Why invest in a decrepit enslaved?

France | La Réunion | Anno 2023

 

Tuesday 24 October | Mafate – Le Maïdo – Sentier du Rempart – Maison du Géranium

Wednesday 25 October | Cimetière marin de Saint-Paul – Le Port

Thursday 26 October | La Réunion from the air – Villèle – Saint-Denis

 

 

Tuesday 24 October | Mafate – Le Maïdo – Sentier du Rempart – Maison du Géranium

Of the three cirques around the Piton des Neiges, Mafate is the least accessible. While Salazie and Cilaos can still be partially explored by car, Mafate can only be reached by a long hike over the mountains – or by helicopter. It is no coincidence that Mafate means he who kills in Malagasy. Many fatal accidents have occurred on those dangerous mountain paths.

It is no coincidence that Mafate means "he who kills" in Malagasy

The enslaved black people who were forced to perform hard labour under inhumane conditions on the coastal sugarcane plantations knew that too, of course. Those who escaped whenever they had the chance and sought refuge in one of the inaccessible cirques were called marons. One of these marons emerged as a clan leader of the black community in Mafate and soon came to be known as Mafate himself.

Or was it the other way around? Was there a ruthless clan leader called Mafate – he who kills – and was the cirque he ruled later named after him? We cannot say for certain. What we do know is that this Mafate, too, fell into the hands of the dreaded slave hunter François Mussard in September 1751. Mussard considered it his duty to cleanse the cirques of marons and personally execute their leaders.

François Mussard considered it his duty to cleanse the cirques of marons and personally execute their leaders

Route forestière du Maïdo

Visiting the cirque of Mafate is not in the cards for us. We don't have the time for it, nor the courage or energy. But viewing the caldera from the edge of the crater rim – that we’re up for. Even if it means dragging ourselves out of bed at five in the morning. Otherwise, there’s the risk that clouds will obscure much of the landscape from view.

There’s a strong wind at this early hour, and a light cloud cover. Still, it’s already sunny, and the thermometer has climbed to 26 °C (79 °F). Driver Max and tour guide Marie-Annick are not with us today. Both are enjoying their legally mandated day off. Because even here in faraway La Réunion, French labour laws naturally apply. Driver Adji has taken Max's place behind the wheel.

Given its pristine condition, the forest of Hauts-sous-le-Vent can rightly be called a primeval forest

 

We head northward, in the direction of Saint-Paul, the cradle of colonisation in La Réunion, the place where it all began. It was here, in 1646, that the very first French settlers came ashore. Or, more precisely, where twelve French mutineers, banished from Madagascar, were dropped off as a punishment. But things turned out differently. What was meant as a punishment became almost a reward. Living conditions on the tropical island turned out to be quite tolerable. So much so that Louis XIV formally claimed the island three years later.

Despite the favourable reports from the exiles, no one was interested in permanently settling on La Réunion. It wasn’t until the 1700s that the French East India Company began to show interest in the island, and the first real colonists arrived. That interest was primarily due to the island’s usefulness as a stopover for trade ships en route to or from the Far East. The rest of the history we now know – starting in 1715, coffee plantations appeared, and a century later they were replaced by sugarcane plantations.

 

 

In Le Guillaume, we begin the actual climb of the crater wall. For sixteen kilometres, we follow the Route forestière du Maïdo, a narrow but comfortable asphalt road that winds its way upward in an endless series of curves. Here and there, Creole houses stand along the road. Meanwhile, the temperature outside is visibly dropping. All the way at the top, at an elevation of 2,205 meters, it will be 15 °C (59 °F).

But we’re not there yet. Along the way, Claire and Gilles climb aboard. Both are nature guides and have a lot to share about this area. The forest of Hauts-sous-le-Vent, which we’ve been driving through for a while now, is a very special forest, Gilles explains. It benefits from the microclimate on this leeward slope – not too hot, not too cold, little rain, lots of moisture in the form of clouds. Many types of vegetation thrive here; lichens like the old man’s beard do exceptionally well. Given its pristine condition, it can rightly be called a primeval forest.

