivity" within the framework of article 73 of the French Republic's Constitution. The new council replaces and exercises the powers of both the General Council and the regional council. It is thought that Martinique is a corruption of the native name for the island (Madiana/Madinina, meaning 'island of flowers'), as relayed to Christopher Columbus when he visited the island in 1502. According to historian Sydney Daney, the island was called "Jouanacaëra" by the Caribs, which means "the island of iguanas". The northern end of the island catches most of the rainfall and is heavily forested, featuring species such as bamboo, mahogany, rosewood and locust. The south is drier and dominated by savanna-like brush, including cacti, Copaiba balsam, logwood and acacia. Anole lizards and fer-de-lance snakes are native to the island. Mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus), introduced in the 1800s to control the snake population, have become a particularly cumbersome introduced species as they prey upon bird eggs and have exterminated or endangered a number of native birds, including the Martinique trembler, white-breasted trembler and white-breasted thrasher.

Stamps of France were used in Martinique from 1851, and the French colonies general issues from 1859. The first stamp of Martinique was issued on 18 July 1886, overprinting "Martinique" on the French colonies general issues. In 1892, the first definitive set, the French colonial series, was issued. A series of pictorial stamps issued in 1908 featured local themes. Martinique has used the stamps of France since becoming an overseas region in 1974.

These airmail covers came from Martinique Island , a french Overseas territory in Caribbean Sea. The covers posted on March 28, 2016 and I received on November 23, 2016.