Chevalier de Saint-Georges Square

Landscape - Basse-Terre

Chevalier de Saint-Georges Square is located where Rue du Père Labat intersects with Julien Mallian and Chevalier de Saint-Georges streets. A pedestal holds a bust of Joseph Bologne, better known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges. He was born in around 1745 in nearby Baillif to a slave mother and planter father, and died in Paris on June 10, 1799. Excellent fencer and gifted, multi-talented musician (violinist, composer, orchestra conductor), Bologne also practiced dance, skating, and horseback-riding. As a member of the 18th-century abolitionist movement, he was influential in achieving the emancipation of the slaves of the European colonial empires. An ardent soldier, he was also a steadfast defender of French and republican values.