Musee de Villele

The Musée de Villèle occupies the estate of Madame Desbassayns, one of the largest slave-owning landowners on the island, whose plantation house of around 1787 stands with its outbuildings, chapel and the ruins of the sugar works. The museum has been reworked in recent years to put the enslaved people who worked the estate at the centre of the account rather than the family, with the archaeology of their quarters and the estate records. The estate ran on the labour of several hundred enslaved people until abolition in 1848, and the site is now the principal place on the island where that history is presented to the public.

History

The estate began with the marriage in 1770 of Henri-Paulin Panon Desbassayns and Ombline Gonneau, later Madame Desbassayns, who then owned 80 slaves; by 1797 it covered about 750 hectares with 417 enslaved people, the largest on the island, and in 1829 it had 462. Slavery was abolished in 1848, the General Council of Réunion bought part of the estate in 1973, and the museum was founded in 1974 and opened in 1976 (Wikipedia, Musée de Villèle).

What's there

• The plantation house - the 1787 residence with its period interiors.
• The estate archaeology - the excavated quarters of the enslaved workforce.
• The sugar works ruins - the remains of the mill and processing buildings.
• The chapel - the estate chapel in the grounds.

When to go

Year round; it is partly indoors. It closes on Mondays and Tuesdays. Sections are periodically closed for renovation.

Things to know

Parts of the site have been closed for extended renovation. Labelling is in French. The subject matter is difficult and the museum does not soften it.

Nearby

Saint-Paul is below, and Le Maido is above.

Key facts