SAINT-PIERRE

town and small port on the Caribbean island of Martinique, French West Indies. Founded in 1635 by French settlers, it was the island's commercial centre until May 8, 1902, when Mount Pele erupted, killing all but one inhabitant, a prisoner in a strong underground jail cell. Some 30,000 persons died. Rebuilding has been limited, and many ruins remain. The town is now the centre of a sugar-producing area and has a geological laboratory and a volcanological museum. Pop. (1990) 5,045. port town on the eastern shore of Saint-Pierre island and capital of the French collectivit of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Settled by European fishermen in the 17th century, the town grew in the 19th century as a service and supply centre for the local fishing industry. Bootlegging brought brief prosperity to the town during the period of Prohibition (192033) in the United States. Saint-Pierre is serviced by an airport. Pop. (1990) 5,580.