Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of Natural History of Fort-de-France originated in a former military hospital built between 1698 and 1722 on land ceded to the Religious of Charity by a certain Sieur Villamont. Funded by the King, the establishment included a chapel and outbuildings, becoming a major place of care able to accommodate more than 5,000 patients. The park rotunda was even used as an operating room. Partly destroyed by an earthquake, then abandoned during the English occupation in 1809, the site was reoccupied from 1819 to 1904 by the Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres before being disused until 1935.

In 1935, the park underwent a revival during the three-hundredth anniversary of the first French establishment in Martinique (1635), celebrated with the first international flowers. The gardens were then remodelled, marking the beginning of a cultural and scientific vocation. In 1969, the city of Fort-de-France purchased the site from the Ministry of Defense to create an Exotarium, a Geology Gallery (opened in 1981) and a Botanique Gallery, complemented by artistic workshops and a theatre of performances, the Grand Carbet.

Today, the Museum showcases the volcanoism and geology of the West Indies through five illustrated sections of samples and teaching materials. The Botanical Gallery houses a full herbarium (not accessible to the public) and rich documentation, while the park, decorated with mango trees, coconut trees and tamarind trees, bears witness to the complex history of the site, combining medical, scientific and cultural heritage.

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