Mauritius’ UNESCO World Heritage Sites
This article originally appeared on LinkedIn Pulse in January 2016.
If I had heard the phrase, “the great experiment” before visiting the Aapravasi Ghat, near the capital of Port Louis, Mauritius, I would have thought it referenced a seminal scientific moment. Now I know that it refers to the colonial response to the end of the global slave trade.
“In 1834, the British Government selected the island of Mauritius to be the first site for what it called ‘the great experiment’ in the use of ‘free’ labour to replace slaves. Between 1834 and 1920, almost half a million indentured labourers arrived from India at Aapravasi Ghat to work in the sugar plantations of Mauritius, or to be transferred to Reunion Island, Australia, southern and eastern Africa or the Caribbean.” — UNESCO
The Aapravasi Ghat, which means “immigration depot” in Hindi, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. It was a great place to learn about the era of indentured servitude that followed centuries of slavery. Over a decade ago I visited part of another World Heritage Site, Elmina Castle, a slave fort from the 15th to 19th centuries in what is now Ghana. I thought about Elmina a lot while at the Aapravasi Ghat and also while at the Le Morne Cultural Landscape. Le Morne, dedicated in 2008 to a settlement of escaped slaves in the time before the great experiment, is Mauritius’ other UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a rugged mountain that juts into the Indian Ocean in the southwest of Mauritius was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through the 18th and early years of the 19th centuries. Protected by the mountain’s isolated, wooded and almost inaccessible cliffs, the escaped slaves formed small settlements in the caves and on the summit of Le Morne.” — UNESCO
While the Aapravasi Ghat was easily accessible given its location in the city, Le Morne was spread out across a broad landscape. At Aapravasi Ghat I was able to view the newly built museum and vestiges of the original buildings in about two hours. At Le Morne I spent about three hours visiting the landscape by foot.
Visiting both sites can be done in two days and, besides highlighting the history of the island, provide opportunities to visit the beach and do some shopping. If you have the chance, visit Mauritius, the Island of Rainbows and Shooting Stars.
