Fort Saint Louis (Martinique)

Fort Saint Louis (often hyphenated as Fort Saint-Louis) is a seaside fortress in Fort-de-France, Martinique. The present-day fort has evolved from earlier strongholds that were erected on the site as early as 1638, and has been known in previous incarnations as Fort Royal and Fort de la Republique. The modern-day Fort Saint Louis is both an active naval base and a listed historic site of France. There are daily tours of the fort, though the portion that is still a naval base is off-limits.

Fort Saint Louis is under command of the capitaine de vaisseau in charge of the navy and the naval air forces for the Caribbean (COMAR ANTILLES). The forces based here include the BATRAL Francis Garnier (L9031); the P400 class patrol vessel Fougueuse (P685); and the frigate Ventôse (F733).

The active part of the fort includes the administrative buildings of the base, the service for naval constructions, the radio station of Pointe des Sables, ammunition storage facilities (at the end of Fort de France), and the Rivière Salée station (20 km away).

Fort Saint Louis has a commanding view of the anchorage of Fort-de-France, the island's capital city. It stands on a rocky peninsula at the edge of Fort-de-France Bay.

The fort has been home to many generations of a small but enduring colony of Green Iguana. The species, Iguana iguana, is not indigenous to Martinique and the reptiles are thought to have arrived by boat from either French Guyana or the Îles des Saintes and thrived in the fort area after their release or escape.

In 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique established a French colony in Martinique, which the company governed until 1650. In 1638, Jacques Dyel du Parquet (1606-1658), nephew of Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc and first governor of Martinique, decided to have Fort Saint Louis built to protect the city against enemy attacks. The fort was soon destroyed, and rebuilt in 1669, when Louis XIV appointed Jean-Charles de Baas-Castelmore, the Marquis of Baas, as governor general. Under his orders and those of his successors, particularly the Count of Blénac, the fort was built along the lines of a Vauban design.

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