Petit-Canal is the landing site for slave ships, those vessels that once transported enslaved people 'kidnapped' from Africa as part of the triangular trade. The old slave prison in this photo is abandoned, and you explore it at your own risk, according to your best judgment. It is located about 150 meters from the Slave Steps (on the left side if facing the steps).
A stone staircase with 49 steps leads to the church square, where the slave auctions took place after they disembarked from the ships. Those who hadn't died during the crossing, either from illness or exhaustion, were brought there, shackled and chained, to be sold, while the defiant ones were locked up in prison.These various remnants are historically symbolic, yet they are not well highlighted in Guadeloupe. Only an informational panel at the top of the slave steps provides some details.You may be overwhelmed with emotion while walking in this place. Some will feel hatred, sadness, incomprehension, or anger as they remember the site's symbolic and slave-related past.