Stories

Discovered at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the island was reached by the French in 1643. Reunion (then called Mascarin ) was devoid of inhabitants. The French sent twelve convicts into exile there. In 1649 they officially claimed the island in the name of the king and named it Bourbon . Colonization started in 1665, when the French East India Company sent the first twenty settlers. After 1715, settlers produced coffee and spices, which ultimately were replaced by sugarcane. In 1792, France renamed the island La Reunion.

The labor force needed on the sugarcane plantations was supplied by slaves from Mozambique and Madagascar. At the end of the seventeenth century, the population could be divided into white French landowners and African and Malagasy slaves. A great number of white settlers arrived too late to gain access to the land and, excluded from the plantation system, retired to the highlands, where they constituted a poor white population (Petits blancs).

The abolition of slavery in 1848 led white landowners to recruit indentured laborers for their plantations, particularly Tamils. Most Tamils stayed at the end of their five-year contracts and continued to work for the white landowners. At the turn of the century, some Chinese and Muslim Gujaratis arrived to sell food and textiles. In 1946, Reunion became one of the four overseas departments of France, and it became an administrative region in 1974.

Having lost their cultural links with their societies of origin, African and Maslagasy slaves were subject to deculturation and pauperization. By contrast, whites, Chinese, Muslim Gujaratis, Tamils, and French from the mainland have been able to maintain most of their original systems of value while adapting it to the local context.

That being said, Reunion Island has been a melting pot of Cultures from across the world and with today’s various activities that are a part of this fun-filled island, nobody gets left behind

Around 1761, the authorities decided to set up a garden for acclimatising and adapting plants brought into Bourbon Island. Situated in the lower part of the area of Saint-Denis called La Riviere, to the south of the Compagnie bakery, the garden was often flooded by the waters of the Saint-Denis river. Honore de Cremont thus decided to transfer it to a larger plot, better adapted to the purpose of acclimatisation for plants.

The location chosen was a plot of land belonging to the State and situated at the far end of the rue Royale. The location was perfectly in harmony with the plan of the town, placing the colonial garden as a continuity of the main street and thus marking what was, at the time, the southern limit of the city. The transfer of the garden took place between 1766 and 1773 and the plan of the town, drawn up in 1774 by Chevalier Banks, speaks of the garden located along the Saint-Denis river as being “the former state garden”. The garden also marked a barrier between the wealthy population living in the town centre and the camp of the king’s black slaves (les Noirs du Roi).

The main aim of the acclimatisation garden was to introduce and adapt plants and crops before distributing them among the inhabitants, if tests proved conclusive. It also had a scientific function, generally contributing to the knowledge of plants, as well as being used as a hub for the distribution of plants to other French colonies. The director Honore de Cremont set up the new garden with the support and collaboration of his illustrious colleague Pierre Poivre, at that time general bursar for the islands of France and Bourbon (now Reunion and Mauritius). The Pamplemousses Gardens of the Ile de France (now Mauritius) and the bursar’s garden in Saint-Denis were therefore set up at the same time. Pierre Poivre took his role of working on the garden very seriously and, notably, corresponded with Joseph Hubert, who acclimatised several species of fruit trees and spices on his property located at Bras Madeleine (Saint Benoit)

The botanical gardens experienced a golden age, marked by the presence of illustrious gardener-botanists, such as Nicholas Breon studied and gained his experience of gardening at the Natural History Museum in Paris. In 1815, he became a botanist for the French Navy. He arrived in Bourbon Island in 1870, bringing a rich collection of seeds and fruit trees from Europe, carefully selected by the professors of the Natural History Museum in Paris. The architecture of the “French Style” garden drew its inspiration, on a rather different scale, of course, from Louis XVI-s famous gardener Andre le Notre, responsible for the design of the gardens of Versailles. He gave back to the garden its initial role as a garden for acclimatising plants.

