Habitation Sputourne

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Habitation Spoutourne is located near Galion Bay, on the south coast of the Caravelle peninsula, in La Trinité. This site is distinguished by its spatial organization: the house of the manager in the south-east, the street of the black boxes to the north-west, and between the two, the remains of the sugar factory, including an aqueduct, a well, tanks and a beast mill. These elements illustrate the typical architecture of colonial sugar houses, adapted to the production and life of workers in slavery.

The Sputourne Habitation was allegedly founded by Balthazard Dubuc de Bellefonds, second son of Pierre Dubuc, an influential family of Martinic settlers. Mentioned in 1763 on the map of Moreau du Temple (published in 1770), it remained in the hands of the Dubuc descendants until 1858, when it was sold to Eugene Eustache. In 1853, an inventory of 412 hectares, including a pottery, highlighted the extent and diversity of the economic activities of the estate. The ruins of the dwelling, protected since 1993, now bear witness to this colonial past.

This site is remarkable for its collective building serving as negro boxes, a unique architectural feature in Martinique. These dwellings, intended for the slaved, reflect the living conditions and social organization of the sugar houses in the 18th and 19th centuries. The presence of industrial (sugar, mill) and domestic (tank, well) vestiges offers a complete overview of the infrastructure needed for sugar mining, a major economic activity of Martinique at that time.

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