Anse Céron:
one of the last beaches on the Eastern Caribbean coast of
the island. In spite of its past, The Ceron Plantation is
located in this paradisical landscape.
A SHORT SURVEY
OF MARTINICAN HISTORY before Colombus
People often believe that the history of the West Indies
started with the landing of Columbus in the Americas. However,
long before the Europeans arrived, most of the islands were
already inhabited.
The first settlers in the Antilles were supposedly the Arawaks,
who came from South America (today's Venezuela), and who travelled
North to settle on the islands.
They were seamen and fishermen and had settled mainly along
the Atlantic coast.
They were a peaceful people, and the Caribs killed most of them
when they came to settle on the islands. Around 700-800
A.C. the Caribs came from South America as well, from today's
Guiana; they travelled in oared longboats, hollowed out of tree
trunks, and that could carry up to 50 men.
So they were the people of fierce warriors who ate the hearts
of their enemies fallen in the battle that Columbus met on his
voyages.
As he was convinced of having reached the Indies, he named them
"Indians" or "Red Skins", because they smeared
their bodies with "roucou", a reddish dye vegetal
paste that protected them from the sun and from mosquito bites.
In 1492 he landed in what is today known as the Bahamas, Cuba,
Hispaniola; in 1493 Désirade, Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe.
On June 15, 1502 Martinique.
FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM
Slavery in Martinique was a terrible period. The slaves were
sold
at auctions
Their cabins were very small very dirty and
unhygienic so they contracted many illnesses and diseases such
as malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis... During this short time
they dreamed of freedom.
Sometimes, slaves ran away from the plantation.
They went to hide in the forest, they were
called maroons
. However, escaping remained exceptional
since the masters were very cautious.
Victor Schoelcher was born in 1804 and died in 1893. A wealthy
heir, he went to America in 1829 where he discovered slavery
and the colonial regime.
He gradually became a fan observant of the slaves' living conditions
in the French colonies, of the problems of colonial justice,
of the abuse of the settlers' power. (He wrote a lot about this)
slide the cursor onto the photo
of
Victor Schoelcher
to discover the
Bibliothèque Schoelcher in
Fort-de-France
He was the only abolitionist who acted to the three phases
of the struggle against slavery:
-Period against servitude
-Government abolition
-"After" the abolition
Victor Schoelcher, who was a secretary of States in charge
with the colonies and later a Member of Parliament in Martinique
and Guadeloupe, organized the system in the colonies without
slavery.
In his memory, his name was given to a library in Fort-de-France
(current capital city of Martinique) as well as to a museum
in Pointe-à-Pitre (present capital city of Guadeloupe).
- a web project, in French, on Slavery by a primary school
"Ecole
Tousssaint" in France
- Girollet's
site, in French, on Victor Schoelcher
CREOLE
Creole was born on contact with different populations during
slavery in the colonies.
Indeed, slaves were not able to learn their owner's language,
they all the same took some words from it.
Historians haven't really found the origin of Creole.
However, some of West Indians say that to run away, slaves needed
their own language so that owners were not able to understand
what they were talking about.
By Lesly
ILL-TREATMENTS
The slaves' living conditions perfectly reflected the nastiness
of the slave system.
Notwithstanding legal improvement bought in the course of time
by governments, the precarious situation of slaves remained
unchanged until the abolition of slavery.
In addition to the mediocrity of their dwellings , slaves had
an atrocious life, much more complex than it appears.
Some of them were treated well, others lived in potential freedom
but most of them were victims of cruelties.
Complaints made by slaves give a general idea of these extreme
conditions.
In 1685, France published " the Black
Code " to put an end to the arbitrary acts of settlers
and regulate the slave system existing in the colonies.
This " Black
Code" settled some points of the slaves' living conditions
till the end of slavery.
The "Law on the patronage of slaves" in 1840 then
" the Marckau law" in 1845 attempted to give some
improvements and reduce the severity of owners.
But until the end (of slavery), some slaves had to bear the
sadism or even the influence of alcohol of their owners.
From the appearance of the "Black
Code" , slaves lodged their complaints on the nastiness
of their owners. Those complaints were received and registered.
However, slave owners didn't risk much if they ill treated their
slaves.
Questionings about ill treatments were multiplied after 1840
and 1845 laws.
Strengthened by those laws, slaves lodged more and more complaints.
Even if they were imprisoned during their trial, it often resulted
to a dismissal through lack of evidence.
However, slave-owners who were guilty of ill treatments were
denounced by anti-slavery newspapers.
It was often with kicks, punches and even with large knives,
sticks, whips that some owners ill-treated their slaves.
They even used several methods to make those tortures more painful,
such as using bandages done with lemon juice or capsicum.
The torturer could be a victim's relative
Slave owners wanted to humiliate the slaves who were beaten
in public.
Pregnant women weren't spared ; sometimes owners waited till
they were giving birth to punish them
Many slaves died after excessive punishment, some of them lost
the use of their legs, the luckiest had deep wounds.
In spite of the patronage of slaves, ill treatments continued
in plantations.
In Martinique, Lamentin, Saint-Pierre, Morne-Rouge were
the cities reporting the greatest number of complaints.
Some examples
of ill treatments
Thanks to archived records, we can give you many examples
of the nastiness of the owners.
In august 1847, Sully Viviès at Robert was accused for
12 offenses:
Wineskin the non respect of the laws as for example the lack
of implement for the housework and the fact that demanded to
Marguerite a pregnant woman, works forbidden by the legal text
of 1786 this slave owner is guilty of a loads of barbarian and
inhuman treatments:
-gave Lucette and Antoinette blows of stick while they were
tied
-gave Felicite, old woman, some slaps, two blows of hoe as well
as a kick which knocked her
-gave felicie blow of sugar cane
-chained up Marthe and Delia together, obliging them go to the
plantations during the day and confining them at night for three
months
-compelled Delia to swallow jiggers which he removed from his
feet and then put on a piece of bread. Asselie, Marguerite's
only-child succumbed to his ill treatments.
Marthe also died because of ill treatments. Indeed, he beat
her, chained her, confined her in the kitchen, giving her only
a plank to sleep.
Furthermore, he forced Modeste to eat a mixture of excrements
of pigs, turkeys and hens. He put human excrement on her face,
a part of it falling in her mouth.
His wife wasn't a nice person either! She compelled her to swallow
water from a dirty washing-basin.
By Lesly
HARRIET TUBMAN
Harriet Tubman was born during slavery in The United States
in 1820 and died in 1913 . She ran away in 1849.
She helped 300 slaves to escape allowing them to travel from
the South to the North . During the Civil war she enlisted with
the Northerners as a nurse and a spy.
ABSOLUTENGLISH