Martinique During WW2, Island Rum, and Picking a POV
My current novel, To Catch a Spy, can be ordered from Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
Martinique
My second novel with John Robie and Francie Stevens takes place in Martinique, shortly after WW2, with much of it in the city of Fort-de-France.
Fort-de-France is fascinating. It became the capital of Martinique shortly after the 1902 volcanic eruption that wiped out the then-capital, Saint Pierre (see my May 2025 posting).
Fort-de-France
In particular, the harbor is interesting. It’s over 1 ½ miles long, with an area over 13 square miles, and is protected by a semi-circle of mountains. It’s entrance is wide and deep, and the entire 1942 US Navy could have anchored there.
My point is it’s huge. It’s also very strategic; any nation that held the port could control shipping in the entire area, and the Caribbean is critically important given its location.
As we know, France was overrun by the Nazis in June of 1940. That occupation extended to France’s former colonies, including Martinique. If Germany couldn’t govern a place directly (like southern France, the ‘Unoccupied Zone’), it fell to the Vichy government to do so. Many thought Vichy was nothing more than a puppet government for Hitler.
Anyway, back to Martinique. Within days of France falling to the Nazis, a British mission approached the admiral of Martinique to see if he would turn the port over to the Brits.
No chance of that happening! The admiral was part of the Vichy government, so his response was a quick and definitive ‘NO.’
The extremely persistent Brits decided to take another action -- they bombed the port, hoping to keep many of the ships out of German hands. Then they put a warship blockade in place, limiting all supplies to the island.
That’s when the US got involved. Even though they hadn’t officially entered WW2, the US put some rules in place to protect themselves and the area from being a visible staging ground for the Germans.
Bottom line was that as long as the island was under the control of Germany, intrigue surrounded the port. Was it being used to refuel and resupply German shipping and U-boats? Was it used for more? It’s very hard to say…
As an interesting aside, Josephine Bonaparte, wife of Napoleon, was born in Martinique, and there’s a statue of her in Fort-de-France.
One problem, though -- the statue is headless. Here’s a little context for you…France abolished slavery (including in all the colonies) back in 1789, but less than a decade later, it was reinstated. Many thought it was done to help Josephine’s family, who owned a large plantation on the island.
So in 1991, the statue was ‘executed’ by protesters annoyed with that. Josephine’s likeness was beheaded, and red paint was splashed on the torso.
Today, it remains headless. And fresh red paint is re-applied every year.
There’s a strong message! I guess the Brits don’t have a monopoly on persistence…
Josephine Bonaparte, minus her head
Martinican Culture
Rum casks
While researching Martinique, I came across some fascinating information about rum, which the French call rhum.
Most rum we consume is made from molasses, which is a very thick, dark syrup made from sugarcane. Some folks use it as a sweetener, and it’s a key ingredient in things like gingerbread cookies, barbeque sauce, and brown sugar.
Molasses then gets fermented via the addition of water and yeast. That process turns the sugar content into alcohol, which then gets distilled into rum. If you like Bacardi’s, Pusser’s, or Captain Morgan, they’re made this way. In fact, most rum in the world is made this way. To summarize, sugarcane becomes molasses, which then becomes rum.
However, some rums are made directly from sugarcane; they skip the molasses step. This happens where sugarcane is grown, which is usually a place with a hot, tropical climate. Like Martinique, for example.
Rum made straight from sugarcane is called ‘rhum agricole,’ and it’s much less common than the other rum.
So how does it taste? Apparently, it’s got a fresh, complex flavor. It’s less sweet than molasses-based rums, and some refer to the taste as being ‘grassy’ and vibrant (meaning notes of tropical fruit). If aged, it becomes smoother and richer, and it can develop vanilla, caramel, or spicy undertones.
I’ve never tried it, but if I was a rum drinker, I’d certainly give aged rhum agricole a shot. No pun intended.
Anyway, rhum agricole is such a big part of Martinican culture that I’ve included it in my next book.
My World
There are many things an author has to consider before writing their book, and one of the more important elements is point-of-view (POV). Basically, it’s the perspective from which the story gets told.
There are 4 main choices when picking a POV:
1st person -- the protagonist is the narrator of the story.
2nd person -- the reader becomes the protagonist. This is hardly ever used.
3rd person limited -- story is told by a single character at a time (often one character per chapter). The narrator tells the story through that character’s perspective. Also, you can’t have too many POVs.
3rd person omniscient -- the narrator is all-seeing and all-knowing, and they tell the story from any character’s perspective, often with added commentary.
That is way too much information, I know. Feel free to skim this part.
Anyway, my first book, To Catch a Spy, was written in the 3rd person limited POV. I like it because you get to know the POV characters at a deep level.
POV Graphic
There’s a problem, though…I’ll be three-quarters through the manuscript when I realize I need to tell this portion of the story through another character’s perspective. Basically, there are no POV characters around. So I have to go back and edit the book so certain chapters are told from that new POV character’s perspective.
Because of this, I’m constantly toying with the idea of using 3rd person omniscient.
But that POV comes with it’s own challenges -- the author basically creates an unnamed character who tells the story to the reader.
Where did I land for my second book? I’m sticking with 3rd person limited. Reviewers often comment on the depth and humanity of my characters, and I don’t want to get away from that.
But ask me when I’m nearly done and I realize I need a new POV…
I told you it was way too much information!