On September 22, 1870, Martinique erupted in flames. An act of injustice triggered a bloody insurrection against colonial oppression. Between popular revolt and brutal repression, discover how a people rose up for justice and equality.
February 1870, Rivière-Pilote: One whipping too many
The story begins like so many others under colonial rule: a humiliation, an injustice, a complicit silence from the authorities.
February 1870. Léopold Lubin, a young Black man from Martinique, crosses paths with Augier de Maintenon, a naval sub-commissioner—a white man, a man of power. A look, a posture, a gesture misinterpreted, and the whip cracks through the air, landing on Lubin’s skin. The message is clear: white privilege is not to be questioned here.
But this time, the story doesn’t end there. Lubin does not suffer in silence; he refuses to be yet another victim of colonial arbitrariness. Two months later, he encounters de Maintenon again and gives him a well-deserved beating. But in a society where justice wears only one face, the price for such defiance is steep.
The verdict falls: five years of hard labor, a 1,500-franc fine. Lubin is crushed, but his people refuse to bow. The hour of revolt has struck.
September 1870: The south ignites
The sentencing of Léopold Lubin resounds like a declaration of war. In the southern communes, anger swells. The formerly enslaved feel the winds shift. The Republic, which was supposed to have freed them in 1848, betrays them once again. Enough is enough.
On September 22, 1870, hundreds of Martiniquans take up arms—armed with cutlasses, machetes, and righteous fury. Their goal: to make their cry for justice heard. Colonial plantations burn, planters and local elites flee, and the island’s south becomes a blaze of revolt.
At the heart of this uprising stands Lumina Sophie, two months pregnant, proudly bearing the torch of resistance. Nicknamed “Surprise,” she becomes a symbol of the Martinican people’s determination in the face of oppression.
Colonial repression: Might makes right
In response to the popular insurrection, the colonial administration has only one answer: bloody repression.
Colonial troops encircle the South, take control of Saint-Esprit as a strategic stronghold, and launch a manhunt for the insurgents. The leaders are captured, subjected to summary trials—some executed, others deported.
Lumina Sophie, arrested in November 1870, is sentenced to deportation to French Guiana, where she dies in atrocious conditions at the age of 27. Her crime? Daring to demand justice for her people.
Consequences: A Revolt Etched in History
Though the Southern Insurrection is crushed, it does not vanish. This episode becomes a milestone in the struggle of Martiniquans against oppression—a prelude to future battles for equality.
Léopold Lubin, Lumina Sophie, and all the 1870 insurgents were not criminals.
They were heroes of social justice, pioneers in the fight against colonial domination.
Today, their names still resonate in Martinique, a reminder that freedom is something to be won and defended.
The story of an unfinished struggle
The story of the 1870 insurrection is not merely a chapter from the past. It reflects ongoing struggles today, in Martinique and beyond.
As long as injustice persists, the voices of Léopold Lubin and Lumina Sophie will continue to echo.
This uprising is a historical reminder, a cry of rage carved into collective memory—a lesson that oppression never triumphs forever.
Sources:
- What to Remember About the Southern Insurrection? – la1ere.francetvinfo.fr
- Lumina Sophie and the 1870 Revolt – capiremov.org
- 150 Years Ago: The Start of the Southern Insurrection – rci.fm
- Saint-Esprit, Stronghold of the 1870 Repression – fr.wikipedia.org
- An Echo in Today’s Martinique – la1ere.francetvinfo.fr
