Musée d’Aquitaine

The Musée d’Aquitaine was officially established in 1962 at the initiative of the museologist Georges Henri Rivière, but Bordeaux had gathered collections for much longer (1594). In 2009, the museum began the renovation of its permanent spaces, starting with the eighteenth century. These new rooms grant a substantial place to the Atlantic trade, as well as the issue of the slave trade and slavery under the new scientific and cultural project that seek to develop the history of the relations that Bordeaux had with the rest of the world over time. Different spaces focus on the role of the city of Bordeaux in the eighteenth century in France and on the various modes and challenges of Bordeaux’s maritime trade, the organisation of the slave system in the sugar islands, and finally examine the consequences of slavery in our societies. Today, the museum is defined as both a "heritage museum" which presents collections of great interest and a "museum of civilization" that questions the past to respond to contemporary issues. Source: Website of the Musée d'Aquitaine (http://www.musee-aquitaine-bordeaux.fr/fr)