Places linked to a character to visit South Caribbean

The birthplace of Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie, the future Empress Josephine (1763-1814), who married Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) on March 9, 1796, this former sugar mill, formerly known as "Petite Guinée", is a place of remembrance that we highly recommend you visit. The museum has recently been refurbished to showcase the large slave community that lived here: up to 300 slaves at the height of the sugar industry in the ^18th century. For almost three centuries, these 500 hectares were home to a variety of crops: cotton, tobacco, cocoa, followed a little later by sugar cane and market gardening.

The tour begins at the mill, where the sugarcane passed through, and continues in the museum housed in the former kitchen of the main building. Through letters, souvenirs and rare objects from the period, as well as antique furniture that once belonged to Joséphine, the historical tour immerses us in the daily life of the empress. From now on, the museum will focus not only on Joséphine, but also on the slaves, recreating their way of life. The new museum space brings them to life by displaying their first names. Thanks to archive material, actors have lent them their voices, and we can now hear them. An emotionally-charged experience in which the women, men and children who lived here come to life. The tour continues through the lush garden, which, in addition to its beautiful plants, is now home to an area dedicated to medicinal plants.

At the bend in the road between Le Diamant to Anses d'Arlet, take the time to dive into the story of Médard Aribot, a talented sculptor and convict in his time. Upon his return from French Guiana, he fell in love with this piece of land perched above the water, in the shadow of Morne Larcher and erected a small house of terribly reduced proportions. He spent the rest of his life sculpting, decorating and living in it before silently disappearing in 1973. Despite restoration campaigns, the house is threatened by time and vandalism.

When the colonial past of the region is evoked, it is the “Maison du Gaoulé” that springs to mind: dissatisfied with the “royal commercial executive" - the obligation to trade with France - the inhabitants organized the first open rebellion against metropolitan tutelage in 1717. After a meal served in the house of Gaoulé, in the O'Mullane district, the planters kidnapped Governor La Varenne and Intendant Ricouart, representatives of King Louis XV.