New book pays tribute to the work of sometimes overlooked geniuses
An orphan child slave changes the world
Edmond Albius (1829-1880),Ā RĆ©union
At the age of 12, Edmond Albius, an orphaned child slave, invented something so wondrous it would change the world of taste and perfume forever. He was born on the remote, lush Indian Ocean island of Isle de Bourbon in 1829 in the tiny town of Sainte Suzanne. Isle de Bourbon, now known as RĆ©union, is a French island situated between Africa and the subcontinent of India. Its closest neighbour is Madagascar.
Edmond was born without a surname, as slaves were not permitted a last name under French slavery laws. His mother, Melise, died in childbirth. He never met his father. At a young age, Edmond was sent by his first owner to work at the estate of her brother, FƩrƩol Bellier-Beaumont, who was known for his skills in botany and horticulture. The French colonisers used slave labour from Africa to grow food for the European market. One of the many crops that Bellier-Beaumont and his fellow French farmers were tasked to cultivate was vanilla. However, successful vanilla farming to date had proved elusive.
Spanish explorers first introduced vanilla from Mexico to Europe 300 years previously, and European royalty had fallen for its subtle, warm aromatic flavour. Britainās Queen Elizabeth I added it to her puddings. The courtesans of King Louis of France flavoured their soups with vanilla during their lavish dinner parties. The physician to King Philip II of Spain called it a miracle drug, which could soothe the stomach, reduce flatulence, and cause āthe urine to flow admirably.ā It was also considered an aphrodisiac. Demand was so great that by the 18th century, vanilla was literally worth its weight in silver. There was just one problem ā and it was a big problem ā the vanilla pod and not the vanilla orchid is where the heady taste is derived.
Attempts were made to grow the vanilla pod in Europe. However, Europeans discovered that the vanilla pod is very difficult to cultivate. When the plants failed to produce vanilla pods, it was decided to move them to the colonies with similar climates to Mexico. The Spanish attempted to grow crops in the Philippines, the Dutch in Java, and the British in India. The vanilla orchid grew and produced flowers, yet no vanilla pods from which the flavour was extracted grew from the orchid. Try as they might, the greatest European botanists could not reproduce the vanilla bean. In Mexico, a little bee, native exclusively to the area, does the deed.
Fast forward to 1829 and the birth of Edmond Albius. When Edmond was transferred to Bellier-Beaumontās plantation, he soon became a favourite with the slave owner, who wrote: āThis young black boy became my constant companion, a favourite child always at my feet.ā Edmond spent most of his days following Bellier-Beaumont around the estate, watching him tend to his plants.
Twenty-two years before Edmondās arrival on the farm, Bellier-Beaumont had received vanilla plants from Paris, but only one plant had survived. Like all the others, it never fruited. Bellier-Beaumont instilled a passion for botany in the young Edmond. It is said that Edmond spent time examining different flowers, vegetables, and fruit and how they grew. Bellier-Beaumont had shown Edmond how to hand-pollinate a watermelon by marrying the male and female parts together. The plantation owner had tried the same principle with vanilla but with no success.
One morning, while walking with Edmond, Bellier-Beaumont discovered two vanilla pods hanging on his solitary vanilla orchid vine. āMon Dieu, it is a miracle.ā āNot a miracle,ā the young slave child replied shyly, āit is I who produced the fruit.ā Edmond had discovered a way to successfully reproduce the vanilla pod.
Naturally, Bellier-Beaumont refused to believe that an island orphan child slave with no formal European education could beat the minds of the greatest European botanists. Bellier-Beaumont ordered Edmond to do it again. And so Edmond did. Two days later, there were more pods.
Historians are not sure how this clever young child invented the technique. The individual lives of slaves are rarely documented. Perhaps out of sheer childhood curiosity, Edmond explored the solitary vanilla vine. Perhaps he was born with a natural talent for botany and all things green. This will remain a mystery, lost in the annals of island time.
What we do know is that Edmond found the anther, which produced the pollen, and the stigma, which needed to be dusted. Then he discovered that the two parts were separated by a little flap. He used a thin toothpick-like stick (some say a blade of grass) to lift the flap, exposing the stigma, which caused the anther to shift upwards. The anther sac touched the stigma, but just to make sure they connected, Edmond pushed them together with his thumb and forefinger. This procedure is known as āthe marriage.ā If the marriage is successful, the pod is ready to harvest nine months later.
Bellier-Beaumont, excited by this invention, contacted his fellow farmers on the island with the news. The child slave was sent to the various plantations to teach other slaves and their owners how to hand-pollinate the vanilla orchid.
Text |Ā Dr Candice Bailey, Lerato Makate, Sizwe Malinga, Les Owen, and Therese Owen
Photography |Ā Supplied and Chomplearn
We Were Always Here: Stories of Black Inventors Across the African DiasporaĀ by Dr Candice Bailey, Lerato Makate, Sizwe Malinga, Les Owen, and Therese Owen is available now. This extract is published by permission.