A species typical of this area is the highland tamarind. It’s an endemic species, found only on La Réunion and even then only between 1,100 and 1,700 meters above sea level. Its high-quality wood has always been important for local furniture making, and many Creole houses were built with it. But here, in the national park of La Réunion, the trees are protected. That doesn’t mean they’re safe. These trees can grow up to twenty-five meters tall, but have shallow roots. When a cyclone hits, it can cause significant damage. And La Réunion is struck by five to ten cyclones every year.

When a cyclone hits, it can cause significant damage. And La Réunion is struck by five to ten cyclones every year

Gorse

Gradually, we leave the forest behind and enter a heath-like landscape. Shrubs with yellow flowers now dominate the scene. That’s gorse, an invasive exotic species. It only suddenly appeared in this landscape in 2000, and now it’s impossible to get rid of, Gilles sighs. But every effort is being made to contain it, in order to protect the native flora.

Just before eight o’clock, we reach the top. From the parking lot, we stroll expectantly toward the Belvédère du Maïdo. But what we see there – we’re not prepared for it at all. If the word spectacular is ever appropriate, it’s here. It's as if we’re standing on a balcony, overlooking the cirque of Mafate in all its raw magnificence.

It's as if we’re standing on a balcony, overlooking the cirque of Mafate in all its raw magnificence

Cirque of Mafate (north)

Once again, there's that chaotic landscape with all those irregular volcanic peaks – but this time on a scale that surpasses everything we've seen before. No fewer than ten peaks over two thousand meters surround this cirque. Here and there, a river manages to find its way through this labyrinth, but erosion has hardly done its levelling work here. Steep hilltops are everywhere; there are almost no flat areas – except on the summits of some of those peaks. There we spot tiny white dots – the houses of the local communities. Because down there, in that seemingly wild expanse, more than a thousand meters below our feet, people live and dwell.

Down there, in that seemingly wild expanse, more than a thousand meters below our feet, people live and dwell

Cirque of Mafate (south)

There are nine villages, Claire tells us, with a total population of about seven hundred. They don’t have a centralised electricity grid, but they typically have solar panels. These produce enough power to run energy-efficient lights and small appliances. In some places, a generator is also used. Running water, on the other hand, is readily available – after all, water is abundant in this area. Hot water is also provided through solar energy. It wasn’t until 1974 that a phone line was installed, and the Mafatais gained access to television.

Supplies, emergency aid, and mail delivery all take place by helicopter. Each village maintains a helipad for this purpose. Remarkably, there are two postal workers who serve the cirque. Each week, they walk dozens of kilometres, carrying ten to fifteen kilograms of letters and packages on their backs, to deliver the mail.

From the Bronchard the marons kept an eye on the area so as not to be surprised by slave hunters

Roche Plate with Bronsard

Roche Plate was once the first refuge for enslaved people who escaped via steep paths from the coastal town of Saint-Paul

La Nouvelle , Roche Plate, Bronsard

Even household waste is removed by helicopter. That costs three euros per kilogram, Claire notes. By chance, we see a helicopter just now lifting off, carrying a large white sack suspended by a cable. Each month, 25 tons of waste are exported in this way. If you want to preserve the natural beauty of this fragile environment, you cannot allow waste to accumulate.

In the early 19th century, they even managed to raise livestock here

La Nouvelle , Bronsard

La Nouvelle

Among the nine villages, there are eight primary schools and eight small health clinics. The ninth village is simply too small to support a school or a clinic. For the two school-aged children from that village, this means walking an hour and fifteen minutes to school – and back. For secondary education, children must leave the cirque altogether. They then stay on the coastal strip with host families or in boarding schools.

Directly below us lies Roche Plate, a village with around sixty inhabitants, located about a thousand meters above sea level. This was once the first refuge for enslaved people who escaped via steep paths from the coastal town of Saint-Paul. Right behind it rises the Bronchard, a flat-topped hill of 1,650 meters. From that height the marons kept an eye on the area so as not to be surprised by slave hunters

To the back right, we spot La Nouvelle. If you can speak of a capital within this caldera, then this village holds that title. In the early 19th century, they even managed to raise livestock here – mostly sheep. Around a hundred people live there today.

