ABSTRACT

Ships were essential for mobility during the colonial period, simultaneously serving as the mechanism of cultural exchange. The study of the artefacts recovered from shipwrecks provides valuable information on life at sea, relationships on-board, how captives endured their transformative voyages and how the trade in forced labour was enacted by colonial administrations. Despite this potential wealth of information, the complexities and expense associated with underwater archaeological research have formed a barrier to the exploration of wrecks used to transport enslaved peoples. However, a number of East African nations have now started initiatives not only to correct the paucity of research on slave trade shipwrecks, but also to protect their underwater cultural heritage. Among these countries, Mauritius has a particularly important prospect for maritime archaeological exploration. The presence of over 1200 wrecks demonstrates the considerable potential of the island’s maritime heritage. Especially notable has been the work undertaken on the Coureur shipwreck, a lugger built in 1818 in Grand Port and sunk in 1821 with a cargo of some 100 illegal slaves from Zanzibar. The sinking of the Coureur marked the true ending of the slave trade in Mauritius and the wreck’s discovery in 2004 has led to new research into Mauritius’ illegal slave trade.

摘要

在殖民时期，船只对于机动性至关重要，同时又是文化交流的机制。对从沉船残骸中发现的文物的研究提供了宝贵的信息，包括海上生活，船上关系，俘虏如何忍受其转型航行以及殖民地政府如何实施强迫劳动。尽管有大量潜在的信息，但水下考古研究的复杂性和费用已成为探索用于运输被奴役人民的沉船的障碍。但是，许多东非国家现在已经开始采取行动，不仅纠正对奴隶贸易沉船的研究不足，而且还保护其水下文化遗产。在这些国家中，毛里求斯在海洋考古探索方面具有特别重要的前景。超过1200艘沉船的存在证明了该岛海洋遗产的巨大潜力。特别值得注意的是在库勒（Coureur）沉船事故是1818年在大港（Grand Port）建造的行李箱，1821年沉没了桑给巴尔（Zanzibar）约100名非法奴隶。库鲁人的沉没标志着毛里求斯奴隶贸易的真正终结，而残骸的发现于2004年导致对毛里求斯非法奴隶贸易的新研究。