09/06/2024
Escape rock Mount Le Morne Mauritius
The central rock shows a slave emerging from the stone trying to escape from bo***ge towards the direction of his country of origin, Madagascar.
The slot at the top of the stone shows a group of abstract human figures representing slaves jumping from the mountain.
Mauritius had a history of slavery, from French rulers to English rulers. Slaves had accompanied the first French settlers to the island in 1721, and the local slave population grew steadily in size during the eighteenth century, from 648 individuals in 1735, to 2,533 in 1746, to some 8,000 during the mid-1750s, to 15,027 in 1767, to 25,154 in 1777, to 33,832 in 1787, and to 49,080 in 1797.
Mount le Morne was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through the 18th and early 19th centuries. Protected by the mountain's isolated, wooded and almost inaccessible cliffs, the escaped slaves formed small settlements in caves and on the summit of Le Morne.
On February 1, 1835, slavery was abolished on the island of Mauritius.
As army officials approached the base and began to climb Le Morne Brabant Mountain, with the sole intent to inform the escaped slaves that they were no longer criminals and that they were now free, the inhabitants feared the worst. Tragically, fearing the authorities were climbing up in a coo, planning to recapture the escaped slaves and return them to their owners, many Maroons plummeted to their deaths, choosing to jump off the cliffs of Le Morne Brabant Mountain to avoid being punished and being enslaved once again.
