Rocher you diamond
| Rocher you diamond | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Waters | Caribbean | |
| Archipelago | Leeward Islands , Windward Islands | |
| Geographical location | 14 ° 26 '36 " N , 61 ° 2' 21" W | |
|
||
| length | 324 m | |
| width | 290 m | |
| surface | 7 ha | |
| Highest elevation | Rocher du Diamant 175 m |
|
| Residents | uninhabited | |
 |
||
Rocher du Diamant ( French diamond rock ) is the name of a small island in the Caribbean off the southwest coast of Martinique .
geography
The basalt rock, which is only 290 by 324 meters (around 7 hectares), juts 175 meters out of the sea. It is 1.9 km southeast of the Pointe du Diamant and 1.7 km from the nearest coast of the main island Martinique south of the village of l'Anse Caffar, and belongs to the municipality of Le Diamant .
history
The rock played a role in the Napoleonic Wars . In 1804 the British under Samuel Hood occupied the island and built it into a fortress with a garrison of over 100 men and five cannons. The Rocher du Diamant was even listed as a sloop HMS Diamond Rock in the Royal Navy register.
This battery hindered shipping between Martinique and St. Lucia for 17 months . Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve , who was sent to the Caribbean in 1805 , prepared the reconquest of the island. The fortification of the Rocher du Diamant was attacked by a Franco-Spanish fleet of 16 ships and the cisterns were destroyed. The British garrison surrendered on June 3, 1805.
This event was later used in novels, including Ramage's Diamond by Dudley Pope .
literature
Vivian Stuart, George Teeple Eggleston: His Majesty's Sloop-of-War. Diamond rock . Hale, London 1978.
