Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
in northwestern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
established warehouses in Port-Louis. They later built additional warehouses across the bay in 1628, at the location which became known as "L'Orient" (''the Orient'' in French). In 1664, during the reign of King
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, the French East India Company was established at Port-Louis. The company established a shipyard at Lorient. The Company was not able to maintain itself financially, and it was abolished in 1769. In 1770, King
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
issued an edict that required the Company to transfer to the state all its properties, in return for which the King agreed to pay all of the Company’s debts and obligations. The French government then took over the shipyards as a naval port and arsenal.
Citadel
The Spanish engineer Cristóbal de Rojas built the Fuerte de Águila at the start of the Brittany Campaign in 1590 at what was then known as Port Blavet during the War of the Catholic League. At the time, the governor of Brittany, Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur, a Catholic, was in revolt against the new Protestant king Henry IV, and the Spanish were invited to provide support to their coreligionists. Henry converted to Catholicism in 1593, and eventually defeated de Mercœur in 1598, gaining control of the fort. The fort was extended in 1616–1636, during the reign of King Louis XIII. In 1836 Louis Napoleon, who would later become the emperor Napoleon III, was a prisoner in the citadel. Later prisoners included 1836 Communards and members of the
French Resistance
The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
, among others.
Today, the citadel houses four museums:
*Museum of the French East India Company (Musée de la Compagnie des Indes)
*Museum of Naval Weapons (Musée des Armes Navales)
*Museum of Port-Louis and the Citadel (Musée de Port-Louis et de la Citadelle)
*Museum of the Arsenal (Musée de l'Arsenal)
Population
Inhabitants of Port-Louis are called in French ''Port-Louisiens''.