Texaco is set against the background of the steady influx of Martinique's population from the countryside into the towns, a process which started in the mid-nineteenth century with the abolition of slavery and continued in successive waves up until late in the twentieth century. The building of new communities and the polarity between town and country are thus important themes. The first words of the text, introducing a chronology of the historical and fictional events covered by the novel, are:

For the workers on the plantations, in other words, the towns appear as beacons of freedom – Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France ‘[tenaient] lieu de flambeau dans la nuit close des chaînes’ (p. 223) – but also as formidable enemies whom they have to fight in order to gain a foothold in them: Marie-Sophie says of Fort-de-France ‘Nous étions venus pour ses promesses, son destin, nous étions exclus de ses promesses, de son destin. Rien n'était donné, il fallait tout essoucher’ (pp. 404–405).