Indigo the Gouffre

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Industrial Le Gouffre is an old dye factory located in Capesterre-de-Marie-Galante, on the island of Marie-Galante in Guadeloupe. Built between the 17th and 18th centuries, it exploited indigotier (plants Indigofera suffruticosa and Indigofera tinctoria) to produce blue dye, sold to French and Dutch merchants. Its activity is part of a great period (1680–135) for this industry in the West Indies, before its decline in the face of competition from Santo Domingo.

Indigoterie is distinguished by its limestone architecture, composed of two sets of parallel tanks (trempories, batteries and repositories) allowing continuous production. A well dug in the karst and an isolated basin complete the whole, reflecting techniques adapted to the dry climate of the east coast of Marie-Galante. Among the 24 indigos on the island, the Gouffre is one of the best preserved, with internal walls compartmentalizing its repositories.

Ranked a historic monument on December 10, 2013, indigo is a testament to the Guadeloupéan colonial economy, marked by the culture of indigo before its replacement by sugar cane. Its inscription underlines its remarkable state of conservation and its role in the Antillean industrial heritage. Remnants, public property, provide insight into the traditional dyeing methods and transatlantic trade of the time.

Indigo production in Marie-Galante peaked around 1720, with nearly 90 units active on the island. The disappearance of these factories after 1735 was due to the competition of the more productive Santo Domingo plantations. The dyes were exported to Europe to compete with pastel, illustrating the integration of the West Indies into the world economic networks of the eighteenth century.

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