Exhibition “From the banks of the Loire to Tortuga Island”

The reconstructions, artefacts and documents that make up the exhibition’s itinerary cover almost 300 years of history, from the foundation of Santa Domingo (present-day Haiti) by Rochefort-born Bertrand d’Ogeron in the 17^th century to negotiation of Haiti’s independence debt by Emmanuel de Las Cases, director of Chalonnes-sur-Loire’s mines, in the 19^th century. The exhibition helps visitors understand the conditions under which Anjou and the banks of the Loire made up Nantes’ hinterland (as the main slave-trade port in the 18^th century) and took direct or indirect part in political and maritime history and triangular trade from the 17^th to the 19^th century. 

Two walks will be on offer alongside the exhibition, designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of local heritage: 

• an “on the trail of slave traders in Anjou” itinerary
• an itinerary in the streets of Chalonnes-sur-Loire

“Loire des Lumières”

The “Loire des Lumières” programme, initiated by the “Les Anneaux de la Mémoire” association with support from the Pays de la Loire Region, aims to galvanise the banks of the Loire by organising lectures, exhibitions, study days, shows and other cultural events with three thematic focuses: 

• The Transatlantic Loire
  • With this initial exhibition, the fruit of a partnership between the “Les Anneaux de la Mémoire” association and Loire-Layon community of municipalities.
• The Loire of Revolutions
• The Loire of Civilisations

On the web:

• Loire des Lumières
• Exhibition “From the banks of the Loire to Tortuga Island”