La Mulatresse Solitude Tribute Candle
The Lest We Forget Collection honors our ancestors who were ripped from their homeland and torn away from a beautiful life and brought to America as enslaved people. With this collection, we honor and remember their pain and the beauty of their indomitable spirits. We created this special collection and added names of enslaved people who built this country; who found joy despite their circumstances; who lived and loved through it all. We especially begin this collective series with a tribute to La Mulatresse Solitude.
Born in slavery in the plantations of Guadeloupe in 1772, Solitude’s father was a French sailor and her mother was an African woman who was reportedly raped during a voyage on the slave ship.
A beautiful woman with a brown skin and charming eyes which were of different colouration, Solitude was admired by many. When her mother fled the plantation where she was enslaved, Solitude was left all alone with her enslavers.
Slavery was abolished in 1794 in the French colonies due to the Haitian Slave revolt. The French government took that move in order to avoid a generalized slave revolt in all its colonies.
But eight years after the abolition, Napoleon Bonaparte restored slavery in the French colonies and sent about 3,500 troops led by General Antoine Richepance to Guadeloupe to enforce that decree.
Solitude was freed in the first abolition of 1794, but after Napoleon’s decree, she was classified as a “maroon” and joined a group of freedom fighters that were led by men such as Louis Delgrès, Ignace, Paleme and Jacquet.
They organized as a small army and fought against the French troops. On May 10, 1802, Delgrès launched a proclamation entitled “To the whole universe, the last cry of innocence and despair”.
Solitude, though a few months pregnant, joined this fight against Richepance’s troops. She was said to be a fierce and fearless warrior who “pushed herself and her belly into the heart of the battles” at Dole, Trou-aux-chiens, Fond-Bananier, and Capesterre.
“From victory to victory, and then from setback to setback, she pushed herself and her womb all the way up into the mountains before the final defeat." After eighteen days of combat, Richepance’s side overpowered the rebels and Delgrès and his comrades died in an explosion.
Solitude got injured in the explosion and was captured and sentenced to death. But since the child in her womb was to become the property of her slave owner, she was temporarily pardoned and her execution was rescheduled to the day after the birth.
She gave birth on November 28, 1802, and on the morning of the following day, the greatest heroine of the revolution, who was now 30 years, stepped out of jail peacefully while, according to accounts, maternity’s milk slowly stained her nightshirt. “Live free or die” were Solitude’s last words. She was then executed with no one knowing the whereabouts of her child.
Solitude has since been described as the symbol of Caribbean women who fought to protect the ideals of equality and freedom. Her name is still on the lips of many, and now graces squares and avenues in Guadeloupe. According to accounts, she has also been featured in a poem, a song, a library, and a museum room, and now, she is honored with a Tupelo Rose Candle. Ashe.
A statue honouring Solitude was erected in 1999 in the community called les Abymes (Guadeloupe).
These candles were made with blessings, intention and affirmed with the strength, courage, power and overcoming spirit of victory that was endowed to us by our ancestors who came before us. May you be blessed by remembering that they lived, loved and survived insurmountable odds. Say their names. They will never be forgotten and we will forever be grateful.
Solitude symbolizes in Caribbean collective imagination all the unknown women and mothers who courageously fought for equality and freedom from slavery.
Scent: Pink Sugar Crystals Pink Sugar Crystals is a sweetly sophisticated take on a cotton candy fragrance. This sugary scent is enhanced by fruity notes of strawberry, raspberry, and black currant, while base notes of tonka, vanilla, and a hint of light musk keep this ultra sweet scent grounded.
Hand-poured, hand-blended in lush soy-blend wax. Lush smoky topaz colored heavy vessel with tapered cork top.Perfect to reuse and recycle this gorgeous vessel.
Single Cotton wick
phthalate-free fragrance oils
Burn Time: 65-75 hours