“Live free or die.” These were the final words of Solitude, a fearless freedom fighter executed for her role in the 1802 rebellion against French colonial rule in Guadeloupe.
Born into slavery in 1772, Solitude was the daughter of an African woman raped during the transatlantic voyage and a French sailor.
She grew up enslaved on a plantation, but her life took a dramatic turn when she was freed following the abolition of slavery in 1794.
However, when Napoleon reinstated slavery in 1802, she chose resistance over submission, joining a maroon community and aligning with rebel leaders like Louis Delgrès.
While pregnant, Solitude fought alongside freedom fighters against General Antoine Richepance’s troops, pushing herself into battle despite the life growing within her.
The rebellion lasted 18 days before she was captured, wounded by an explosion. Sentenced to death, she was granted a temporary reprieve—only until she gave birth.
On November 28, 1802, Solitude delivered her child. The next morning, she stepped out of her cell, her nightshirt stained with maternity’s milk, and faced execution.
The whereabouts of her child remain unknown.
Her legacy endures as a symbol of Caribbean resistance against oppression. In 1999, a statue honoring Solitude was erected in Abymes, Guadeloupe, immortalizing her courage and sacrifice for freedom.
