Reassessing Heritage Authenticity Through the Community Preservation of Creole Houses in Port Louis, Mauritius

The question of African authenticity in heritage requires a contextual reframing in Mauritius, an island shaped by centuries of colonisation and creolisation without an indigenous population. Port Louis, the capital, became the main port of arrival for enslaved populations during French colonisation. Their knowledge and practices informed the emergence of Creole architecture, as colonial designs were adapted to tropical climates and local materials through non-European wisdom. Yet the enslaved remain unrecognised for their contribution to this built fabric. The Creole houses of Port Louis embody these architectural adaptations in their materiality, typologies, and techniques. However, increasing demolitions reveal the weakness of existing heritage frameworks, which overlook their cultural and social significance. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach developed by Minguzzi (2025)—archival research, case study analysis, and ethnographic engagement—to highlight grassroots resistance that challenges dominant frameworks and sustains community practices of preservation. Framing Creole houses as both tangible structures and sites of intangible cultural heritage, the chapter situates them within debates on African authenticity and advances a decolonial, community-centred model of preservation grounded in lived experience.