Les Marches des Esclaves, Historical stone stairway in Petit-Canal, Guadeloupe.
Les Marches des Esclaves is a stone stairway in Petit-Canal featuring 54 steps that lead upward to an esplanade, with commemorative plaques positioned along the route. Interpretive panels at ground level and above provide historical context for visitors walking through the monument.
The stairway was created as a memorial to commemorate when enslaved people were forced to climb these steps in chains upon arriving at the port to be sold at the market above. Today it stands as a physical reminder of this brutal history.
The steps display names of African ethnic groups including Yorubas, Congos, Ibos, Wolof, Fulbe, and Bamiléké, marking the different origins of enslaved people brought to the island. These inscriptions reflect the many cultures whose members suffered here.
The site is easy to reach and located near Petit-Canal's port area, where signs and information markers guide visitors through the space. Comfortable footwear is recommended since climbing the steps takes effort and time, and visitors may want to pause to read the plaques.
Each of the 54 steps corresponds to a former plantation that operated in the region during colonial times, making the number itself a direct link to that past. This correspondence turns the act of climbing into a physical encounter with the scale of the exploitation that took place.
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