The name of the volcano in French means "bald mountain". It was granted around 1635 by the first European settlers. The eruptions of this volcano are rare but violent (so-called Pelean type).
The most famous eruption was the one on May 8, 1902, when a pyroclastic avalanche destroyed the nearby city of Saint-Pierre, causing the death of about 30.000 people. Only three people survived the eruption, including Louis-Auguste Cyparis, who was then a prisoner locked in a dungeon.
The city of Saint Pierre, once called the "Paris of the Caribbean", was nicknamed the "grave of the Caribbean" after the volcanic eruption.
