Domaine de Maison Rouge, Colonial plantation and historic monument in Saint-Louis, Réunion Island, France.
Domaine de Maison Rouge is a colonial plantation estate and classified historical monument on Reunion Island, France. The property consists of several buildings arranged around a central courtyard, with a main residence overlooking production areas and former residential structures.
The first concession of Maison Rouge dates from 1725; it was separated from the Gol habitation in 1732. In 1752 Jacques Desforges-Boucher held 99 slaves there and grew 10,000 coffee trees alongside maize, wheat and rice. In the 1830s Anne Marie Lucie Murat reassembled the estate and built four sugar-mill buildings with a steam engine and cast-iron boilers. After the 1848 abolition the owners received 239,981 gold francs in compensation.
The site now houses the Indian Ocean Decorative Arts Museum, which displays objects and artifacts from the colonial agricultural period. The collection helps visitors understand the daily life and craftsmanship techniques that were part of this era.
The estate lies at Maison Rouge in the commune of Saint-Louis, in the south of Reunion Island. The whole agricultural domain, including the master's house with its garden and ceremonial staircase, has been classified as a Monument historique since 5 May 2004. The buildings are grouped around a large courtyard, and the former plantation now houses the Museum of Decorative Arts of the Indian Ocean.
In 1849 Anne Marie Lucie Nairac, widow Murat, and her son Hyacinthe received 239,981 gold francs as compensation for the emancipation of their 217 slaves, recorded on the estate in 1848. The sugar works they built included a steam engine, cast-iron boilers, sugar tables and a purging room.
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