By Julien Durup
Introductory Note by the Publisher
As an introduction, let us learn a little bit about Gorée Island. Gorée Island, now designated a UNESCO world heritage site, was the largest slave-trading centre in Africa located on the coast of Senegal. It has been estimated that millions of enslaved people passed through the chambers of Gorée before they met their fate across the Atlantic Ocean.
Gorée Island
Mr Julien Durup describes île Longue, or Long Island as we now refer to it, as ‘the Gorée of Seychelles’ because it also served as a transit point for the slave trade in the Indian Ocean.
Île Longue, The Name
L’île Longue (Longue Island) was given its name by the quasi-French/Irish Captain Cornielle Nicolas Morphey né O’Murphy of Ile-et-Vilaine, in Brittany. He arrived in the Seychelles on the Cerf accompanied by the Saint Benoît under Captain Préjean. O’Murphy dropped anchor in the deep water next to Ile Hodoul on 9th September 1756.
Ile Longue in the Foreground with Sainte Anne Island in the Background
Captain O’Murphy was still in bereavement when he arrived. There is a strong possibility that he named Sainte Anne Island after his former daughter ‘Anne’ or after his wife of the same name. Even though Sainte Anne is the patron saint of the ‘Breton’ corsairs and other mariners. On that same day, he also named Cerf Island in honour of his ship.
The slave transit, recuperation, and disorientation depot
L’île Longue was used as a quarantine station in the early French occupation as a slave transit, recuperation, and disorientation depot. The island was utilised mostly by the Portuguese and French slavers whereas the American slavers had a preference for the island of La Digue. During their so-called convalescences many of the weak and frighten slaves died and were buried on the island.
Those who had arrived fit enough to survive their journey to an unknown destination were disinfected with vinegar. Later, the slave master used coconut oil as a disinfectant when the oil was locally produced.
Long Island burnt down
In 1786 during the time Commandant Antoine Nicolas Benoît Gillot, the ill-treatment of slaves caused them to revolt. Having no equipment to eliminate their well-armed masters they burnt l’île Longue to the ground. Cerf Island later, in around 1832, suffered the same fate. The effects of the blaze on the hilly part of the two islands are still visible.
The front Cover of the Code Noir
The Code Noir, the law of the land, had no jurisdiction on the slavers to feed the slaves properly. This Letters Patent was signed by the boy King Louis XV and countersigned by the young Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux the Secretary of the navy who did not know at that time what the colour of the sea was.
The Belirair 1784
Throughout the time of Gillot, many slave ships arrived at Mahé, the crew and their human cargo of which most of them were badly affected by scurvy and many captains also died during their stay. One of the slave ship was the Belirair. She arrived in June 1784 with all her crew and slaves affected by scurvy, and they were helped out of the ship. The crew was taken to Cerf Island and the slaves to l’île Longue. On the point of security and replenishment l’île Longue was ideal with good nearby anchorage for big slavers. Though the island was like a little prison without gates, marronnage was impossible as the island is surrounded by deep water and most of the slaves who came from inside Africa could not swim.
Long Island , the Quarantine Station for liberated Slaves
In 1834, the British used Platte Island as a quarantine station though it was too far for urgent medical assistance and provisions. On 30 November 1868, they abandoned Platte Island and urgently created a new station on l’île Longue to accommodate the liberated slaves from HMS Daphne under Captain George Sulivan with an outbreak of smallpox. The slaves were freed from Arab slave traders between November 1st and 4th of 1868. They stayed in quarantine for eighty-one days; the longest recorded time spends in quarantine on the island.
Rescued Slaves on HMS Daphne-photo Captain George Sulivan
The Gallas
Amongst the slaves some were the Gallas from Ethiopia. The Gallas women were beautiful according to the captain. His description seems to corroborate with that of our traditions which described them as ‘les belles’ (bann zoli fanm) Gallas. They had also been immortalised by the irreplaceable musician Jocob Marie alias ‘Ton Pa’ in two of his melodies. Ton Pa described the Gallas women as follows: “ti zoli menm …avek trou-d bote, dito mento menm”; and “Sa bann pti fanm abysinnie ki roul an moliman”.
The British sailors would give them more attention and generously gave them their soup rations of meat and vegetables. Many of these poor women could have fallen into the trap of the love gestures of the sailors and later became pregnant.
Liberated Slaves on HMS Daphne–photo Captain George Sulivan
The slaves with a large proportion of females and the crew of the Daphne amounted to over 400 were the biggest group of people ever to be accommodated on the island. It is interesting to note in the eighty-one days the British sailors managed to force most of them to abandon their African names and registered themselves on their new given European names. Many were sent to work as indentured servants in Baie Lazare.
The two stations
On l’île Longue they created two stations the main faces Port Victoria harbour, the next one on the other side for the sick slaves. Later the authorities built a large masonry building, then in 1918 a wooden storey was added, and modifications were made to the ground floor. The building had three compartments and verandas on the front sides. On the first floor, they had four equal rooms with three verandas. The station was also used as a rest house for high colonials’ officials when not in use for quarantine purposes. After the establishment of the airport l’île Longue was used as the Seychelles second prison.
Julien’s Reflection
Little is known about what has happened to our brave slaves’ ancestors who were born free, have revolted and ultimately burnt île Longue down. Maybe they were all killed and buried on site we will perhaps never know. However, more research should be done, and this important fragment of our history should never be forgotten. I would suggest that the Ministry of Education, the Culture Division, the Africa Association, and the quiet UNESCO representative in the Seychelles do something to commemorate the uprising of the poor children of God who were forced to become live tools on our Gorée.
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