Port of Dives-sur-Mer

The Port of Dives-sur-Mer, Port de Dives-sur-Mer, is the harbour of the Norman town of Dives-sur-Mer, France. It is from this harbour that William the Conqueror left for England to claim the throne.

The River Dives' estuary used to be larger than it is now. A large head of land protects the natural and gives adequate protection to light craft from the sea.

William chose the port of Dives as the starting point of his campaign to claim the throne of England. The port has always been known as a thriving port and under Louis XIV, one of his ministers Colbert, decided, in 1676 to begin remodel the area. During the 13th century, the port of Dives was a commercial place for Spanish and Portuguese merchants, their trade in leathers and wine from Cordoba interested the monks of the Saint-Etienne abbey of Caen who imposed import taxation. It is then that the Dives swamps were irrigated and drained and that the course of the River Dives was modified. During the many centuries of war between France and England, the port showed a strategic and military importance.

Several naval battles occurred outside the port. On 29 May 1798, the frigate la Confiante and the corvette la Vésuve, having left Le Havre were pursued by three English ships and tried to gain shelter in the port of Dives. To prevent them from doing so, the English ships began to fire on the French for five hours. Finally, la Confiante, having sustained heavy damage, ran ashore on the pointe de Beuzeval, where it was burnt down.

Around 1860, project to enlarge the port came to fruition. Activity increased. In 1881, the port's registry logged 203 ship movements. Ships with a draft of up to 4 m regularly used the port which had 29 registered fishing boats. The port was then used by all types of ships, fishing, sailing and Cabotage.

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