Located at the entrance to the city, it was built in 1650 and expanded over the next century and a half to better defend Basse Terre against attacks from the English. And it was known as Fort Saint Charles until 1989, when it was named for Louis Delgrès, a freeborn mulatto militia commander who fought against a French force sent in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to reassert French control over the island and reimpose slavery, which had been abolished here eight years earlier. Here at the Battle of Matouba, rather than surrender, Delgrès and his forces committed suicide by blowing their own munitions stores. Today the fort is open to the public and offers guided tours and exhibitions.

Alexgrim