An Urban Itinerary

While the Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery contributes to remembrance and the public record of memory in the city, the Nantes History Museum, located in the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, provides the keys to understanding the city’s slave-trading history, extensively presented in the permanent exhibit.
Both locations are connected through a walk in the streets of Nantes marked out by eleven information boards on the slave trade, with the title “Nantes and the slave trade”.
Located in iconic locations in the city that include the Quai de la Fosse and the Île Feydeau, the different panels present the slave trade system, how it developed in Nantes and its consequences for the city, both in terms of economy and development.
The walk stretches over 1.5 kilometers and takes about one hour.
possibility of downloading PDF versions of the information boards

The Nantes History Museum

The slave trade and slavery are part of the city’s history and identity. From the 17th century to the 19th century, the slave trade dominated Nantes’ commercial activities and contributed to the city’s accumulation of wealth.
The collections and the historical research carried out on the slave trade by the Nantes History Museum are recognized around the world.
While exploring the museum’s 12 rooms, visitors can learn about Nantes’ role in slave-trading Europe and how a slave trade campaign was organized, the identities of local ship owners and traders, how slaves were sold, and their lives on the plantations.
www.chateaunantes.fr

Local Players
Nantes Facing its Past: The Role of Associations and Civil Society

Beginning in the 1980s, the city’s long-hidden slave-trading past gradually began to come to light. Historians whose work addressed this little-known subject were at the forefront of this change. In 1985, at their initiative, an international colloquium on the slave trade was organized in Nantes. The city refused to finance the operation “Nantes 85,” which was intended to launch research and cultural programs about the slave trade, triggering a strong response by the associations and public that helped energize the discovery of the city’s slave-trading past.

Affiche : Tricentenaire du Code noir, Esclavage et mémoire nantaise, Le triangle d'ébène, Nantes oct. nov. 1985.<br /> Au début des années 1980, des historiens et des sociologues nantais engagent les premières démarches de l'opération "Nantes 1985", qui vise à organiser des programmes de recherche universitaire et des manifestations culturelles sur le thème de la traite des Noirs.<br /> L'affiche représente un anneau de fer sur un mur en pierre autour duquel un cordon est attaché. Sur le mur, une tâche rouge vif.<br /> CARTEL : La mémoire de la traite des Noirs<br /> Au début des années 1980, l'association Nantes 1985 veut organiser des programmes de recherche universitaire et des manifestations culturelles sur le thème de la traite des Noirs. En août 1984, la municipalité provoque un vif débat en refusant de financer le projet "Nantes 1985, du code noir à l'abolition de l'esclavage". L'exposition "Les Anneaux de la Mémoire", présentée au château des ducs de Bretagne en 1993, a été pour la ville une étape importante dans la reconnaissance de son passé négrier.<br /> Tricentenaire du code noir, esclavage et mémoire nantaise, Le triangle d'ébène, Nantes oct.-nov. 1985<br /> Pierre Perron<br /> 1985

In 1992, at their initiative, the first temporary exhibit dedicated to the slave trade and slavery, “The Shackles of Memory,” opened in Nantes and was highly successful. The exhibit lasted just over a year and helped the public to understand the slave trade and the role played by Nantes.

In 1998, a Nantes collective was created that united eleven associations to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the abolition. On April 24, 1998, an initiative by the association Mémoire de l’Outre Mer culminated in a unveiling of a commemorative sculpture at the Quai de la Fosse. The sculpture was vandalized a few days later.

stèle provisoire remplaçant depuis le 1 mai 1998, après sa profanation, la statue, commérative du 150 è anniversaire de l'abolition de l'esclavage, originale réalisée par Liza Marcault-Derouard et inaugurée le 25 avril 1998.

In June 1998, the City decided to erect a commemorative monument, the Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery. It opened to the public in 2012, marking a new stage in the development of the knowledge and recognition of Nantes’ slave-trading past.

