Colonialism, Slavery and ‘The Great Experiment’: Carbon, Nitrogen and 1 Oxygen Isotope Analysis of Le Morne and Bois Marchand Cemeteries, Mauritius

Archaeological aspects of slavery, colonialism and emancipation have been well-studied in the Atlantic region, but comparatively little research has been undertaken in the Indian Ocean area. In particular, the lifeways of colonial populations, especially bondmen and women, freed slaves and indentured labourers remains under-studied. Mauritius formed an important node in the movement of people in the Indian Ocean and beyond, and was the home of the ‘Great Experiment’, when the British replaced slavery with ‘free’, indentured, labour. This study uses carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope analysis to investigate the diet and life histories of two cemetery populations from Mauritius: Le Morne, thought to be a post-emancipation cemetery; and Bois Marchand, a formal public cemetery dating from 1867.