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A brief history of Martinique in three destroyed statues
I. A few days ago, the mayor of Fort-de-France, capital of the French Caribbean island of Martinique, announced that the statue of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc would be dismantled. Esnambuc is the local Columbus
I. A few days ago, the mayor of Fort-de-France, capital of the French Caribbean island of Martinique, announced that the statue of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc would be dismantled. Esnambuc is the local Columbus
In 1635, Esnambuc claimed the island for France, massacred large numbers of the indigenous Karib population, and brought in the first enslaved Africans, with the support of the Crown.
Here it is all in one man: colonial possession, violence, distribution of land and enslavement
Here it is all in one man: colonial possession, violence, distribution of land and enslavement
D'Esnambuc inaugurated the island's remarkably long connection with the French state - longer than Strasbourg (1681) or Nice (1860).
For this reason a statue was erected to him in 1935, 300 years after his original arrival, on an island still French.
For this reason a statue was erected to him in 1935, 300 years after his original arrival, on an island still French.
In the 1930s, the French Empire was busy celebrating itself and anxious with decline.
By the 1970s, decolonization had changed the game. Martinique had become a département rather than independent, but the statue had become unpopular and was moved to a less prominent location.
By the 1970s, decolonization had changed the game. Martinique had become a département rather than independent, but the statue had become unpopular and was moved to a less prominent location.
The statue has been regularly targeted since, see these inscriptions 'Shame to our elected officials - Where are our heroes?'
How is the current population of Martinique meant to recognize its historical starting-point in this man? Where are 'their' heroes?
How is the current population of Martinique meant to recognize its historical starting-point in this man? Where are 'their' heroes?
II. Joséphine
In 1804, the daughter of Martinican slave-owners became empress of France. Her statue in Fort-de-France, close to that of d'Esnambuc, is a good summary of the incredible resistance to ending the economic and political domination of the slave-holding class.
In 1804, the daughter of Martinican slave-owners became empress of France. Her statue in Fort-de-France, close to that of d'Esnambuc, is a good summary of the incredible resistance to ending the economic and political domination of the slave-holding class.
Marie-Josèphe de la Pagerie, better known as Joséphine de Beauharnais, married Napoléon Bonaparte in 1796. By this point, the insurrection of the enslaved in Saint-Domingue had led to the abolition of slavery in the French colonies in 1794. But not in Martinique!
In Martinique, afraid of the precedent of Saint-Domingue, the planter class allied with the British and chose foreign invasion over emancipation. Their main loyalty was to maintaining their wealth. Martinique passed under British control and slavery was not abolished there.
In 1804, Joséphine was crowned Empress of France. The same year, her husband signed a decree re-establishing slavery in territories under French control. In Haïti, this led to a failed invasion, but in Guadeloupe for instance, slavery was reimposed.
In the 1860s, under the Second Empire, Napoleon's nephew Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte launched a subscription for a statue of Josephine in Fort-de-France. The planters responded with alacrity - even though slavery by this point had been abolished (in 1848, we'll come back to this).
The statue celebrates the enduring power and resilience of the slave-owning class, and their ability to sit at the heart of metropolitan politics. Through the example of Josephine, a slave-owner could really rise right to the top of France.
In the 1970s, like d'Esnambuc, the statue was moved. In 1991, activists attacked it, decapitating and mutilating it. They protested the celebration of a woman who had contributed to the re-establishing of slavery.
Aimé Césaire, mayor of Fort-de-France, left the statue as it was.
Aimé Césaire, mayor of Fort-de-France, left the statue as it was.
Mutilated, the statue became a kind of monument of its own - that's how I saw it when I was in Fort-de-France a few months ago, and personally I found it very haunting.
For some activists, this was not enough - today they dismantled the mutilated statue.
credit @Martiniquela1e
For some activists, this was not enough - today they dismantled the mutilated statue.
credit @Martiniquela1e
III. Schoelcher
On 22 May, a few weeks before the statue of Colston was removed in Bristol, activists in Martinique attacked two statues of Victor Schoelcher. At first, this might seem more surprising than d'Esnambuc or Joséphine: Schoelcher was the main French abolitionist
On 22 May, a few weeks before the statue of Colston was removed in Bristol, activists in Martinique attacked two statues of Victor Schoelcher. At first, this might seem more surprising than d'Esnambuc or Joséphine: Schoelcher was the main French abolitionist
Schoelcher was a passionate abolitionist, who drafted the decree that ended slavery definitively in French territories under the new government of the Second Republic in 1848.
