Christopher Columbus, Maria Galanda & Père Labat Rum: The Story Behind Marie-Galante
Updated: Oct 6
"We humans have an extraordinary ability to care about things beyond ourselves, to circle around those things with other people, and in the process to bind ourselves into teams that can pursue larger projects." — Jonathan Haidt
Travel Essentials
A day on Marie-Galante that includes the Poisson Distillery, Habitation Murat, and a slow island drive in between is also a long, warm day. The rum tasting alone calls for something cold to alternate with.
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An island with this much history deserves that kind of care.
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Visit the Poisson Distillery. Then find a windmill. The island tells its own story if you follow those two things.
The History Behind the Island
When Christopher Columbus arrived on November 3, 1493, he named the island Maria Galanda after his flagship. The Caribs, who had inhabited the island long before, called it Aumatou. Sugar production came later, and by the 18th century Marie-Galante had over 100 working windmills — you can still see many of them standing across the island today, a remarkable concentration of industrial heritage.
Père Jean-Baptiste Labat was a Dominican friar who arrived in the Caribbean in 1693 and is credited with significantly improving rum distillation techniques across the French Antilles. His influence on Caribbean rum production is still acknowledged today at the Poisson Distillery, one of Marie-Galante’s three active rum producers, where agricole rum — made from freshly pressed cane juice rather than molasses — is still produced using traditional methods. Tastings are available during opening hours.
A practical day loop covers the main heritage stops: start at Habitation Murat (the island’s largest and best-preserved sugar estate, now a cultural centre), continue to Moulin de Bézard (a restored 18th-century windmill with panoramic views), and end at the Poisson Distillery for a rum tasting before the return ferry. Rent a car or scooter in Grand-Bourg on arrival — the distances are too far to walk comfortably in the heat.
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