47:, a small island town, daughter of a former enslaved woman, recently liberated by abolition, Marie-Sophie, known as Zulma. At a time when slaves were illiterate, Lumina had access to education and literature, reading newspapers and becoming interested in French politics on the island. She was registered under the name of Marie-Philomène Sophie. Later, the administration would give the mother and daughter the surname of Roptus. Thus, Marie-Philomène Sophie became Marie-Philomène Roptus, but everyone calls her Lumina (diminutive of Philomène) Sophie (of her mother's name).
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Lumina was 21 years old and was already an independent, strong-willed young girl, often seen in the village markets and the town of Rivière Pilote. Around this time , she met Emile Sidney, the son of a liberated family before slavery, which keeps her informed about the daily lives of the rural population, abusive taxes, contempt and lack of access to education.
101:. His son, Théodore Lumina, was born in prison and was separated from his mother at birth, dying about seven months later. In 1877, Lumina was forced to marry a former prisoner and farmer from French Guiana, 14 years her senior, and Lumina died two years later from illness and ill-treatment, in September 15 1879.
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In
September of 1870, in Rivière Pilote's market, Lumina met with the other demonstrators, shouting for the liberation of Lubin. On September 22, the population of southern Martinique and especially that of Rivière Pilote exploded in revolt with Lumina as one of the insurgents. She was in her second
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This was not the first case of injustices perpetrated by the island's justice system. White flags (a nostalgic symbol of royalty and white supremacy) were hoisted in the streets in provocation and a farmer accused of raping an ex-slave and abandoning his body was convicted with only a fine. Angered
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According to the records, her mother was already the head of the family when Lumina was only 6 years old. Her family is basically composed by women like grandmother, aunts, cousins and nieces. They lived in a lease where they grew bananas, cocoa and coffee, where men worked in the fields and women
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and chief of the town's naval service. The case was brought to court and
Leopold was convicted of libel and assault, which the population soon saw as a case involving racism. In solidarity, a movement led by Lumina rises, where she petitions and raises money to pay the costs of Leopold's defense.
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With the death of the grandmother, the family scattered. Installed in another lease, Lumina helped the mother in the harvest, learned to sew, went with her to the market, and proved quite precocious for politics. While working on crops, she saw the precarious way of life of most workersIn 1870,
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Several charges of insurrection and revolt were made against Lumina, whom the governor of
Martinique called "the fiercest, the most fearsome of the hooligan gang leaders." Her first trial was from March 17 to April 17, 1871. She is presented as a woman seeking to "dominate men." The governor
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month of pregnancy and marched toward the public jail with the crowd behind her. In the ensuing chaos, Emile and several other men of the movement disappeared or were found dead. Lumina took the fight but the revolt was quickly defeated; she was captured on
September 26, 1870 and sent to
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wrote a play staged in France and in its territories on the life of Lumina and its history has been remembered by local artists. A high school in
Martinique was named after her. In 2008, a biography written by Gilbert Pago collected facts and dates about her life and struggle.
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In 1870, Leopold Lubin, a black sailor, a member of a family of bricklayers, had a violent argument with Augier
Maintenon, a young European, assistant commissar of the
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Racist provocations are made by members of the local trade, including one of them who was in
Leopold's jury and is proud to have condemned him.
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L'histoire tragique de Marie-Philomene Roptus dite Lumina Sophie dite
Surprise (1848-1879)
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27:(November 5, 1848 — September 15, 1879) was a heroine of the 1870 revolt on the island of
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identifies her as the "flame of revolt" and she was sentenced to life imprisonment in
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by the constant provocations, the rural workers are organized around Lumina.
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Lumina was born in 1848, the year slavery was abolished in
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took care of the household, children, sewing and cooking.
164:"Remembering the pregnant teen renegade of Martinique"
335:"LUMINA SOPHIE, INSURGÉE CONTRE LA SÉGRÉGATION"
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274:"Lumina Sophie dite Surprise"
247:"Lumina Sophie dite Surprise"
215:"Lumina Sophie dite Surprise"
185:"Lumina Sophie dite Surprise"
337:. L'histoire par les femmes.
304:. Ibis Rouge. p. 340.
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373:19th century in Martinique
249:. Revolution Socialiste.
91:Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
300:Pago, Gilbert (2008).
25:Marie-Philomène Roptus
368:History of Martinique
187:. Une autre histoire.
245:Gilbert Pago (ed.).
162:Fiona Zublin (ed.).
378:19th-century rebels
213:Vanessa Lee (ed.).
217:. Dangerous Woman.
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78:Fort Desaix
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33:pétroleuses
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59:The revolt
39:Early life
29:Martinique
19:, called "
118:See also
21:Surprise
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166:. OZY.
105:Legacy
99:Creole
306:ISBN
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