 

Rivière des Galets, Marla, Col du Taïbit

To the right in the distance, we can just make out Marla. It is the highest village in the cirque, located 1,641 meters above sea level. About a hundred people live there. You might not expect it, but during holiday periods, it can get quite busy. The reason is simple – the village lies at the intersection of the most popular hiking routes. Just beyond the village rises the famous Col du Taïbit, the pass between the calderas of Mafate and Cilaos.

Thanks to a network of over 140 km of marked trails, Mafate is a dream destination for experienced hikers

Sentier du Rempart

Réunion stonechat

So it’s not only descendants of escaped enslaved people you’ll find in this cirque, Claire emphasises. Young people have also settled here. They mostly provide logistical support for treks through the cirques. In Marla, for instance, you’ll find two hundred beds spread over twelve lodges. Thanks to a network of over 140 km of marked trails, Mafate is a dream destination for experienced hikers.

 

Sentier du Rempart

We too are preparing for a hike, although a more modest one. Adji will drop us near Ti Col. From there, we’ll walk along the crater rim to the Piton des Orangers, which lies about a hundred meters lower. It's a stretch of about one and a half kilometres and is part of the Sentier de Roche Plate, which leads all the way down into the caldera.

 

On the one hand, there’s the fairy-tale-like cirque below us on the right, which we can’t stop marvelling at. On the other hand, there’s the unique flora along the trail

 

So we’re constantly confronted with two worlds. On the one hand, there’s the fairy-tale-like cirque below us on the right, which we can’t stop marvelling at. On the other hand, there’s the unique flora along the trail. Shrubs and small trees dominate this rocky terrain. Often, beautiful strands of old man’s beard hang from them.

 

Réunion stonechat

Now and then, a little songbird makes itself known in the shrubs. Its reddish-brown breast and white eyebrows leave no doubt – this is a Réunion stonechat. It’s endemic to the island; you can only find it here. Calmly perched on a branch, it observes its surroundings, hoping to snatch up an unsuspecting insect. It’s not shy at all. Reportedly, its curiosity sometimes even drives it to quietly follow groups of hikers.

 

 

But it's not just helicopters and birds flying through the air here. As we see at the Piste parapente – a round, open spot on the crater rim – commercial paragliding flights also take off from here. From this point, you can plunge a thousand meters deep.

 

Old man’s beard

Gradually, Les Orangers becomes more visible below. Where the name of this little village comes from, no one really knows. Orange trees have never grown there. What is known is that this was the site of the fiercest battles in the fight against slavery. That’s not surprising – it's one of the first villages you encounter when entering the caldera from the coast via the valley of the Rivière des Galets.

Today, about fifty people live there. Seen from above, it appears to be a hallucinatory place. The village is surrounded on all sides by deep, steep ravines. Around those rise tall, jagged peaks. It’s as if a giant intentionally built a double barrier around the village.

The fiercest fighting in the fight against slavery took place in Les Orangers

Les Orangers

Les Orangers is surrounded on all sides by deep, steep ravines. Around those rise tall, jagged peaks. It’s as if a giant intentionally built a double barrier around the village

Les Orangers

We return to the parking lot via a wide firebreak, the Tête Dure. Firebreaks like this are no luxury here. In Malagasy, Le Maïdo means burned earth. Unfortunately, fires are not uncommon here. They can even spread silently underground. The effects of the major fire that ravaged the area in November 2020 are still visible today.

 

Red-whiskered bulbul

Fuchsia

Red fody

To produce just one litre of geranium oil, you need no less than 300 kg of geraniums. That may sound like a Herculean task, but the owners of La Maison du Géranium were not deterred. Along the Route du Maïdo, they’ve built a small family-run artisanal distillery where they process the annual harvest from two hectares of geraniums. We have lunch there – and are surprised by a dessert made of sweet potatoes – and also discover the wide variety of geranium-based products: tea, jelly, essential oils, perfumes, massage oils… you name it.

We have lunch there, and are surprised by a dessert made of sweet potatoes

Alembic

They extract the oil using an alembic, a type of distillation apparatus that doesn’t run continuously but can be refilled each time with the liquid to be distilled. Under a shelter in the garden, the apparatus sits waiting for the next harvest. It may look a bit primitive, with its simple stone hearth and dented black kettles, but it gets the job done.

