ÎLET RAMIERS
A small strombolian volcano a few hundred thousand years old, this islet was quickly equipped with an artillery piece and fortified to the point of becoming an essential device for the defense of the bay of Fort-de-France. From 1703 to 1739, more than 200 cannons were built in Martinique! The fort, a simple battery around 1728 until the fortification project in 1746, forbids any intrusion into the bay, by aligning itself with the Pointe-des-Nègres. Ilet Ramiers (or Ilet-à-Ramiers) is the entrance to Fort-de-France coming from the South coast and Pointe-des-Nègres is the entrance to Fort-de-France coming from the North Caribbean coast. This islet, almost impregnable, is nestled on a steep rock. The attackers could only approach it from one place: a landing stage protected by a guardhouse. At the top is a flat plateau—only accessible by a ladder 70 feet above the sea—consisting of three coastal batteries, military housing, and a gunpowder magazine; several of these buildings are listed as historic monuments. The rock played a defensive role until 1876 and then served as a lazaretto and military hospital for brief periods in addition to the Pointe-du-Bout fort. A military rest center in the 1960s, this 3-hectare islet is now a site protected by the Conservatoire du Littoral for its flora and fauna, in particular the Lesser Antillean iguana, an endemic species. It is forbidden to enter the site.
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