She fought the Caribbean’s first successful revolution back in 1795 on the island of St Lucia where the inhabitants were enslaved by the British.
Now 230 years later members of the St Lucian community in London are thinking of setting up a community centre to honour Flore Bois Gaillard, the brave soldier and warrior who fought with her brigand soldiers to free the island from Brutal British colonial rule and subjugation.
“It is an idea that has been floated around for a little while now.” said a prominent member of the ‘Movement for Flore’ a group dedicated to keeping her memory alive in London.” We want the world to know about her gallantry and bravery. She fought to free us blacks from slavery oppression and servitude.”
The group met in June to honour and celebrate the 230th anniversary of the famous ‘Battle of Rablot’ which Flore fought in 1795 on the hills of Soufriere, on St Lucia’s West coast with her soldiers who were mainly runaway slaves, who left the plantations that they were being forcefully kept on to join her in the battle.
” Flore had no choice but to fight to free her land from the British who meted out harsh treatment to the slaves. She could not sit back and allow her people to continue to suffer and so she brought the runaway slaves together and trained them as soldiers. They fought with her to liberate the island from European rule.” said the group’s member who wants to remain anonymous.
The group plans to raise funds by appealing to the public to donate as well as setting up a GoFundMe account. The idea for the centre follows a campaign set up by members who attended the ceremony held in June to celebrate the life of Flore and the Battle Of Rablot at a community centre in West London. Members agreed that they will be delighted to see a place open to serve the black community and to keep Flore’s memory alive.
They noted that a lot of community halls that are serving the community are being closed for no apparent reason. According to a recent report by an independent body a lot of community centres that are being frequented by London’s black community are being shut down.
“We need this centre here for the Caribbean community in London. We need to honour Flore Bois Gaillard in the UK. She fought for the freedom that we are enjoying today in the Caribbean and elsewhere” said another spokesman from the ‘Movement For Flore’ He adds ” We need a voice here as we currently have none.”
A truly resilient and brave woman. I only heard about her recently – A Caribbean Journalist gave a brilliant lecture and talk about her and how she took on the British and French and defeated them in her beautiful Caribbean island of St Lucia. We need to support moves to keep her memory alive here in the West. The more I read about her the more I am beginning to show interest in her past exploits. Flore Bois Gaillard should be celebrated and have a blue plaque afforded in her honour here in the UK. She should also have a statue designed in her honour as well. Let us celebrate her achievements and to continue to keep her in our memories. Kudos to Afrosaxonvoice for this wonderfully written piece about her… We need to know about our heroes.