Battles across the centuries
A major sea battle between France and Great Britain in August 1810 – during the Napoleonic wars – is very much on the minds of Associate Laureate Geoffrey Summers and his wife Françoise. At stake in the conflict was control of the harbour of Grand Port on the south-east coast of Mauritius. At the time the island was a key strategic point in the Indian Ocean as the European powers fought for global influence.
British archaeologist Geoffrey and Mauritian-born architect Françoise are well known for their success in unearthing the secrets of an ancient city on Turkey’s Anatolian Plateau that was destroyed in another battle – 2,550 years ago. Geoffrey Summers was selected as an Associate Laureate in 2002 for his use of technology to map the ancient city that he and his wife believe is Pteria, capital of an Anatolian state that lay within the Median Empire.
Alongside their work in Turkey, the Summers have been visiting Mauritius regularly since 2002, focusing their research on Ile de la Passe, an islet near Grand Port, the site of the first settlement by the Dutch in 1598 and later occupied by the French. Ile de la Passe commands the passage through reefs into the bay and was thus the focus of the August 1810 battle.
“Structures from the French period are uniquely preserved because, unlike coastal defences in the northern hemisphere, they were not modified or replaced in more recent conflicts,” says Geoffrey Summers. Françoise adds that objects found in the excavations have provided extensive information on the life of the soldiers there.
To mark next year’s 200th anniversary of the Battle of Grand Port and the subsequent capture of Mauritius by the British, the Summers have helped put together an exhibition that has been hosted at the National History Museum of Mauritius and other venues.
The pair has also produced a pocket guide to the battle. The exhibition and pocket guide are part of a wide outreach by the National Heritage Fund of Mauritius that embraces schools and communities with the aim of giving local people a greater understanding of their heritage.
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