The Musée d’histoire de Nantes offers an opportunity to hold its collections up to the light and reveal the invisible (but ever-present) traces of the men and women that were victims of the colonial system. Beyond the economic and commercial perspective commonly offered, this exhibition will reveal the complex reality of a city that was so deeply involved in the slave trade.

Simultaneously immersive, evocative and empathic, L’abîme presents the complex reality of these historical periods, while paying particular attention to the French territory. Visitors will discover the names of the men and women who lived in Nantes as captured slaves between 1692 and 1792, when they were registered in official documents.

The exhibition also echoes the great debates and issues of our time: migration, human trafficking networks, the development of new racisms, equal rights movements, and more.