Victor Schoelcher Museum

Rue Peynier
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
82-08-04

Type: Museum
Addmission Fee: Euro 1.70

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Back toward the water, a left on Rue Schoelcher then a left on Rue Peynier brings you to the Musée Victor Schoelcher,which was recently improved for the 150-year anniversary of the end of slavery on Guadeloupe. The pink-and-white colonial house is a tribute to Victor Schoelcher, a wealthy Parisian businessman who presided over the abolition movement and represented Martinique in the French Senate. Born in Paris in 1804, Schoelcher spent his early adult years as an international salesman for his father’s porcelain products. While in the United States and Mexico, he became interested in the movement to abolish slavery. From 1836 until 1843, he lived and traveled on the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique to observe the living conditions of black slaves. Under the government of the French Republic, he created a commission to study slavery issues, and on April 27, 1848, slavery was abolished in French territory. Schoelcher served as a French deputy representing Guadeloupe and Martinique from 1848 until 1852. Since he opposed the coup d’état of Louis Napoleon, Napoleon III, and was in disfavor with the Second Empire, he exiled himself to England from 1852 until 1870. In 1871 he returned to Martinique and was elected deputy and then senator for life. The great statesman and humanitarian died in 1893, and his life is remembered and celebrated each year on July 21, Schoelcher Day. You can view Schoelcher’s artworks and memorabilia at the museum open Monday and Tuesday, 8:30am to 5:30pm, Thursday and Friday, 8:30am to 6pm, and Wednesday and Saturday, 8:30am to 12:30pm. It is closed for lunch from 12:30 to 2pm on days with afternoon schedules. Admission is 10FF2EU $1.70.