These boats sank when Montagne Pelée eruped on 8 May 1902. An exhibition organized by the Frank A. Perret Museum in Saint-Pierre recounts this tragedy.
On April 09, the eruption of La Soufrière in St. Vincent and the Grenadines reminded us that the Caribbean is a region dotted with volcanoes that can wake up at any time.
This is what happened on 8 May 1902 when the eruption of Montagne Pelée killed more than 30,000 people in the town of Saint-Pierre in Martinique within minutes. This disaster was the deadliest of the 20th century and the deadliest volcanic eruption in the world since the explosion of Krakatoa (Indonesia) in 1883.
To commemorate this disaster, the Franck A. Perret Museum in Saint-Pierre is offering an exhibition outside on the esplanade of the museum. It is a focus on the wrecks, identified or not, of the eruption of Montagne Pelée on 8 May 1902. It should be noted that the museum has collections presenting objects from underwater excavations and there is a memorial to the victims where some of the crew members are listed.
11 panels make up this exhibition and are located along the promenade like steles paying tribute to the victims of these ships that were wrecked in the bay of Saint-Pierre. Two panels present the historical and archaeological underwater context, four panels present the wrecks identified to date (Le Tamaya, Le Roraima, Le Diamant and Le Biscaye) and five concern wrecks whose identification is not yet definitive.
The exhibition is in free access every day.
The 1902 Disaster Memorial – Frank A. Perret Museum will be open to the public from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 May 2021.