The associations in Nantes are currently continuing to promote historical awareness and remembrance of the slave trade, slavery and abolition. They host activities, visits and meetings at various locations in the city throughout the year. Their participation in the May 10 commemoration and numerous events such as Human Rights Day (December 10) show their dedication to freedom and human rights.

Principal local associations working for the history and remembrance of the slave trade, slavery and the abolition, including regular participants in the May 10 commemorations

AAGLA
Association des Antillais et Guyanais de Loire Atlantique
10 rue Marcel Hatet / 44000 Nantes
on appointment only
+33 (0)2 40 14 34 19
Concerts and activities, meetings and exhibitions

Afrique Caraïbe
37 rue de Beauregard / 44800 Saint-Herblain
afrique.caraibe@free.fr
West-Indies music and dance

Afrique Loire
1 rue du Gers / 44100 Nantes
info@afriqueloire.org
www.afriqueloire.org
Meetings, trainings, exhibitions, visits

Amis du Bèlè (Les)
10 allée Pablo Picasso / 44800 Saint-Herblain
lesamisdubele@hotmail.fr
www.facebook.com/Les-amis-du-bèlè-191376147568321
West-Indies music and dance

Anneaux de la Mémoire (Les)
18 rue Scribe, 44000 Nantes
+33 (0)2 40 69 68 52
contact@anneauxdelamemoire.org
www.anneauxdelamemoire.org
Publications, school visits, cultural action projects

Au-delà de la servitude and Libérons la monnaie
+33 (0)2 40 89 32 08
au.dela.servitude@gmail.com
liberonslamonnaie.blogspot.fr
Popular education projects, actions for groups of adults and children

Bambou Kreyol
West Indies music and dance
hevaline@hotmail.fr

Bateau pédagogique (pedagogical boat) – Anneaux de la Fraternité
Pavillon de la Fraternité / Cale 2 Parc des Chantiers
lafraternite@bateau-pedagogique.org
www.bateau-pedagogique.com
Individual visits, school visits, welcoming groups and organizing group visits, cultural programming

Cœur Caraïbes
West Indies music and dance
www.facebook.com/Coeur-Caraïbes

Gwa Kann Ka
9 allée Alphonse Beillevaire / 44700 Orvault
gwa-kann-ka@laposte.net
West Indies music and dance

Hetsika
Madagascar welcome, arts and culture
22  rue Paul Ramadier / 44100 Nantes
hetsika@gmail.com
www.hetsika.fr
Workshops, pedagogical projects, visits, cultural programming

Maison de la culture rastafari
11 rue Marmontel / 44000 Nantes
+33 (0)2 85 37 39 87
maisondesrastas@hotmail.fr
Workshops, concerts, events focusing on Rastafarian culture

Mémoire de l’outre-mer
Espace Louis Delgrès
89 quai de la Fosse / 4400 Nantes
+33 (0)2 40 71 76 57
outremer44@orange.fr
www.outremer44.com

Cultural programming (exhibits, conferences, literary encounters and debates), school rallies, visits and welcoming of groups, events

Métisse à Nantes
7 bis rue Jacques Cartier / 44300 Nantes
+33 (0)2 40 94 58 39
metisseanantes@gmail.com
www.metisse-a-nantes.org
Workshops, events, concerts, music and dance, creole culture

Via preciosa
3 rue Jacques Cartier / 44300 Nantes
+33 (0)2 40 40 65 26
viapreciosa@hotmail.com
Arts, international cultural exchanges, exhibitions

Local associations dedicated to human rights and slavery awareness

Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH)
Section Nantes
4, place de la Manu / 44000 Nantes
+33 (0)2 51 86 22 39
ldh.nantes@orange.fr
www.ldh-france.org/section/nantes

MRAP Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l’Amitié entre les Peuples
Maison des associations
11 rue du Prinquiau / 44100 Nantes
+33 (0)2 40 58 08 09
mrapnantes@hotmail.com
www.mrap.fr