Slavery in the European colonies (EN, FR)
Slavery in the European colonies March 27, 2023 Bernard Salvaing The economy based on slavery shifted at the end of the Middle Ages from the Mediterranean towards the Atlantic. Sugar plantations first appeared on the islands off the coast of Africa, and then on the islands of the Caribbean (where they would reach their peak […]
Mediterranean red coral: A European merchandise from the first wave of globalisation (EN, FR)
Mediterranean red coral: A European merchandise from the first wave of globalization March 6, 2023 Olivier Raveux From the early modern period to the nineteenth century, Mediterranean red coral was a medium for various kinds of exchange for Europeans throughout the world. Whether it was raw or worked, this merchandise helped intensify Euro-Asiatic commercial relations, and […]
Artistic portrait: Casey (EN, FR)
For several years, the hip-hop scene in France has witnessed several rap artists who have addressed the history of slavery and its repercussions. Amongst them, the artist Casey, renowned for her frank and acerbic pen. Her music draws on multiple historical references, expressed through the lyrics, the musical arrangement, and the accompanying video clips.
A Parisian café: Le Procope (EN, FR)
The arrival of coffee in France, a little before the mid-17th century, led to the emergence of new venues offering customers the opportunity to consume this exotic drink. One of the oldest and most famous of these is the Café Procope, located in the district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. Opened in 1686, Le Procope was frequented by many intellectuals up until its closure in 1890. It reopened a few years later and is today a traditional café-restaurant in Paris.
Presenting the Atlantic Slave Trade and Colonial Slavery at the Nantes History Museum (EN, FR)
Many institutions house collections and commentary relating to the history of slavery and colonial slavery across the continents and countries affected, thereby illustrating a shared awareness of the need to know and take responsibility for this history.
Since the inauguration of the Nantes History Museum in February 2007, fourteen rooms, in whole or in part, have been devoted to this topic. Naturally, since that date, these exhibitions and/or displays have undergone various changes linked to the evolution of national and international academic research, as well as to the Museum’s own acquisitions policy. The motivations for such changes run deep, based on a veritable paradigm shift.
Pauline, a slave in the Convent of the Benedictine Nuns of Calvary (EN, FR)
A woman of letters and a French revolutionary, Olympe de Gouges was an avant-garde figure in several ways. She is mainly known for having drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen (1791), a riposte to the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789. It is also worth noting that she was involved from an early stage in the fight against slavery and that she stayed true to this cause throughout her lifetime.
The March of 23 May 1998, Paris, France(EN, FR)
The memory of slavery in France has long been focused on a purely French perspective that highlights the political decisions implemented by mainland France, without really taking an interest in the specific experience and history of the enslaved peoples in the former colonies. In this regard, the march that took place on 23 May 1998 embodied a new memorial dynamic, in direct relation with France’s overseas territories and the diaspora of descendants of slaves. Since this event, the 23 May 1998 March Committee (CM98), created in late 1999, has been working to increase interest in this legacy and to gain official recognition for it.
The Taubira Law (EN, FR)
The Taubira Law, named after the deputy behind it, Christiane Taubira, is a French law that recognises the trade of enslaved people as a crime against humanity. It is the first law in the world to do so, making it extremely symbolic. The categorisation of slavery was an important issue in and around 1998, the year marking the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the second and final abolition of slavery in the French colonies.
Portrait: Olympe de Gouges (EN, FR)
A woman of letters and a French revolutionary, Olympe de Gouges was an avant-garde figure in several ways. She is mainly known for having drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen (1791), a riposte to the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789. It is also worth noting that she was involved from an early stage in the fight against slavery and that she stayed true to this cause throughout her lifetime.
The Marie-Séraphique, a slave-trading ship from Nantes in the 18th century (EN, FR)
The Marie-Séraphique, a slave-trading ship from Nantes in the 18th century (EN, FR)
