The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery

An impressive 400 meter-long walkway under the quayside, from the Victor-Schoelcher passage to the Anne-de-Bretagne bridge. This memorial pays homage to all those who have fought and are still fighting against slavery in all its forms throughout the world. All along the green esplanade are 2000 commemorative plaques noting ships leaving Nantes on slave trade expeditions and the main African and American trading posts, revealing the enormity of the abhorrent slave-trafficking. Under the quayside, a 90 meter-long underground passage evokes the captives in the ships’ holds, inciting us to think about fighting for the abolition of slavery and the modern form it takes today. Throughout this thought-provoking walk reached by a decorative staircase, a series of quotations, in every language, from times past and present and from all over; they depict humanity’s long combat against slavery. The tour ends in an area denoting the history of the slave trade across the Atlantic and its 11 million victims.