At the last Territorial Council, elected officials unanimously adopted the deliberation relating to the request to change the date to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Saint Martin to May 28.
It was Stéphanie Dargaud, heritage curator and director of territorial archives, who presented elected officials with “original and authentic” archival documents, allowing us to conclude that the proclamation of the abolition of slavery took place on Sunday, May 28. 1848 and not May 27 in Saint-Martin. Among the documents unveiled, the remarks of the mayor of Marigot Georges Dormoy closing the register of birth certificates, marriage and death of slaves, and a petition from the owners of sweets on the French side to the members of the National Legislative Assembly dated 1st August 1849. Georges Gumbs, president of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Saint-Martin (CESC) took note with “satisfaction” of “this re-establishment of historical truth”. The abolition of slavery is commemorated on July 1 in the Dutch part, recalled Mr. Gumbs while wondering “as to the advisability of using the month of June to make the bridge between the two parts of the island through an “Emancipation month” from May 28 to July 1, dotted with educational and cultural events ”.
6,433 total views
No comments