Negotiations over the Past
Résumé
In 2009, a general strike paralyzed life in the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe for one and a half months. During the strike, all sides made references to the colonial past to explain the current situation. The political fight was not only about economic structures but also interpretations of the past; the memory conflict revealing the unfinished character of decolonization in the two islands. While open colonial nostalgia and ostensible racism were illegitimate in public discourse, colonial modes of thinking persisted. The case study shows how studying memory conflicts can shed light on changing political power structures.