Monument to the dead

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The monument to the dead of Baie-Mahault is a cenotaph erected in 1935 on Childeric-Trinceur Square in this commune of Guadeloupe. Commanded by the municipality around 1933 by architect Edmond Mercier, disciple of Ali Tur, he paid tribute to the soldiers who had died during the First World War. The cost was 50,000 French francs (about 44,770 euros in 2023). Inaugurated on 12 January 1936 near the town hall, he was registered for historical monuments by order of 24 April 2018.

The particularity of this monument lies in its 2.15 meter galvano-bronze sculpture by Émile André Leroy. It represents a black soldier of the colonial troops, an Overseas Poilu, dressed in a sea anchor helmet and a scarf. This artistic choice, rare for the time itself in the West Indies, highlights the participation of the Guadeloupees in the Great War. The model of this statue was Private Palms Paul Pindi, immortalized in a position of attention.

In 2018, on the occasion of the centenary of the Armistice, an exhibition in Baie-Mahault and Petit-Canal highlighted this monument, as well as that of Petit-Canal, also carved by Leroy. These two works highlight the often unknown role of the Antillean soldiers during the conflict. The Baie-Mahault monument, owned by the commune, is distinguished by its fenced garden, its central stele decorated with a pattée cross, and the inscription "To our dead 1914–18".

Architecturally, the monument consists of a high stele framed by two low walls, accessible by steps. Its initial location near the town hall, then its protection in 2018, reflect its memorial and heritage importance. The sources, including the work of Séverine Laborie (2014), highlight its remarkable character in the Guadeloupe commemorative landscape, where few monuments thus highlight the black soldiers of the colonies.

External links