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Wednesday 25 October | Cimetière marin de Saint-Paul – Le Port

The bow doesn’t always have to be drawn tight. Today will be a calm day – sunny, even oppressively warm. It’s only in the late afternoon that we head out. A boat trip along the coast is on the agenda.

We expect a sailors' graveyard, but what we find turns out to be a cemetery overlooking the sea

Cimetière marin de Saint-Paul

First, however, we make our way down to the Cimetière marin of Saint-Paul. The name throws us off at first. We expect a sailors' graveyard, but what we find turns out to be a cemetery overlooking the sea. It dates back to 1788, but over time has fallen into serious neglect.

That began to change around 1970. Charles Marie Leconte de Lisle, the island's most famous poet, had once expressed the wish to be buried on La Réunion. But after his death in 1894, he was interred in Paris, at the Cimetière Montparnasse. Almost a century later, plans were made to transfer his remains – but not before the cemetery received a major facelift. In 1977, the move finally took place. Leconte de Lisle and his wife were given a prominent spot directly across from the old main entrance.

 

Tomb of Leconte de Lisle

While they were at it, they also decided to erect a memorial to Olivier Levasseur – one of the most infamous pirates of the early 18th century, better known as La Buse, The Buzzard. The goal wasn’t so much to honour the memory of this rogue, but rather to attract tourists with the grave of a man whose legacy remains shrouded in mystery. To this day, some are still searching for La Buse’s legendary treasure, said to be worth millions of euros.

The goal wasn’t so much to honour the memory of this rogue, but rather to attract tourists with the grave of a man whose legacy remains shrouded in mystery

Tomb of Olivier Levasseur

The result is a curious mix of imposing family tombs and anonymous graves. Early colonists are buried here, along with pirates, landowners, sailors, politicians, poets, shipwreck victims, convicted criminals from India and China and many unknowns. A visit to this cemetery is called a walk through the underbelly of society.

A visit to this cemetery is called a walk through the underbelly of society

Tomb of eight shipwrecked sailors from the Ker-Anna (1894)

Tomb of the freed slave Delphine Hélod

In February 2007, cyclone Gamède wreaked havoc along this stretch of coast, with gusts reaching up to 120 km/h. It came as a great surprise when all that natural violence exposed human remains just outside the cemetery. Archaeological investigation revealed that the site dated back to the early 19th century – a time when slavery had not yet been abolished. Some of the remains were shown to be of individuals originally from southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique. Scattered across an area of 2,500 square meters, the number of enslaved people who were brutally and anonymously dumped here is estimated at no fewer than two thousand.

 

Red-headed rock agama

Le Port is the only industrial harbour on La Réunion. What makes it somewhat unique is that, at the end of the 19th century, the port infrastructure was built first, and only afterward did a city gradually develop around it in this semi-desert coastal area.

The port infrastructure was built first, and only afterward did a city gradually develop around it in this semi-desert coastal area

Le Port even played a modest role in the Second World War. La Réunion had remained loyal to the collaborating Vichy regime of Marshal Pétain. But in 1942, a destroyer of the Free French Forces appeared off the coast and began shelling a neighbourhood of Le Port. Barely two days later, La Réunion aligned itself with Free France under General de Gaulle. The Avenue du 28 Novembre 1942 still commemorates that moment.

 

Research vessel Marion Dufresne

In Port Ouest, the catamaran Maloya awaits us. A little farther off, the Marion Dufresne is moored – a research vessel tasked, among other things, with supplying the French base in the Antarctic territory of Adélie Land. The reason France can lay claim to a sector of Antarctica is that La Réunion remains part of the French Republic.

Shortly after half past four, Captain Frank casts off the ropes of the Maloya. The sail is hoisted, and we head straight away from the coast. The beginning of the journey is rather choppy – not everyone feels at ease. However, it doesn’t take long before the Maloya settles down and gently drifts on the open sea. There isn’t much to do out here – but that’s not the point.

It’s the imposing coastline that captivates. In fact, this view captures the essence of La Réunion

Port of Saint-Paul with the passage to the Mafate cirque in the background

It’s the imposing coastline that captivates. How the white houses crowd together along the narrow, densely built coastal strip, how green pastures climb up the slopes, how the jagged peaks of the crater rim loom threateningly above the city, how the steep gorge of the Rivière des Galets offers a narrow gateway to the cirque of Mafate – from this distance, you can perfectly take it all in. In fact, this view captures the essence of La Réunion: an island where humans can claim little more than a narrow coastal strip for themselves.

