Edmond Albius

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Edmond Albius [ ɛdˈmɔ̃ alˈbjys ] (* 1829 in Sainte-Suzanne on Réunion ; † 1880 on Réunion) invented a practical process for the manual pollination of vanilla ( Vanilla planifolia ) in 1841 .

Life

Albius was born in St. Suzanne on Réunion. His mother, a slave, died in childbirth and he was adopted by his owner, Féréol Bellier Beaumont. At the age of 12, he made the invention that made La Réunion the largest vanilla producer in the world. In 1848 slavery was abolished and Albius went to St. Denis , where he worked as a kitchen assistant. Albius is said to have stolen jewelry and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, after five years he was pardoned by the governor for his contribution to the prosperity of La Reunion . Albius died in poverty in St. Suzanne in 1880.

Importance of the invention

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A portrait of Edmond Albius holding the leaves of Spiced Vanilla ( Vanilla planifolia ) in his hands.
Reunion Island

French colonialists brought the spiced vanilla to Réunion and nearby Mauritius in the 1820s. They wanted to start large-scale cultivation there. However, no insect pollinated the plants. Botany professor Charles Morren from the University of Liège had developed a process in the 1830s in which the plants were dusted by hand. But this technique was slow and not worth it. Albius' invention was so important at the time because the Spaniards had a monopoly on spices , including the vanilla plant, which could only be cultivated in Mexico for 300 years . Only at the beginning of the 19th century (1807) were cuttings illegally brought to Java and La Réunion . It was not until June 26, 1819, that it was legally brought to the island by the French Pierre-Henri Philiber and David de Floris . The old name of the island was Île Bourbon ("Bourbon Island"), hence the name Bourbon vanilla . Despite the tropical climate , the vanilla flowers did not form pods - they remained unfertilized. What you did not know then, was that in Central America native stingless bee of the genus Melipona and representatives of the bird family of hummingbirds as pollinators the pollination make.

In 1841 Albius discovered how to easily pollinate the vanilla plant: the rostellum , the flap between the male anthers and the female stigma, is lifted with a thin stick or a blade of grass and the sticky pollen from the anthers is brushed over the stigma with the thumb.

The discovery of the twelve-year-old slave boy Edmond Albius allowed the industrial development and cultivation of vanilla and is still used today. The Mexicans' great vanilla monopoly collapsed, as they were no longer the only vanilla exporters in the world. Seven years later, 50 kg of vanilla pods were exported from La Réunion to France, which increased to 200 t by 1898.

Since the original brand name "Vanille Bourbon" may also be used in Madagascar and the Comoros, a new label was created on La Réunion, the "Vanille de l'île de la Réunion". This is an attempt to set itself apart from other vanilla-producing countries, because the high proportion of manual labor in connection with the high wages compared to those in the other countries of the economic area there significantly affects Réunion's competitiveness on the international vanilla market. In 1999, for example, the production costs for one kilogram of vanilla verte were € 2.30 in Madagascar and € 9.10 in La Réunion.

Although nowadays the synthetic production of the flavoring substance vanillin is much cheaper, the natural spiced vanilla contains over 50 additional natural flavoring substances, which shape its unique aroma character and therefore make it irreplaceable up to now.

  • A vanilla blossom

  • Vanilla cultivation

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Spices make history (4) Vanilla - News from the Old World BR-online with video content ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ La vanille Bourbon ( Memento of November 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) List of municipalities on Réunion
  3. ↑ Spiced Vanilla - Vanilla cultivation
  4. ↑ Signe Mikulane, Vanille: History, Breeding / Grafting and Economic Importance (PDF; 7.2 MB) In: Geographisches Institut der Univ. Heidelberg (ed.), Île de la Réunion. Final report on the big excursion pp. 103–110, p. 98
  5. ↑ Karina Friedrich, Anja Stubbe Flora and Fauna of Mauritius and La Reunion
  6. ↑ Sebastian Günthert, Agriculturalography on La Réunion - Use and Operating Systems. (PDF; 7.2 MB) In: Geographical Institute of the Univ. Heidelberg (ed.), Île de la Réunion. Final report on the big excursion p. 93–103, p. 98
personal data
SURNAME Albius, Edmond
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Inventor of a practical method for manual dusting of the spiced vanilla
DATE OF BIRTH 1829
PLACE OF BIRTH Sainte-Suzanne (Reunion Island)
DATE OF DEATH 1880
Place of death Reunion Island