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Origin and history

The Basse-Terre cooler, built between 1829 and 1833 L'Herminier Street, was an octagonal masonry building, covered with a dome, designed to store up to 20,000 kg of ice. Imported from the United States by boat, ice was isolated by wood, straw or sawdust to limit melting. The building, accessible by an external staircase now gone, used natural air currents to maintain a low temperature. Its architecture reflected the conservation techniques of the time, adapted to the tropical climate.

The project was initiated in 1828 by Piollet, who obtained a privilege from the governor to import and sell ice in Guadeloupe. Associated with Poulain, Pedemonte and Picard, he built the cooler between 1829 and 1833. By 1834 the building was sold for 3,000 francs, suggesting a commercial failure. Pedemonte and Picard bought it back and continued the activity until 1845, when the privilege was withdrawn due to repeated shortages during heat periods. The cooler changed hands several times before being converted into a wine cellar.

This monument reflects transatlantic economic exchanges in the 19th century, including the natural ice trade, initiated in the United States by Frédéric Tudor in 1805. Although Tudor's company swarmed in the Caribbean, it is uncertain whether Piollet and his associates were dealing directly with him. In Guadeloupe, ice was used mainly for medical (hospital) and funeral uses (conservation of the dead), unlike in Europe where it was democratised as a food product. The cooler was listed as a Historic Monument in 2002, thus preserving a rare remnant of this ephemeral industry.

In 1953, modifications (opening of a cochère door, embankment of the ground) partially altered the structure, including its system for disposing of the meltwater. The original breakwater wall, now partially buried, once bordered the maritime boulevard. The adjacent wooden buildings, which disappeared, were replaced by concrete buildings. Despite these transformations, the building retains its octagonal plan and dome, characteristic of its first use.

The cooler is part of a broader context of modernization of French colonies, where the introduction of technologies such as artificial ice (early 20th century) made infrastructure dedicated to natural ice obsolete. The concessions for the sale of ice, granted until the 1890s, reflect its social and health importance. Today, the site illustrates both the technical innovation of the time and the limits of commercial projects in the ultramarine territories.

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