And then, of course, there’s the sunset. It’s not perfect, but with a bite to eat and a drink in hand, it’s thoroughly enjoyable.

 

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Thursday 26 October | La Réunion from the air – Villèle – Saint-Denis

4:20 am. Outside, it’s still pitch dark, yet we spring out of bed with ease. If we want to fully enjoy the helicopter flight over the interior of La Réunion, early rising is the key. In the distance, roosters crow, nearby birds start singing, and above the central mountains, the horizon gradually turns pink as the shuttle arrives at five o’clock to pick up the first group at the hotel.

It's a chaotic labyrinth of peaks and valleys, ravines and plateaus, a rugged environment where survival seems a real challenge

Cirque of Mafate – Les Orangers

Îlet à Malheur, peacefully situated on the opposite side of the ravine, bears a bloody scar

Piton Cabris, Aurère, Îlet à Malheur

The outlook is excellent, we’re told at Corail Hélicoptères, except for some clouds in the southeast, which may be a nuisance. The Piton de la Fournaise, the active volcano in the Sud Sauvage, will likely not be visible.

Behind the crater rim, Grand Îlet gradually comes into view. It's immediately noticeable that nature here looks less merciless

Cirque of Salazie – Grand Îlet

Just after six, our Airbus H130 takes off with Rudi at the controls. It will be a 45-minute flight, one that has been heralded as unforgettable. We’re curious to see whether that bold prediction will come true.

We fly due east, heading straight for the volcanic heart of La Réunion. Minutes later, we skim over the crater rim near Le Maïdo, and the spectacular cirque of Mafate reveals itself in all its glory. It's a chaotic labyrinth of peaks and valleys, ravines and plateaus, a rugged environment where survival seems a real challenge.

 

Cirque of Salazie – Piton d’Anchaing (back left)

Yet down below, the villages slowly awaken in the light of the first warm sunrays. Aurère, for example, magnificently located on a plateau at the foot of Piton Cabris, surrounded on three sides by deep ravines. Or Îlet à Malheur, peacefully situated on the opposite side of that ravine. As the name suggests – Hamlet of Misfortune – the village bears a bloody scar. In the early 19th century, about forty enslaved men had sought refuge there. But in 1829, a detachment led by the slave hunter Guichard discovered the location and carried out a massacre.

 

Cirque of Salazie

Minutes later, we enter the cirque of Salazie. Behind the crater rim, Grand Îlet gradually comes into view. It's immediately noticeable that nature here looks less merciless. The elevation changes are smaller, there is more open space, large plateaus offer opportunities for farming, and the area is easily accessible by car. It wasn’t the marons, escaped enslaved people, who founded this village in 1840, but the petits blancs des hauts – poor white farmers who had been driven from the coastal sugar plantations. They were only connected to the power grid in 1978.

 

Cirque of Salazie

Trou de Fer

Next, we head toward the 7 Cascades du Mât, which we admired last week from frog’s-eye view. But that’s child’s play compared to what Trou de Fer has to offer. Waterfalls plunge 300 meters into a geological depression. Not without exaggeration, they are called the Niagara Falls of La Réunion. At the bottom, the water continues through the ultra-narrow gorge of the Bras de Caverne.

Not without exaggeration, the 7 Cascades du Mât are called the Niagara Falls of La Réunion

Bras de Caverne

7 Cascades du Mât

Another iconic site: the waterfalls of Takamaka. They feed one of the longest rivers on the island, the Rivière des Marsouins. The abundant water makes the lush nature even more fertile. But humans make use of it too: two hydroelectric power stations, mostly underground, are connected to it.

 

Plaine des Palmistes

Ancient volcanic cones around Bourg Murat

Then the Plaine des Palmistes appears, the broad corridor that separates the three cirques surrounding the dormant Piton des Neiges from the active Piton de la Fournaise. But it’s no use insisting – the volcano remains hidden, tightly gripped by the clouds.

