Martinican musical history is largely marked by colonisation, slavery, the wars of influence between the old European colonial empires and the eruption of the Montagne Pelée in 1902.
The development of its music, like its population, has followed a historical evolution. Martinique music has its origins in music from Africa and Europe. It was then enriched by its proximity to the other islands of the Caribbean and the United States.
One of the major musical trends of Martinique is "LA BIGUINE". Born out of the marriage of traditional Bèlè and polka, the Biguine is a musical style popularized in the 1930s, which has evolved through a variety of influences and which is remembered by the older people on the island.