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Of volcanic origin, the island is rugged and mountainous and reaches its greatest height in Mt. PelEe. The mainly Roman Catholic population is largely of African descent; minorities include those of European, Asian Indian, Lebanese, and Chinese origin. French and a creole patois are spoken.
Most agriculture exists in the hot valleys and along the coastal strips; a large part of this area is devoted to sugarcane, which was introduced from Brazil in 1654 and which provides one of Martinique's chief exports, rum. Bananas and pineapples are also important agricultural products. The island's industries consist mainly of petroleum refining, sugar and rum production, and pineapple canning. Tourism, which has eclipsed agriculture as a source of foreign exchange, constitutes a major sector of the economy, and the majority of the people work in the service sector or administration.
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