The Piton de la Fournaise remains hidden, tightly gripped by the clouds

Route du Volcan, cloud field around the Piton de la Fournaise

We fly back westward over the Plaine des Cafres. Countless densely forested volcanic cones in the fields and meadows around Bourg Murat remind us that this plain hasn’t always been so peaceful.

 

Plaine des Cafres

Here and there we also spot some circular little lakes. You’d think they were crater lakes – but they’re not. These are maars. True, they were formed by an explosion, but not a volcanic one. It wasn’t magma violently pushing its way to the surface, but rather groundwater or seeping rainwater that came into contact with intensely hot subterranean material. The water became superheated, pressure skyrocketed, and eventually the overlying rock was blasted away – as if the lid of a pressure cooker had suddenly popped off.

The marons thought they could outsmart slave hunters by climbing up with ropes, leaving no trace

Cirque of Cilaos – Îllet à Cordes

Soon we reach the third and final cirque, that of Cilaos. We get a magnificent view of the famous Îlet à Cordes, the plateau where marons hid in the 18th century. They thought they could outsmart slave hunters by climbing up with ropes, leaving no trace. In vain, as we now know: in October 1751, the notorious slave hunter François Mussard caught them.

 

Col du Taïbit

Col du Taïbit

To the right, the Piton des Neiges – at 3,061 meters the highest peak on the island – basks in the reddish rays of the morning sun. But we’re headed for the Col du Taïbit, the mountain pass connecting the cirque of Cilaos with that of Mafate. A sharp ridge, so narrow you can’t even walk on it. As we fly over the popular Marla, the towering wall of the cirque rises impressively to our left.

 

Cirque of Mafate with Belvédère du Maïdo

At the Belvédère du Maïdo, we leave the cirque behind and fly westward, back to the coast. It truly was unforgettable, this flight of approximately 142 kilometres. And indeed essential to gain a true understanding of the diverse volcanic formations shaped by this island’s turbulent geological history.

 

Trou d’Eau

Back on solid ground, we prepare for our final exploration before saying farewell to this tropical island. Our driver Max and tour guide Marie-Annick are once again with us, taking us to Villèle. It’s not the village itself we’re interested in, but what happened in the 18th century on the colonial estate of the same name.

For nearly two centuries, public life on La Réunion was largely defined by what happened on the sugarcane plantations

For nearly two centuries, public life on La Réunion was largely defined by what happened on the sugarcane plantations. And one name stands out immediately: Marie-Anne Thérèse Hombeline Desbassayns, better known as Madame Desbassayns.

 

Villageweaver

She was a controversial figure, this Madame Desbassayns. Depending on the source, she is either praised to the heavens or condemned to hell. To some, she was a benefactress; to others, she was an executioner. Some called her La Seconde Providence, the Second Providence – which ultimately became the inscription on her grave. Others called her La Diablesse, the She-Devil.

She was only fourteen when she married thirty-seven-year-old white Creole officer Henri Paulin Panon Desbassayns in 1770. He was a successful soldier and wealthy planter; she, a rich heiress. She would bear him eleven children. By 1797, their estate was the largest on La Réunion, covering about 750 hectares and employing 417 enslaved people.

Enslaved people who had hope for eternal life in the hereafter, would likely be less susceptible to revolutionary ideas

La Chapelle Pointue

Through a eucalyptus forest, Marie-Annick leads us to the Chapelle Pointue, one of the estate’s landmarks. It was Madame Desbassayns herself who had the neo-Gothic building constructed in 1843. Both free white farmers from the hills and black enslaved people were welcome there.

 

La Chapelle Pointue

White and black people together in the same chapel – that was unheard of in La Réunion. But Madame Desbassayns had very good reasons for this. Recently, several serious slave revolts had broken out, and fear had taken hold among the landowners. The reasoning was that enslaved people who had come to understand the difference between good and evil, and who had hope for eternal life in the hereafter, would likely be less susceptible to revolutionary ideas.

After all, slavery had already been abolished in France in 1794 – a legal decree Madame Desbassayns had ignored for more than fifty years

Marie-Anne Thérèse Hombeline Desbassayns

Tombstone of Madame Desbassayns

Moreover, this allowed her to comply with the wishes of the French king Louis-Philippe, who had ordered slave owners to provide religious education to the enslaved. Not that Madame Desbassayns cared much for decisions made in Paris. After all, slavery had already been abolished in France in 1794 – a legal decree she herself had ignored for more than fifty years.

