The 13th Route du Rhum race from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe highlights athletic achievement but also recalls Saint-Malo's role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Race begins in Saint-Malo
On Sunday, November 1, 116 boats will depart from Saint-Malo, a city in the French region of Ille-et-Vilaine, heading to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe for the 13th Route du Rhum, a sailing race known for its challenging Atlantic crossing. Athletic challenge on the Atlantic
For the skippers participating in the race, the Atlantic Ocean serves as both a testing ground for their physical and mental endurance and a stage for competitive sailing, with the goal of reaching the Caribbean destination as quickly as possible. Historical link to the slave trade
The route of the race overlaps with a darker chapter in history: between 1669 and 1827, shipowners from Saint-Malo organized around 250 slave expeditions, transporting nearly 80,000 people across the Atlantic as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Human cost of the slave trade
The transatlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to the 19th century, is estimated to have claimed the lives of about 1.8 million people, many of whom died during the perilous journey across the ocean in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Efforts to acknowledge the past
Despite the race’s popularity and the involvement of sponsors and spectators, the history of the slave trade is largely absent from the event’s narrative. Activists, historians, and residents of Guadeloupe are working to bring attention to this overlooked past and ensure it is not forgotten.
