Guadeloupe was discovered by Columbus in 1493. One hundred and forty-two years afterward l’Olive and Duplessis took possession in the name of a French company called the Compagnie des Iles d’Amérique. The native Caribs did not long survive the cruel treatment accorded them by l’Olive, and efforts at colonization were the reverse of successful, in fact four chartered companies were ruined in the attempt. In 1674 the islands passed into the possession of the French crown and they were governed from Martinique for a long time. In 1759 they were captured by the British, in whose hands they remained for four years. The British again occupied them in 1794, but were driven out the following summer by Victor Hugues with the help of liberated slaves. The last British occupation took place during the Hundred Days of 1815, and they finally withdrew in 1816. Slavery in Guadeloupe was abolished in 1848. MARTINIQUE The French colony of Martinique is the most northerly of the Windward islands. It is situated between 14 degrees 55 minutes and 14 degrees 23 minutes north latitude and 60 degrees 48 minutes and 61 degrees 16 minutes west longitude. Its area is 381 square miles, its greatest length from northwest to southeast 36 miles, and its extreme width 18 miles. The population, negroes and half-castes for the most part, numbered 190,000 in 1913. The surface is mountainous, the highest peak being Mt. Pelée, which rises 4428 feet above sea-level. The appalling eruption of this volcano in May, 1902, was one of the greatest disasters of modern times and cost the lives of 40,000 people. About one-third of the island’s surface consists of extensive plains, most of them occurring in the south. The soil of the northern part is of volcanic formation, while in the south it is composed of clay. There are a number of streams, some of them of considerable size. Near the coast the average temperature for June is 83 degrees, and for January 77 degrees, the mean for the year being about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The wet season extends from June to October and the total yearly rainfall approximates 87 inches. August is the wettest month and March the driest. In the low region of the sea coast the climate is not healthful for Europeans during the hot period, but a more salubrious atmosphere and a temperature 10 degrees lower is found in the wooded uplands, 1500 feet above the sea. Fresh, dry northerly winds prevail from November to February, easterly winds from March to June, and damp, warm southerly winds from July to October. Earthquakes are frequent, but hurricanes seldom visit the island. Martinique was discovered by Columbus on June 15, 1492, and the French Compagnie des Iles d’Amérique took possession of it in 1635. It was settled in the same year by Pierre Belain, captain-general of the island of St. Christopher, and in 1674 it became the property of the crown.