Nantes, a city that once thrived on maritime trade and was also infamous for over a century as France’s leading slave-trading port, today confronts its dark past through one of Europe’s most significant memorials dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade. This memorial, aptly named The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery, invites visitors to remember and learn from the city’s tortured history.
Agnès Poras, a dedicated tour guide at the memorial, shares the powerful impact of the site: “Upon entering this place, you’re met with 2,000 boards on the ground floor, each one serving as a portal into a piece of history. These boards commemorate the names of vessels and counters involved in the slave trade, bringing to light over 1,700 ship names that underscore Nantes’ heavy investment and involvement in the slave trade during the 18th century.”
Across the city, the Château des ducs de Bretagne houses the city’s historical museum, which further documents Nantes’ role in the slave trade. There, you can find plantation registers, shipping logs, and paintings that capture the forced migration of people across continents. Models of plantations where enslaved individuals toiled are also on display, highlighting the goods produced by their labor, which significantly fueled European economies.
Bertrand Guillet, the director of Château des ducs de Bretagne, elaborates on the museum’s significance: “This room is dedicated to the Atlantic slave trade and colonial slavery, particularly focusing on a journey of a Nantes slave ship. Nantes was the leading French city in the 18th century specializing in the Atlantic slave trade and deportation of slaves from Africa to America. As the fourth largest slave trading city in Europe, more than 500,000 enslaved people were deported by Nantes ships during that era. unbekannt is Nantes’ lesser-known history as the first city involved in the 19th-century illicit slave trade.”
One of the most poignant artifacts is a 1770 watercolor depicting the Marie-Séraphique, a Nantes ship that transported enslaved individuals. This rare image, signed by those involved in the slave trade, offers a glimpse into how captives were confined below deck. Alongside it, exhibits of shackles, ceramics, and personal testimonies highlight various aspects of the trade and its profound impact.
Guillet continues, “Nantes’ relationship with America began early in the 17th century, and their need to specialize in shipping for the colonization of American islands led shipowners to eventually outfit vessels specifically for the slave trade. This trade laid the foundation for Nantes’ port economy in the 18th century.”
Among the countless ship models on display is Le Dorade, capable of carrying up to 150 enslaved individuals. For visitors like Marcian, who visited the museum with his son, these displays serve as a poignant reminder of the city’s past and the lessons it offers for societal tolerance. Reflecting on the city’s history and its relevance to today, Marcian comments, “This is a big question because I believe awareness is still lacking, and we must be willing to see what’s happening, especially considering the political climate in France, Europe, and the world today. There’s a tendency to turn a blind eye, and unfortunately, we witness a rise in racism and xenophobia. If more people could experience this, perhaps the phenomena would diminish, but unfortunately, people tend to forget quickly.”
As dusk settles over the city, the glass panels of the memorial capture the last light of day, with inscriptions softly glowing against the darkening sky. The names etched into the ground become shadows, stretching across the path. The Loire River, once a conduit for ships involved in the slave trade, now reflects the city’s efforts to acknowledge its past. The memorial serves as a testament not only to history but also to the ongoing fight against slavery in all its forms.
Poras affirms, “The initial object of memory was a statue celebrating 150 years of the abolition of slavery in France, but it was destroyed the very first night it was installed on the quay. This shows that memory is complex and challenging, especially in France, where there’s debate about preserving or erasing reminders of history. Nantes’ current policy is not to erase its connection to the past but to explain and learn from it.”
Nantes, a city that once thrived on the trade of human lives, now seeks to preserve their memory. Through its memorial, museum, and public discourse, it continues to confront its past, one name, one story, one reflection at a time.
Source: http://www.africanews.com/2025/02/23/nantes-confronts-its-past-with-memorial-to-the-atlantic-slave-trade/
