Museum of Days Gone By

Museum - Petit-Canal

This museum space, dedicated to the cultural heritage of Guadeloupe, plunges visitors into the daily lives of Guadeloupians in years gone by. With a focus that is both ethnological and educational, it exhaustively explores what life was like from the time of our early origins to the 1960s, with displays of common objects, traditional implements, and ways of living and using the natural environment, all within a historical context. Exhibitions include Containers and Receptacles, The Festival Tradition, Work Tools, Eating for Survival, The Indian Immigration, and Our Mother the Ocean. In this way, the museum informs commonly held notions and contributes to a better understanding of Guadeloupe and its history, lifestyles, and attitudes. The museum houses a permanent collection of 500 historical objects divided into three categories:  local creations, adaptations, and imported objects. This collection is regularly augmented by donations from collectors and individuals, as well as purchases from antique sellers. The history of the museum is closely tied to that of the Association Patrimoine et Saviors (Heritage and Knowledge Association), which was created on July 31, 1998, by the Société d’Histoire de la Guadeloupe (Guadeloupe Historical Society), which proposed the idea for a popular art and traditions museum to be located in the commune of Petit-Canal and curated by historian and native son Raymond Boutin for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and showcasing Guadeloupe heritage.