He also sailed to other places around the Indian Ocean and in 1823, the governor Henry Saulce de Freycinet gave him the task of organising an expedition to Yemen, with the aim of renewing Bourbon Island’s coffee plants, which had become degenerate. He enquired into the growing and processing methods used in areas such as Descheval or Ouden. He brought back five quintals of coffee still in their pods, as well as the seeds of the false Arabian teak (Cordia amplifolia), the purpose of which was to provide cover for the fields of coffee plants, replacing the black wood which used to rot and which was also suspected of introducing diseases and insects that harmed the coffee plants.

At the time, the garden clearly fulfilled its purpose of acclimatisation, reproduction and dissemination of plants useful to the agricultural economy of the island. In 1829, Breon was succeeded by Jean-Michel Claude Richard, who held the post until his death in 1869. His skills were brought to the attention of Bonaparte and he was given the task of designing the garden of Corso in Rome, then the garden of Fontainbleau in France. In the garden in Saint-Denis, Richards was responsible for the continuity of the international correspondence that had been carried out by Nicholas Breon. He introduced and multiplied plants in the nursery, adding over 3.000 species to the garden. However, this role of acclimatisation soon became incompatible with the use of the garden by the public, for walking, organising festivals and fairs, the main functions of the Botanical Gardens today.

An island of genuine wonders, the French division of Reunion is obscure to a huge number of the world’s explorers. This extraordinary island that can be discovered in the Indian Ocean is just one of the most fascinating spots on earth. Not too famed as its nearby islands; Mauritius or the not really far-away British Seychelles, little Reunion appears to be nevertheless a tadpole in the humongous sea, overshadowed by Madagascar, found 500 miles toward the west. The French found their territorial island quite a while ago, however the soils of reunions have only seen a few from its parent territory.

La Réunion National Park is a natural area listed as a Worldwide Heritage site by UNESCO since 2010, representing around 42% of the island’s total surface area. Actually, it concerns the very heart of the national park, the Piton d’Anchaing in the Cirque of Salazie, the Piton de Sucre, La Chapelle in the Cirque of Cilaos, the Grande Chaloupe in the north and the Mare Longue in the south. UNESCO recognises that the “Pitons, Cirques and Ramparts” of Reunion Island create a spectacular landscape and contribute to the conservation of the terrestrial biodiversity of the Mascarene Islands.

But guess what?

The story continues! The park’s charter is reviewed every ten years, meaning that new areas can be added to the protected zones.

Of all the legends, Grand-Mère Kalle (granmer Kal in Creole) is one of the best known. Every child in Reunion Island knows the strange story of the witch who haunts the volcano. In the pure tradition of oral storytelling, several versions of this myth coexist.

Version 1: Is it said that Grand-Mère Kalle was an evil slave owner known for mistreating and despising her slaves. One day, one of them rebelled and planned to escape with their companions in misfortune. To make their escape, the slaves poisoned their torturer and fled into the cirque of Mafate where they lived happily ever after. The evil slave owner was then turned into a large black bird and to this day the story goes that her particular cry warns families of imminent danger.

Version 2: This time, Grand-Mère Kalle appears in the form of Kalla, a devoted slave and protective mother. When her son disappears, the grief-stricken mother throws herself into the ocean’s deathly waves. Ever since, on Reunion Island, a bird warns the inhabitants of approaching danger with its particularly recognisable mournful cry.

Version 3: The last legend about Grand-Mère Kalle takes place near Mahavel, in the south of the island. The story goes that Kalle sheltered convicts in her house to get them to commit crimes. Each time a traveller passes nearby, Grand-Mère Kalle asks them to come for a drink in her home. If the poor soul has any money on them, the convicts follow them to rob them and throw them in a ravine. When Kalle died, she started haunting the houses of sick people at nightfall. If she laughs, death is near. If she starts to cry, the patient has a good chance of getting better!

Marie Anne thérèse Ombline Desbassayns was one of the island's greatest fortunes in the 19th century. More than 460 slaves worked on her domain, which stretched from the coast of Saint-Paul to the mountains of Maïdo. She was known to be very cruel with her slaves and in the island many people know her story even after hundreds of years. She is known as “La Diablesse” the Devil.

