Christopher Columbus, Maria Galanda & Père Labat Rum: The Story Behind Marie-Galante
Updated: Sep 27
Ready for a feel-good escape? Here’s a simple, nature-focused way to enjoy this place at its best.
Learn the story of Marie-Galante’s name—from Amerindian roots and Columbus’s 1493 voyage to the island’s sugarcane heritage and the famous Père Labat rum still produced today.
Before Europeans: Amerindian names and early presence
Long before European arrival, Marie-Galante was inhabited by Amerindian peoples—first the Arawaks and later the Caribs.
According to historical sources summarized on Wikipedia, the island was known by several Amerindian names, including Aïchi (also cited as Aulinagan), meaning ‘land of cotton’ in the Carib language, and Touloukaera, meaning ‘island abundant in touloulou crabs.’
These names reflect how closely early island life was tied to nature, coastal resources, and local materials.
3 November 1493: Columbus and the name ‘Maria Galanda’
On his second voyage, Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) reached the island on 3 November 1493.
In his logbook, he recorded the name ‘Maria Galanda,’ after his flagship (the admiral’s ship). Some sources also associate the ship’s name with ‘Santa Maria.’
Over time, ‘Maria Galanda’ evolved into the name we know today: Marie-Galante.
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Sugarcane, windmills, and the making of an island identity
From the 17th century onward, French colonization transformed Marie-Galante into a major sugar-producing island.
The island’s fertile limestone plateau proved ideal for sugarcane cultivation, and the many windmills still standing across the landscape remain powerful symbols of this era.
Père Labat and the rum legacy that lives on
Père Labat is a name closely linked to rum history in the French West Indies.
In Marie-Galante, the Poisson distillery is famously associated with ‘Père Labat’ rum—still produced and sold today, and considered one of the island’s iconic spirits.
If you’re exploring the island, a distillery visit is one of the best ways to connect heritage with living craftsmanship.
How to experience this story on the island
To connect the dots between history and today’s island life, combine a heritage visit with a distillery stop.
Heritage stop: Habitation Murat eco-museum (sugarcane era and historical context)
Rum stop: Poisson Distillery (Père Labat)
Scenic stop: windmill spotting on a slow island drive
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Practical tips
Getting there: ferries run from Pointe-à-Pitre and Saint-François.
Best time: December–April for the driest weather.
Getting around: rent a car or scooter for maximum freedom.
Travel gently: bring reef-safe sunscreen and reduce single-use plastic.
Enjoy the journey—travel gently, stay curious, and leave every place a little better than you found it.
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Useful resources
Official reference: Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Board
The island that gave rum a name — and a legend
Marie-Galante's connection to rum runs deeper than just production: the Poisson distillery, one of the oldest still operating in the French Antilles, remains the home of Père Labat rum — a name taken from Jean-Baptiste Labat, the Dominican friar who arrived in Guadeloupe in 1693 and is credited with improving the distillation techniques that shaped Caribbean rum-making for generations. Whether or not Labat himself ever set foot on Marie-Galante, his name became synonymous with the island's most celebrated export. A visit to the Poisson distillery near Grand-Bourg includes a tour of the sugarcane fields, the pressing equipment, and a tasting of the agricole rum still produced here, made entirely from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses.
The island's circular shape — it is remarkably flat, with its highest point, Morne Constant, reaching only 204 meters — made it exceptionally suited to sugarcane cultivation. At its peak, Marie-Galante counted over 100 windmills grinding cane across the limestone plateau. Today, around a dozen are still standing, scattered across the countryside between the three towns. Moulin de Bézard, near Capesterre, is the best preserved and can be visited. The historic Habitation Murat estate, also near Capesterre, gives a fuller picture of the plantation economy that shaped the island's landscape and population for two centuries.
How to explore Marie-Galante's heritage in a day
Ferries run from Pointe-à-Pitre to Grand-Bourg in about 45 minutes to 1 hour. From the port, rent a car or scooter to reach the distillery (about 3 kilometers), Moulin de Bézard (9 kilometers), and Habitation Murat (10 kilometers) — all clustered enough to visit in a half-day loop before heading to the beach. The distillery is open to visitors most mornings; check ahead for current hours. If you are staying overnight on the island, the pace slows considerably after the day-trippers return on the afternoon ferry, and the island reveals its quieter self.
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