This February 1, 2018, we will celebrate 183 years since the abolition of slavery and it would be instructive to look back on these dark moments in our history.
The first slaves arrived from Madagascar in 1639, a year after the arrival of the Dutch. Slaves worked on sugar cane and tobacco plantations. They were also busy felling ebony trees.
In 1769 after the arrival of the French, slaves were purchased from other countries including Zanzibar and the slave population increased from 15,000 to 49,000.
At the end of the 18th century, slaves made up 80% of the local population and at the beginning of the 19th century, the country had 60,000 slaves.
Mauritius was the last country in the British colonies to abolish slavery on February 1, 1835. During this period, slaves formed 65% of the population, of which 50% came from Madagascar, 40% from East Africa. and less than 7% of India.
During the period of slavery, they had to endure the worst working conditions and also severe punishments in the event of a mistake, including whipping and even mutilation in the event of an attempt to escape, as well as branding with a hot iron on the shoulder with a mark in the shape of a Fleur de Lys, and there were also death sentences, as was the case for a Malagasy slave named Ratsitatane.
Laws regarding slaves were promulgated in King Louis XIV’s Code Noir of 1723, with forced conversion to Catholicism and rigid laws.
In 1793, the slave trade became illegal under the Paris Convention, but local owners refused to enforce this law and continued with the slaves.
The law for the abolition of slavery was promulgated under King William IV in 1833 for the entire British Empire, and on February 1, 1835 , slavery was abolished in Mauritius.
After their liberation, a village called Trou Chenilles was created to house the freed slaves. It was on the south side of the foot of Morne mountain. Subsequently, the freed slaves settled in the village of Le Morne.
When the British soldiers left for Le Morne to tell them the good news, a good number of the slaves believed that they were going to be arrested and they preferred to throw themselves into the void instead of being slaves again.
Today it is not enough to just commemorate. It is important to reflect on the reasons and forces behind this despicable practice which has forever tarnished the History of Humanity. Slavery is the product of a certain mentality. It always exists in the minds of those who only think of their interests and who are ready to destroy those who obstruct them on the path of oppression. We have seen how the Jugnauth Government acted against the former Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam. We also saw the rage of revenge against BAI, BETAMAX and other entrepreneurs who did not want to change their coats like the perfidious Gooljhaurry. This obsession with wanting to dominate others as the slavers did is not without consequences. The people record everything and when the time comes,
In the next elections we will see how the new followers of slavery who have been in Power since 2015 will end their careers in the middle of the political waste which piles up in the dumps where all the rot of the planet is dumped.
A.J.
