|
ome men are said to have a traveler soul. Pierre Poivre is one of them. This seminarian left France in order to evangelize in China, where he was unjustly imprisoned. He learned Chinese to defend himself before the viceroy of Canton. Once liberated, he traveled all over China for four years, discovering local trade and agriculture. All things considered, this kind of adventure was more to his taste than the priesthood! But he finally had to return to France for his ordination. On the way back, his boat was attacked by the English and in the thick of a battle, he lost his hand, his liberty and his vocation forever. Dropped off in Jakarta (then called Batavia), he had nothing but time to observe the Dutch spice trade, and had some good ideas.
At the time, the Dutch had the monopoly on the trade of the spices, which were sold at the price of gold. Why wouldn't one wrest a part of the market? Poivre would only have to cultivate the invaluable plants on the French territory. Easier said than done: with this idea in mind, he sailed to Pondicherry where he met Mahé de la Bourdonnais , went with him to the Island of France ( Mauritius ) and found there the ideal place to cultivate his "goldmine". In France , his plans were enthusiastically accepted, and he set out again with the secret mission to steal spices from the Dutch. After many adventures, on December 2, 1753 in the Island of France he unloaded some nutmeg and clove tree seedlings.
Port-Louis,
Indian
Ocean door
"Thank God my trip to Port-Louis wasn't that exhausting, even if the airport is on the opposite coast of the island. Of course I regret not sailing to the green island by sea, but going accros and previewing the landscapes of this prosperous island, born of volcanoes, comforted me, especially as I'm prone to seasickness."
Port-Louis is the capital of Maurice and the gateway to the Indian Ocean . At the time when Pierre Poivre unloaded his spices on the island, Port-Louis was used as a relay for ships between Europe and Asia - a strategic point.
Today it is an administrative and commercial city which has evolved, of course, and which has maybe lost a bit of its greatness even if remains of French colonial architecture of the 18th century are still visible. Beautiful single-storey wood houses, with full-length balconies bordered with wood lace fringe. And Hindu temples everywhere, like illustrations in an Indian tale, so colorful and detailed. Some look like tiered cakes, or boxes in boxes in boxes, like Russian dolls...
|
I
stroll a bit in the covered market. It is a patchwork of colours, smells, exotic fruits, spices, fish to make your head spin. A scene of Mauritian life, where Indians, Creoles, Asians and Europeans have mixed to create the people of the island. Then I finally come to the port, from where I will perhaps see Pierre Poivre's ship... In any case, I see the citadel fortress he never saw, for it was built only in 1838. To the north of Port-Louis, Grande Bay offers tourists, installed in the bungalows of dreamlike hotels, its beaches and its blue lagoon. Beautiful ideas of lazing around would almost make me forget why I came to Maurice: to find the treasures of Pierre Poivre. I am a treasure hunter. And it is time to get to work.
The
Grapefruit Garden
Pierre Poivre planted his invaluable cuttings in the garden of the former residence of the island governor, Mahé de la Bourdonnais. The Mont-Plaisir ( Mount Pleasure ) domain became the Grapefruit Garden , before being renamed the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgodan Botanical Garden (after independence in 1968). The park, enriched throughout the history of the island, is today one of the largest and most beautiful of the world-and, incidentally, my next destination. For conscience's sake, after having gone along cane sugar fields, I drop into the marine cemetery, dressed in green, where a lot of pirates are having a rest after the last combat: naval battles for bags of nails. I do not regret this homage paid to the adventurers whom I envy the courage and dreamed treasures.
Then, from meetings to smiles, I find myself in front Eden 's door, promising acidulous freshness: the Grapefruit Garden . If Mauritius is the garden of the Indian Ocean, Grapefruit Garden is its living heart. You only have to penetrate its alleys to believe in heaven on earth, and to give way to lyricism. To lose yourself among the palm trees that come from the entire world, precious essences, fruit trees and spices and see, to believe, these excessive plants, like banyans with the branch-roots, fromagers that extend their hands above the walker, and water lilies with their huge sheets able, it is said, to support the weight of a child, and whose flowers change colour the evening before dying. To meet, as in a dream, at the turning of a way, a stag taking shade from the sun or a giant tortoise walking with the dignity of a proprietor. To listen to the hundreds of birds in the rustling foliage is to understand that you have found the treasure of Pierre Poivre: a botanical jewel.
So much for my ideas of boxes full of jewels:
the treasure here is pepper and green. I continue my path,
slightly staggering, still exhilarated by my discovery.
I return to Port Louis to admire the setting sun. Tomorrow,
I'm going to leave to search for other treasures the island
still hides.
Veronique
Pommeret
© 2002
|
