#99 Archives - Contested Histories https://contestedhistories.org/tag/99/ Practical remedies to disputes over historical markers in public spaces Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:18:29 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/cropped-CH_Symbol_Light_Bkg@10x-32x32.png #99 Archives - Contested Histories https://contestedhistories.org/tag/99/ 32 32 Victor Schœlcher Statues in Fort-de-France and Schœlcher https://contestedhistories.org/resources/case-studies/victor-schoelcher-statues-in-frot-de-france-and-schoelcher?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=victor-schoelcher-statues-in-frot-de-france-and-schoelcher Mon, 17 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000 https://contestedhistories.org/resources// In May 2020, two statues of French administrator Victor Schoelcher were destroyed in Martinique by members of the local youth group Ligue de Défense Noire Africaine (LDNA/Black African Defence League). Despite being a celebrated figure for his role in abolishing slavery in the French colonies, Schoelcher’s legacy has come under increased contestation over the last […]

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]]> In May 2020, two statues of French administrator Victor Schoelcher were destroyed in Martinique by members of the local youth group Ligue de Défense Noire Africaine (LDNA/Black African Defence League). Despite being a celebrated figure for his role in abolishing slavery in the French colonies, Schoelcher’s legacy has come under increased contestation over the last decade. However, the toppling of these statues disguises a broader conversation that transcends the individual figure of Schoelcher, including enduring colonial legacies and the very telling of Martinique’s national history. This case study examines the reasons that motivated the attack on Shoelcher’s statues and the political authority’s response to these actions. It underscores the degree to which these events reflect conflicting top-down and bottom-up interpretations of Martinique’s national history, symbols, and memory.

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