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| Climbing up Mt. Pelée, into the clouds |
Have any of
you heard of a Peléan eruption? The USGS defines a a "Peléan" or
"Nuée Ardente (glowing cloud)” eruption, as “a large quantity of gas,
dust, ash, and incandescent lava fragments are blown out of a central crater,
fall back, and form tongue-like, glowing avalanches that move downslope at
velocities as great as 100 miles per hour. Such eruptive activity can cause great
destruction and loss of life if it occurs in populated areas.” This type of
eruption is named after Mt. Pelée here in Martinique. In May of 1902 it erupted
so violently that the entire bustling town of St. Pierre, the “Paris of the
Caribbean” along with the 27,000 people there, were razed in a matter of
minutes. It took 30 seconds for the Nuée Ardente to travel from the mountain to
the town with the force of an atomic bomb that instantly killed everyone in its
path. The 800+ degrees Celsius cloud then set what was left of the town ablaze
and it burned for days afterwards. Only a few people survived the initial
blast, all but one of them soon perishing from their injuries.
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| Cyparis' Cell |
The one sole survivor, Cyparis, survived because he was in a holding
cell at the local precinct, having been arrested for drunken disorderly conduct
and sentenced to a week of community service. He was halfway through his week,
asleep in his stone cell, when the eruption occurred. He was found 3 days later
by Father Mary, the head priest of the local parish found him and treated his
burns, nursing him back to health. Cyparis left the island and, sadly, that
priest perished in the second violent eruption of Mount Pelée that happen 4
months later. Cyparis joined the Barnum & Bailey circus, marketed as the
miraculous sole survivor of the eruption that killed so many others. In his 2012
book “Operation Freak: Narrative, Identity, and the Spectrum of Bodily
Abilities in Francophone Literature” Christian
Flaugh researched Cyparis whose appearance was especially distinct: “his skin
was recorded as especially distinguishable, with his bare and burned feet that
were ‘scarred with frightful marks’ and the ‘white scars on the black skin’
that gave him ‘an uncanny appearance’” He also researched that happened to
Cyparis later and there are many theories. Some say he died of natural causes
in 1929, others insist that he died weakened and impoverished, abandoned by
Barnum & Baileys in Panama in 1955 while another theory states that he
stabbed a Barnum & Bailey’s employee in 1903, not long after he started
with them, that cut short his career.
During our tour of
St. Pierre we visited his cell, noticing its location had the protection of a
small hill that shielded it from the blast and intense heat and the thick stone
walls that no doubt are the reasons why he survived.
We also visited the
ruins of the amphitheater in St. Pierre, as well as a small museum with some
interesting artifacts found in the ruins. They had samples of the pyroclastic
‘bombs’ released by the eruption and even everyday objects like food, nails and
tools that were burned/melted in the eruption.
Today the town of St.
Pierre is a small one, with about 4,000 inhabitants. It is a shadow of its
former self. The bay of St. Pierre is very deep, so it was the center of
commercial activity starting way back in 1635! Within two years of Pierre Belain d' Esnambuc’s arrival in the
bay, the French population had reached 700. More and more French arrived,
mostly as indentured servants who were given a one-way ticket in exchange for
3-5 years hard labor, many not understanding they would never really have the
opportunity or means to return to France. Many were sent against their will,
including prisoners, beggars and vagabonds that were not wanted in metropolitan
France. The few who survived the gruesome work were given their own plots of land
to cultivate. The main crops in the beginning were manioc and potatoes for eating,
rocou, indigo, cocoa and tobacco for export.
Throughout the centuries, Saint-Pierre adapted to changing economics.
When the sugar cane market collapsed after beet sugar appeared on the market,
along with the abolition of slavery, they switched to producing rum instead.
The city was extremely prosperous and bustling. It was the cultural and commercial
center of Martinique. Fort-de-France may have been the political capital, but
the intellectual elite, the artists, musicians and wealthy Béké (descendants of
the white colonists and merchants) lived in Saint-Pierre. It was very
well-equipped, easily keeping up with the large modern cities of metropolitan
Europe. Stores and homes were lit by electricity and were fitted with
telephones; running water was the norm, and even a little tramway had been set
up to serve the districts that were a bit out of town. Saint-Pierre enjoyed the
status as the cultural capital of the Caribbean at large until May 8th,
1902. The volcanic eruption literally wiped it from the map because from then
on, the city that was once known as the “Paris of the Caribbean” no longer even
appeared on any official maps, French or otherwise.
Though it sounds a bit random, the Portuguese conquest of Brazil had a
huge impact on Martinique. They expelled the Jews from Brazil, most of whom ended
up in Martinique, bringing extremely important knowledge with them that will
irrevocably change the course of history for Martinique: the production of
sugar! Fortune smiled on the land owners, the traders, and the ship-owners, but hell
started for thousands of Africans. Growing and processing sugar cane required a
lot of manual labor that the colonists alone could not do themselves. Soon, many slave
traders unloaded their cargo of slaves on the quays of Saint-Pierre.
Throughout the centuries, Saint-Pierre adapted to changing economics.
When the sugar cane market collapsed after beet sugar appeared on the market,
along with the abolition of slavery, they switched to producing rum instead.
The city was extremely prosperous and bustling. It was the cultural and commercial
center of Martinique. Fort-de-France may have been the political capital, but
the intellectual elite, the artists, musicians and wealthy Béké (descendants of
the white colonists and merchants) lived in Saint-Pierre. It was very
well-equipped, easily keeping up with the large modern cities of metropolitan
Europe. Stores and homes were lit by electricity and were fitted with
telephones; running water was the norm, and even a little tramway had been set
up to serve the districts that were a bit out of town. Saint-Pierre enjoyed the
status as the cultural capital of the Caribbean at large until May 8th,
1902. The volcanic eruption literally wiped it from the map because from then
on, the city that was once known as the “Paris of the Caribbean” no longer even
appeared on any official maps, French or otherwise.
We had a historian/archeologist come speak to our students about
Saint-Pierre and it’s interesting to hear about modern-day Saint-Pierre. It of
course never recovered its former glory. Could it even be possible? Its
inhabitants live in the constant shadow of a tragic history that is not their
own, although it is just now starting to become so. Time will tell what becomes of Saint-Pierre...
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| A double rainbow welcomed us into Saint Pierre |
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