Madame Desbassayns spent most of her time causing misery to the slaves, twisting their navels, forcing them to clean the floor with their tongues or to go and take pebbles in the ravine, making indelible marks on their bodies using an iron.

At the end of slavery she was hunted down and beaten by the slaves and a phrase remains in the minds of Reunion people "" heat Madame Desbassayns, heat! "

She died 1846, Madame Desbassayns was first buried in the marine cemetery of Saint-Paul, before her grave was transferred to her chapel by one of her descendants. It was here, on February 4, 1932, the anniversary of his death, that the dark legend of Desbassayns was really born.

To learn more about its history, it is possible to go to the “Musée de la Villèle”.

Currently she remains in the minds of Reunionnais and participates in scary stories to tell in family.

As we all know, Réunion Island is a French Department, therefore its geographical position is the most easterly part of the eurozone. The Island was the first European territory to handle the Euro currency when it was introduced in 2002. The mayor of St Denis (the Capital city) purchased a kilo of lychees after a brief barter with a local stallholder.

Fruit, music and stars

Roger came to the Reunion Island in 1973. He was 12 years old. His mother is from Madagascar and his father from Africa, but at that time he was living with his stepfather, who did not want him.

Roger escaped from his stepfather by hiding in the Reunion island. He was completely alone and he had nothing. “Well, I was not alone, God was taking care of me and I was sleeping under the stars”. The first thing he did was to sell lettuces on the streets and year by year he met more and more people and was able to sell more fruits. Today he is 60 and he enjoys his job, you can find him in the corner next to the bus stop Salin-les-Bains every day.

His life are his 2 children, his job and music. Every morning he wakes up listening to music from Guadalupe and Martinica. The only time he has been in Paris it was for attending to a concert, but he would never leave the island, not even for love. Roger has the impression that everybody is in a rush there. He says the most important to succeed in life is to be a good person: this is how he gets recommended to new customers and how he finds fruit suppliers. The essential in life is very simple.

Jeremy was born in 1987 in the south of the island. His childhood was balanced: he used to live with his mother, father and his three sisters. Jeremy told us that they had always been a very religious family, and that he never felt alone thanks to his strong faith. He finished the Secondary School and after this, as he was not sure about his future, he decided to help his father, who was a builder.

He explained that in the past, builders were using dead corals to build houses. Along the island you could find several ovens where they melt the corals and made concrete out of it. Nowadays it is forbidden to take corals from the beach.

Later on, Jeremy didn’t want to quit his job, because he became used to it and he had already learnt all the techniques. Jeremy loves the island. He can not imagine a life far from la Réunion. Here he has a calm and healthy lifestyle, he can surf and see the sunsets in these amazing beaches.

Cindy was born in Reunion in Saint-Louis and has always lived there. She has three children and loves to go out to the beach with them. She loves her island and loves to tell anyone who wants to learn about it. She knows every nook and cranny of the island and has already been around the island more than 100 times. Her passion is cooking and especially Creole cuisine with lots of spices and flavor. As she says: "always put color in the dishes". Her parents were both born in Saint-Louis as well. She is very close to her family and it is very important to her. She told us "family is very important in Reunion Island and I think it's part of our culture.” Finally, her favorite moment is having a picnic with her family almost every Sunday. Picnics are part of the culture of La Reunion.

Louis was eating at the beach on his lunch break from work. We approached him and we could not understand a word from what he was saying. He was speaking créole. He explained to us that créole is the language that the slaves invented in order to speak among them and avoid being understood. We asked him if he could explain to us something about the slaves who were first on this island. He recognizes that he doesn’t know much about it, but he told us that the first persons who lived in la Reunion were slaves who were abandoned on their own in the island for over a year to see if they could survive with no external help. After that year elapsed they came back and saw that the slaves had found food and had managed to survive, meaning that the island had enough resources, so they decided to colonize it.