“ I understood the importance of history in Martinique upon taking office in February 2000, right after a major social conflict at CCIE. This conflict, which lasted from May to November 1999, marked the recent social history of the island significantly. It is nowadays remembered as the TOYOTA conflict, since the CCIE was equated to TOYOTA.
Martinique, like the rest of the French overseas territories, is a living history museum. The past is present in social relations and in economic organisations there, so much more clearly than in any other environment that I have experienced.
History is present in the French overseas in daily life, in the way of life, in relationships, while elsewhere it is found in museums, folklore and commemorative ceremonies.
And yet, as important as it is, it remains marginally studied.
This is why I started the French Overseas History Book Prize in 2017, via the Association for the French Overseas Development, which organized the JOMD. “
Cyril Comte, President of Groupe Citadelle
Citadelle Group was the founding partner of the Journée Outre-Mer Développemment (JOMD).
An event dedicated to recruiting talents for the overseas, and highlighting development opportunities in these territories between 2009 and 2017. The JOMD enabled the French overseas diaspora to connect.
Supported by a jury of historians, writers and journalists, the Overseas History Book Prize, has been awarded since 2017 to an author ,whose work promotes the history of the French overseas territories. This prize aims to develop interest in historical culture by promoting accessible books with significant value from a historical standpoint when it comes to the ultramarine worlds.
Eric Jennings, author “Boats of Hope, Vichy, Refugees and the Martinican Industry” was the winner of the Overseas History Book Prize, 2022 edition.
In partnership with the local university, Université des Antilles, the Citadelle School organizes yearly seminars on Martinican History, Culture and Society. The 2023 edition was a 2-day program developped for leaders, executives, students, newcomers to Martinique and more broadly anyone wishing to deepen their knowledge of the French West Indies.
1st day of the seminar:
Lecture by Erick NOËL, modernist historian and professor at the University des Antilles in Martinique since 2008. His research themes are: Plantation owners of the French West- Indies; The islands in France; and The life of black people in France in modern times.
Lecture by Colette RANÉLY VERGÉ-DÉPRÉ, geographer and associate professor at ESPE, Martinique center of the Université des Antilles. Her main area of research is the geography of transport, particularly in the Caribbean region.
2nd day of seminar:
Lecture by Erick NOËL.
Lecture by Justin DANIEL, professor of political science at the Université des Antilles, and Director of the Caribbean Social Sciences Laboratory. He is a specialist in the Caribbean and French overseas territories, he has co-directed and coordinated several papers on the subject. His current research focuses on the territories of the region, which are not independent, and the operating models of the State in the overseas territories of the French Republic.
Lecture by Christelle LOZÈRE, lecturer and doctor in contemporary art history at the Université des Antilles, specialist in art in a colonial context.
From May 4th to 6th, 2023, the French Colonial History Society held its 47th congress in Martinique in partnership with the Université des Antilles, the Citadelle Group, the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique, CRILLASH, the LC2S Laboratories, and the CNRS.
The theme of this year’s congress was “The Color of Slavery: Construction and Deconstruction of a Colonial System”.