For lunch, we settle in at the nearby Ferme Ichabe, a farm where Brigitte and Patrick prepare their dishes over a wood fire. The obligatory rum arrangé precedes the meal, along with excellent fried appetisers. As a starter, there’s a pumpkin gratin; for the main course, chicken and shrimp cooked in geranium oil.

In 1822, this was the island’s very first and most advanced industrial sugar-processing facility

In 1974, the colonial estate of the Desbassayns family was turned into the historical museum of Villèle. We stroll across the tree-filled grounds to the ruins of the sugar factory. Not much is left of that prestigious building – just a few walls and a tower still stand. Yet, back in 1822, this was the island’s very first and most advanced industrial sugar-processing facility.

Protecting his large family from the risks of fire and cyclones – that was Henri Desbassayns’ explicit aim when he had their house built in 1788. So it became a residence with many rooms, stone walls 82 centimetres thick, and even… a floor. La Maison des Maîtres, the Masters' House, it was called. In practice, however, Madame Desbassayns often stayed alone in that grand palace, as her husband was frequently away on travels.

 

La Maison des Maîtres (rear)

After Henri's death in 1800, she ruled over the coffee, sugarcane, and cotton plantations for nearly half a century on her own. She did so with expertise, but also with a firm hand. Skilled and passionate, unyielding and ruthless.

Her most notable achievement is the hospital for enslaved people, which can still be visited today – the only one ever built on La Réunion. One might suspect a hint of humanity in that, but it was only constructed in 1834, when a law required that every slaveholder with more than twenty slaves have a hut that served as a hospital. Even feverish patients were still put to work on lighter tasks – splitting vacoa leaves, crushing stones, carding wool, making rope, extracting oil...

In practice, the hospital was mostly a place to die. Why invest in an aging enslaved person who likely would never work again

Villèle – Ruins of the sugar factory

Hospital for enslaved people

In practice, the hospital was mostly a place to die. There were no resources to actually treat the sick. Why invest in an aging enslaved person who likely would never work again? The 71-year-old woman appointed as a "nurse" could do little more than count the dying. Her name was Véronique, an enslaved woman valued at five hundred francs – a bit more than the price of two Madagascar oxen with carts.

In one final devilish gesture, she cancelled in her will the emancipation of twelve enslaved people to whom she had granted freedom nearly forty years earlier

Madame Desbassayns was ninety years old when she died on February 4, 1846. In one final devilish gesture, she cancelled in her will the emancipation of twelve enslaved people to whom she had granted freedom in 1807 – nearly forty years earlier. Slavery would be abolished two years later anyway. Did she sense that coming? Was this her last act of defiance?

She was initially buried in the Cimetière marin. Twenty years later, her remains were transferred to the Chapelle Pointue. Her tombstone now lies at the foot of the white marble altar. De son vivant elle fût appelée la Seconde Providence, During her lifetime she was called the Second Providence, the inscription reads.

Les 3 Frères touchingly portrays the painful grimaces of three enslaved black men

La Chapelle Pointue – Les 3 Frères

The response to that misplaced idolatry came in 2018, on the 170th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in 1848. Then, the artwork Les 3 Frères – The Three Brothers – was installed in the chapel. It’s an artwork by French artist Sandrine Plante that touchingly portrays the painful grimaces of three enslaved black men. Plante herself is métisse, born of a mother from the Auvergne and a father from La Réunion. Through her work, she strives to preserve memories from Africa – from the dawn of time to the present day.

 

 

Panter chameleon

For us, the moment has come to begin the journey back to Saint-Denis. From there, an almost eleven-and-a-half-hour flight will take us to Paris. We knew very little about what this isolated island in the Indian Ocean had to offer when we arrived twelve days ago. Now we know a little more. The raw volcanic beauty of the interior, the variety of dramatic geological formations, the surprising richness of native flora in shape and colour, the harrowing fate of the enslaved black population, and the hard-won resilience of that same people – each has left a deep impression on us.

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Jaak Palmans
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