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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Potrie de Terre-de-Bas, located on the edge of the Grande Baie on the island of Saintes (Guadeloupe), was founded around 1760, probably by Pierre Guichard or Jean-Pierre Fidelin. The latter, a member of an influential Creole family, operated the site until 1809 before transmitting it to his descendants. The workshop mainly produced sugar forms and molasses pots, essential to the local sugar industry, using terracotta imported from Terre-de-Haut and shaped by slaves.

The activity was based on a servile labour force: 121 slaves in 1811, then 130 in 1837, distributed among potters, transporters, loggers and oven workers. The latter, large (7x5 m, 8 m high), reached 900°C to cook pieces over 50 cm. The slaves lived in wooden or waulette boxes, while the production fed the sweets, each requiring 2,000 to 3,000 utensils, with frequent turnover due to breakage.

After 1815, faced with the decline of white sugar, the pottery diversified its production: flower pots, jars, tiles, and pots with handles. Until 1830, a quarter of the population of the Netherlands worked there. In the 19th century, activity became intermittent, then the site was converted into a wood distillery from India until 1920. Today, the walls of the pottery remain, two ovens, a cistern, a beast mill, and buildings in ruins, on an estate of two hectares by the sea.

The successive owners include Jean-Pierre Fidelin (1764–1809), his son-in-law Marie-Joseph Grizel Sainte-Marie, then descendants. Since 2015, the site has been owned by Doctor Pierre Sainte-Luce, a doctor and sociologist from the Netherlands. Ranked a historic monument in 1997, the pottery bears witness to the industrial and social history of Guadeloupe, linked to slavery and the sugar economy.

The main house associated with the factory, mentioned in the archives, has not yet been located. It could have disappeared during the devastating hurricanes of 1825 and 1865, which severely damaged production buildings. The current, though partial, remains offer a rare insight into colonial ceramic production techniques and their adaptation to local economic needs.

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