Visite avec l'Association de la Memoire d'Outre-Mer au Musee de la Compagnie des Indes

When Mariette first invited me to join her on a visit to Port Louis, where the fortress houses the Museum of the French East India Trading Company, my first thoughts turned to the glamorous image of the Pirates of the Caribbean. As you can see from the photos, Port Louis does look a bit like a majestic movie scene, with old canons facing the ocean from either side of the port and ramparts extending the length of the beach. Inside, however, was a plethora of lessons on the history of the area, including Nantes, and how it has been experiencing the effects of globalization for centuries now.

The history of trade in western France is complex, dating back beyond the establishment of the first Compagnie des Indes under finance minister Colbert during the reign of Louis XIV. In the museum there are many oriental rugs and porcelain that show how this early trade system affected the aesthetics of both eastern and western cultures, as European clients' demands required new forms of decor, and the European's taste also developed to appreciate the original art form of the eastern cultures. Everything was interwoven early on- the discovery of tea and coffee lead to the discovery of the need for porcelain, since traditional European wooden and metal containers did not serve this purpose well. Economics, culture, and politics were all factors in this long period of trade; as the ban on eastern fabrics encouraged contraband, so too did the value of these rare fabrics rise, and the imitiation of them in the early mass-production factories influenced the form of the fabrics themselves. As much as early America was a part of this same trading system, I don't think we can truly appreciate how much this changed the world as Europe knew it. Despite the long voyages, the occasional shipwreck, and the restrictions on trade in Europe and abroad, the world was certainly becoming smaller- eastern delicacies became household objects in the upper class, tastes conformed to accept eastern and new world aesthetics, etc. And before the move of the Compagnie des Indes to Lorient, Nantes was at center stage in France, as the site where the majority of the merchandise was sold and then diffused into the rest of France.

Just as at home, however, this story of early global exchanges has its dark side, too. The association, being involved in reconstructing the history of the peoples abroad influenced by this era of early colonization, was especially interested in the exhibit on the involvement of the Compagnie des Indes in the slave trade. While most slaves were exported to the New World, it was sometimes French ships that carried them there and exchanged slaves for New World goods. France does not deny its part in this dark history, and it is the work of such associations as Memoire d'Outre-Mer to remind the public of how much Nantes and the rest of Europe owes to the hard labor of an oppressed people. A nation that is so conscientious of its heritage is also careful to reconstruct its ideas of the past truthfully.

A gauche/to the left: Memoire d'Outre-Mer


Et pour mes collègues francais!

J'ai eu la chance de rejoindre l'association Memoire d'Outre-Mer pour une visite au Musée de la Compagnie des Indes à Port-Louis. Là, j'ai appris beaucoup des choses sur l'histoire du commerce entre la France, l'Asie, et le Nouvel Monde autrefois. C'était intéressant de voir comment Nantes y était intégré aussi, étant le site du vente des merchandises pendant plusieurs années, avant que Lorient soit devenu le site principale des ventes plus tard. J'ai appris également énormement d'information sur la traite des nègres grâce à l'exposition du musée et les membres de Memoire d'Outre-Mer. C'est une association éxtrodinaire dont les membres viennent de tous les coins du monde; leurs expériences et origines diverses livrent une certaine dynamique à la groupe. C'était une plaisir de leur rencontrer, et j'espère continuer à m'informer sur l'histoire entre France et les territoires francophones grâce à leurs activités et leurs efforts.