Slavery, marronnage and abolition: the memory of Le Morne

Two centuries of slavery

Slavery accompanied the whole colonisation of Mauritius. According to the UNESCO nomination file for Le Morne, the first enslaved people arrived in 1639 under the Dutch. Under the French their numbers soared: about 15,000 in 1767, about 49,000 in 1797, then around 60,000 in the early 19th century. By the late 18th century they made up 80 to 85% of the population, and still about two-thirds at emancipation.

Where did they come from?

Colonial censuses record enslaved people from Madagascar, Mozambique, the Guinea Coast of West Africa, Abyssinia and the Indian subcontinent. Estimates cited by UNESCO give about 50% from Madagascar, 40% from East Africa and nearly 7% from India. Mauritius was also a hub of the Indian Ocean slave trade.

Marronnage as resistance

Running away from the plantation was the most direct form of resistance. Escaped slaves, known as maroons, took refuge in forests and mountains. The practice dates back to the Dutch period and grew later: maroons made up about 4 to 5% of the enslaved in the 1770s and 11 to 13% in the 1820s.

Le Morne Brabant, the "maroon republic"

In the south-west of the island, Le Morne Brabant drops into the ocean. Its steep, wooded cliffs, hard to reach, made it a refuge throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. Maroons lived there in small groups, in caves and on the summit. A description from 1769-1770 even mentions crops, huts and an elected chief on the top. So many people escaped that Mauritius was nicknamed the "maroon republic".

A persistent legend tells of enslaved people throwing themselves from the mountain rather than being recaptured. The first published version goes back to Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in 1773. The UNESCO file points out that it is in fact impossible to jump from Le Morne into the sea, but the legend has become a symbol of the struggle for freedom.

Abolition and apprenticeship

The British Parliament abolished slavery in the Empire in 1834, and abolition took effect in Mauritius in 1835. It did not bring full freedom straight away: former slaves had to go through an "apprenticeship" system that kept them at work. According to historian Satyendra Peerthum, about 53,000 apprentices were finally freed in April 1839, and more than 26,000 left the sugar estates within a month. Planters then turned to another workforce: indentured labourers from India.

1 February is now a public holiday marking abolition, proclaimed by the government in 2001.

Le Morne, World Heritage

In 2008 UNESCO added the Le Morne Cultural Landscape to the World Heritage List (criteria iii and vi). The site covers nearly 350 hectares. It is recognised for the mountain's symbolic value, tied to the suffering of enslaved people, their resistance and the oral traditions that grew from it.

Visiting

The Le Morne hike, demanding in its final section, offers a striking view over the lagoon. Out of respect and for safety, start early and follow the instructions on site.