On this day, 28 May 1802, the Battle of Matouba took place in Guadeloupe between rebel enslaved people and French colonial troops (content note: suicide).
Slavery in the colony had been abolished a few years prior, but it was reintroduced by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
In response to this, enslaved people in Guadeloupe rose up in revolt, led by a biracial free man and former French military officer, Louis Delgrès (pictured on a commemorative stamp). Though the rebels initially made gains, eventually they were overwhelmed by the superior force of the French army.
The enslaved people made their last stand in the Battle of Matouba, and holed themselves up in Fort Saint-Charles. Realising they would be defeated, the rebels decided to kill themselves and try to take as many French troops with them as possible. Delgrès distributed barrels of dynamite amongst his troops, then set them on fire while men, women and children shouted “Live free or die!” Around 500 rebels were killed in the blast, along with up to 400 French troops.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7932/guadeloupe-enslaved-rebellion-endshttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=634020708771148&set=a.602588028581083&type=3
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