The Very Sudden Attack On Saint Pierre

by Sylvain Truchard

Before the Catastrophe

A few months before the eruption, an awful smell of sulfur had prompted some scientists to warn the governor about the risks of the volcano. They had even stated that it could explode soon. But Governor Mouttet, more preoccupied by the election set for the 11th May than by the volcano, made an effort to reassure the population, despite being perfectly well informed of the risk posed by the volcano. However, while this did not prevent people from worrying more and more, few left the capital. Most inhabitants decided to stay.

Saint Pierre before the eruption - the Paris of the Antilles

The 8th May 1902

On this terrible day, Saint Pierre, the famous capital of Martinique known as 'Little Paris', was destroyed in a few seconds. That morning most people were in church, not because it was Sunday but to celebrate Ascension Thursday, a French religious holiday. The church became a ghastly crematorium for all the believers who died of horrible burns. Everything in the city was destroyed and all the inhabitants perished chocked, burnt and asphyxiated.

A burning cloud of dust and ash bursts forth from the volcano

Or almost all. One person, named Cyparis, was in a dungeon at the moment of the catastrophe because he had attacked another prisoner. He was supposedly protected by the thick walls of his cell and later toured the world with the Barnum Circus, showing off his burns. But some historians doubt the possibility of someone surviving such high temperatures.     People from all over the world sent telegrams supporting the population of Martinique. American President Theodore Roosevelt even put all the necessary resources of the American Navy at the disposition of the French government. However, the first helpers arrived the following day only to find the capital ruined and its inhabitants dead.

Afterwards and Nowadays

Saint Pierre was ruined and could no longer function as an economic capital. The eruption brought to a close a glittering period of its history. Crossed off the map, Saint Pierre became an area of Carbet between 1910 and 1923. The town was forgotten and Fort de France assumed the role of the capital of Martinique.

It was only a matter of time before people began to rebuiild the beautiful city that the capital was, but even one century later Saint Pierre has not yet been able to recover from its wounds. Following the eruption, pirates had come and stolen all the remaining treasure and gold that the city had acquired, making it almost impossible to rebuild the city from nothing. Later, gypsies came to Saint Pierre and began to squat the ruins.

The city has now developed somewhat but there are still only 4,500 people living in Saint Pierre, but a fraction of the 30,000 inhabitants before the eruption. Most people are still unwilling to take the risk of investing and building supermarkets or shops in a place where a volcano could explode and destroy everything at any moment. Consequently, the city and its economy have remained stagnant since that terrible tragedy.

Mount Pelee still looms over Saint Pierre