Le Morne Brabant mountain dominates the skyline of the island nation of Mauritius. It anchors the southwest corner of the land, dropping sharply, jutting into the Indian Ocean. Le Morne was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 not only because of its dramatic rock formation - but more importantly, because of its exceptional history of the resistance to slavery. It was used as a fortress by fugitive, escaped slaves, who were known as "maroons". The mountain's isolated, wooded, and almost inaccessible cliffs allowed escaped slaves to settle in caves on the summit. From the 1700s through the early 1800s, Mauritius was a stopover in the slave trade among Madagascar, India and Southeast Asia. Numbers of slaves who escaped and lived on Le Morne Mountain led to its nickname of the "Maroon Republic". UNESCO's selection of Le Morne as a World Heritage Site referred to the oral tradition and testimony as a symbol of the slaves' fight for freedom.
As if the suffering of slavery and the fear of hiding on the mountain as fugitives wasn't bad enough, the end of the story is even more heartbreaking. My son and I were told the story by a taxi driver and by a guide; and it is reported in Wikipedia as well. (My attempt at corroborating the oral history). The story is that Mauritius abolished slavery on February 1, 1835. A police expedition to notify slaves of their freedom was dispatched to Le Morne because it was widely known that many slaves feared recapture and were hiding up on the craggy mountaintop. Tragically, the slaves up on the mountain saw the police advancing and did not understand why. Frightened that they were cornered, the slaves leapt to their deaths from the rock. The date February 1 is observed in Mauritius as the Annual Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery.
Besides just looking at the imposing mountain peak as a historical monument, one can climb it as well. In fact, Le Morne is an important tourist attraction.
My son and I had followed the advice to arrange for a guide, which we did. Unfortunately, our taxi driver missed the connection with the guide, so we arrived at the base of the mountain finding nobody there. We read the signs on the trailhead (including a photo of a frayed rope in a cleat, warning not to go all the way to the top because the ropes need replacing). Concluding that we had enough water and that the trail was clearly marked, we decided that we would go as far as we felt comfortable, and could turn back whenever we decided to). We arranged for the taxi driver to pick us up in several hours. The paths were clear and the views of the ocean and panoramas got better and better as we ascended.
But as we approached the sheer face, I found the rock scrambling to be much more difficult and decided that I should stop. I went as far as a metal fence that appeared near the top.
My son continued another hour or so all the way up to the summit. Fortunately for him (and for my peace of mind), he met up with two young German climbers - he a fitness trainer, she a physical therapist. He described them as goat-like in their ease clambering up the bald rock mountain.
They accompanied him all the way down (frayed ropes and all), waited as he carefully picked his way down, and shared their water after his was gone. So, he did it! (I quit; but I'm ok with that). He treated them to lunch as a thank you, and we learned from them that climbing Le Morne was a bucket list item for them - and the key reason they flew all the way to Mauritius. Learning that fact from those fit Germans who climb mountains all the time made our accomplishment feel even better.