Le Morne Cultural Landscape
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. The oral traditions associated with the maroons, have made Le Morne a symbol of the slaves’ fight for freedom, their suffering, and their sacrifice, all of which have relevance to the countries from which the slaves came - the African mainland, Madagascar, India, and South-east Asia. Indeed, Mauritius, an important stopover in the eastern slave trade, also came to be known as the “Maroon republic” because of the large number of escaped slaves who lived on Le Morne Mountain.
Le Morne Cultural Landscape is an exceptional testimony to maroonage or resistance to slavery in terms of the mountain being used as a fortress to shelter escaped slaves, with physical and oral evidence to support that use. Le Morne represents marronage and its impact, which existed in many places around the world, but which was demonstrated so effectively on Le Morne mountain. It is a symbol of slaves’ fight for freedom, their suffering, and their sacrifice, all of which have relevance beyond its geographical location, to the countries from which the slaves came – in particular the African mainland, Madagascar, India, and South-east Asia- and represented by the Creole people of Mauritius and their shared memories and oral traditions.
Criterion (iii): The mountain is an exceptional testimony to maroonage or resistance to slavery in terms of it being used as a fortress for the shelter of escaped slaves, with evidence to support that use.
Criterion (vi): The dramatic form of the mountain, the heroic nature of the resistance it sheltered, and the longevity of the oral traditions associated with the maroons, has made Le Morne a symbol of slaves’ fight for freedom, their suffering, and their sacrifice, all of which have relevance beyond its geographical location, to the countries from which the slaves came – in particular the African mainland, Madagascar and India and South-east Asia.
The values of the property, in relation to the shelter of the maroons and their attempts to escape to freedom, extend beyond the main bulk of the mountain to the foothills and coast. Only the mountain is in the property and its spiritual qualities extend well into its surroundings. To preserve the integrity of the mountain means considering the property and buffer zone as a management unit. There is no doubt over the authenticity of the remains of maroon settlements on the mountains nor of the strong associations between the maroons and the mountain which are now known and valued far beyond the area.
The legal protection in place is adequate for the property; the Planning Policy Guidance for the buffer zone needs to be rigorously enforced. The current Management Plan is a good framework document, but needs to be augmented with detailed sub-plans and extended to address the marine environment of the buffer zone. The management system for the property should include professional staff with conservation and other appropriate disciplines and capacity building programmes.
- Unesco World heritage Centre
