Flore Bois Gallard, Creole and Mulatto Identities, and Pan-Africanism: St. Lucia on Independence Day
Feb 21, 2022 01:00PM ● By Oga Africa
( Sandals, St. Lucia. Image by yariarenas via Flickr)
Happy Independence Day, St. Lucia! On February 22, 1979, this Caribbean country gained independence from the British. To celebrate, we are exploring creole and mulatto identities as a vehicle for Pan-Africanism in the Caribbean, and the legacy of Flore Bois Gallard, a St. Lucian freedom fighter. Let’s jump right in!
St. Lucia was governed by the Tainos, then the Arawaks, who preceded the French and the British. European colonizers brought waves of enslaved Africans to the island to work the sugar plantations, and today, the country is majority Black. In 2010, Britannica reported the island to be 85.3% Black. Caribbean countries, and other countries with descendants of enslaved people, are melting pots with the influences and DNA of 2 or more cultures that have culminated in Creole identities. Creole, a term originally utilized to refer to an African or European person born in the West Indies, is a word that is used in contemporary African diasporan societies to refer to people of mixed African, European (French or Spanish), and/or indigenous descent.
Read “Honoring St. Lucia’s Past and Present:”:
Honoring St. Lucia’s Past and Present
Happy Independence Day, St. Lucia! On February 22nd, 1979, this Caribbean country gained independence from Great Britain. Read More »
Similarly, the term Mulatto refers to people that are of African and European ancestry. During post-colonialism, in Caribbean countries like Haiti, Jamaica, and St. Lucia, Creoles and Mulattos had certain privileges compared to their usually darker-skinned, Black counterparts.
(A St. Lucian woman. Image by Sona Macnaughtonn via Flickr )
Climbing the totem pole of privilege was not an endeavor all Creoles willingly participated in. Some actively fought against the oppressive systems they found themselves in and worked to dismantle the institution of slavery and colonialism altogether. It is important to highlight the collaboration and freedom-seeking endeavors that enslaved, both house and field, Creole, Mulatto, and Black, fought for.
Flore Bois de Gaillard, an enslaved Mulatto woman in Lucia, led a formidable revolt against the French in 1795. During the slave era, Maroons or escaped slaves, settled in Soufriere, St. Lucia. In 1793, Gaillard escaped from her plantation and collaborated with Maroons in St. Lucia’s rural areas. Eventually, Gaillard became a leader in an army composed of absconded enslaved people and their descendants. The Caribbean was especially known for its slave revolts, and St. Lucia’s revolts were no exception. The Battle of Brigands was a war fought from 1795-1797, between the British and escaped African slaves. Gaillard and her army fought a successful battle against the British during the ‘Battle of Rabot’.
Read “Barbados, and a History of Resistance: From Bussa’s Rebellion to Removing Queen Elizabeth as the Head of State”:
Barbados, and a History of Resistance: From Bussa’s Rebellion to Removing Queen Elizabeth as the Head of State
Happy belated Independence Day, Barbados! On November 30th, 1966, this Caribbean country gained independence from the British. To celebrate, we are exploring the country’s resistance to c... Read More »
( Sandals, St. Lucia. Image by yariarenas via Flickr )
At the end of the Brigand’s War, the Africans who fought against the British were sent to Sierra Leone, where they became military in the West Indian Regiment. It is unclear whether Gaillard survived the end of the Brigand’s War, but what is certain is that Pan-African ideals of freedom were exhibited by varying African diasporan identities, complicating ideals of colorist based divisions and class in the Caribbean.
Which Caribbean country have you visited?
Works Cited
https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Lucia
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4169003
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/creole
https://aaregistry.org/story/new-orleans-founded-creole-people-affirmed/
https://www.ucpress.edu/blog/20404/beyonce-creoles-and-modern-blackness/
http://blogs.cofc.edu/cssc/2019/08/15/finding-south-carolinas-slavery-connection-to-st-lucia/