So why target him? Schoelcher plays a similar role to Wilberforce in British history
So why target him? Schoelcher plays a similar role to Wilberforce in British history
The story that the Republic told itself was that emancipation was a generous move by liberal white men to free slaves. This painting by Biard is quite self-explanatory.
But there is a different story to abolition: the enslaved claimed their own freedom
But there is a different story to abolition: the enslaved claimed their own freedom
Schoelcher signed the abolition decree in April in Paris, to be effective in July. In Martinique, people were already aware that there had been a revolution in Paris, and many open insurrections had occurred in the previous years. In May, they rose up for against slavery
The enslaved who claimed freedom for themselves are not commemorated by statues. Activists think that Schoelcher takes up too much space - why remember only the liberal metropolitan men and not the struggle of the enslaved?
This still plays an important role in Martinique now
This still plays an important role in Martinique now
The slave-owning class was never dismantled, not by the Revolution, nor by abolition in 1848, because slave-owners were compensated for their 'lost property' (though Schoelcher himself resented this). Thus, the white 'béké' families maintains economic power to this day.
Let me give you an example: in January as part of a research project we tried to visit some plantations ('habitations'). But these are all private property and often still owned by the same families. Sometimes, they are closed to the public.
Or, they're open, but the owners get to control what is portrayed about the past on their own terms and to control the terms of access. The material remains of slavery are largely in the hands of the former slave-owners (this is quite unique to Martinique compared to Guadeloupe)
Nonetheless, the attack on the statue of Schoelcher also reflects a political divide *within* Martinican society. The statues were erected after abolition, at a time when local elites on the island were keen to celebrate their place in the Republic and their connection to Paris
This is what some scholars have called 'schoelchérisme', a celebration of abolition that emphasised the alliance between the enslaved and metropolitan republicans, and that Martinique would benefit from full equality within the French Republic (rather than independence)
***
So here we have it, the explorer, the empress and the abolitionist, their statues heavily debated for decades, all under attack these past few weeks.
A story of colonialism and slavery mutating, changing and the political stakes evolving.
So here we have it, the explorer, the empress and the abolitionist, their statues heavily debated for decades, all under attack these past few weeks.
A story of colonialism and slavery mutating, changing and the political stakes evolving.
I am not an expert on Martinique at all, I've been there briefly for research but the main purpose of this thread is to guide people to other resources:
by far the best person to read and follow on the contemporary politics of these claims is @SilyaneLarcher
by far the best person to read and follow on the contemporary politics of these claims is @SilyaneLarcher
read her magnificent book 'L'Autre citoyen' and listen to her on this podcast by @parolesdhist explain the controversies around the Schoelcher statue
http://parolesdhistoire.fr/index.php/2020/07/22/142-statues-contestees-3-antilles-etats-unis-les-epicentres-de-la-contestation/
http://parolesdhistoire.fr/index.php/2020/07/22/142-statues-contestees-3-antilles-etats-unis-les-epicentres-de-la-contestation/
For a resource in English on the resilience and changes in the slave system in the 19th century, see Rebecca Hartkopf Schloss: Sweet Liberty
For the story of abolition and re-enslavement in the different case of Guadeloupe, @Soccerpolitics 'Colony of Citizens' is fantastic
On the statue of Joséphine, see this 2017 text which connects with debates over Confederate statues by @ZakaToto https://www.zist.co/2020/02/13/statuaire-memoire-et-turfu/
On the involvement of Martiniquais and other men from the Caribbean in the French Third Republic's colonial project see Véronique Hélénon, "French Caribbeans in Africa"
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230105447 https://twitter.com/ArthurAsseraf/status/1266010065976295425?s=20
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230105447 https://twitter.com/ArthurAsseraf/status/1266010065976295425?s=20
