Foto: Martin Reith · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Travel guides
Forts and history of southern Haiti
Fort Saint-Louis, Fort des Oliviers, Fort des Platons, Fort Tiburon, Bolívar in Les Cayes, the pirates of Île-à-Vache: the history of the South, place by place.
The South is full of history: pirates, colonial forts, battles for independence, and a Liberator who came looking for help.
The forts
- Fort Saint-Louis (Fort des Anglais): a French fort built in 1702 on an islet in the Bay of Saint-Louis. The British took it in 1748, which is where its local nickname comes from. You reach it by dugout canoe.
- Fort des Oliviers: on a rocky peninsula in the same bay. Free entry; no facilities on site.
- Fort des Platons: built after 1804 under General Nicolas Geffrard, to defend Haiti in case the French returned. In the Ducis area of Torbeck.
- Fort Tiburon: the British attacked it in February 1794, and André Rigaud took it back in December 1794.
Fort Saint-Louis (Fort des Anglais)
A French fort built in 1702 on an islet in the Bay of Saint-Louis. The British captured it in 1748, which is why locals call it "Fort des Anglais". You reach it by small dugout canoe, and there's a shipwreck just nearby.
Fort des Oliviers
A fort on a rocky peninsula in the Bay of Saint-Louis, from the same era as Fort Saint-Louis. Free entry; local guides expect a tip. No facilities on site.
Fort des Platons
Ruins of a fort built after independence in 1804 under General Nicolas Geffrard, to defend Haiti in case the French returned.
Fort and Cape Tiburon
The British attacked Fort Tiburon in February 1794, and André Rigaud took it back in December 1794. In 1670, Cape Tiburon was a pirates' meeting point.
More historic sites
- Vieux-Bourg d'Aquin: site of the final battle between Rigaud and Toussaint Louverture.
- Simón Bolívar Bust, Les Cayes: Bolívar arrived on December 24, 1815 to meet Pétion.
- Île-à-Vache: in the 17th century, the base of the pirate Henry Morgan.
- Les Cayes Cathedral: built between 1722 and 1726.
Vieux-Bourg d'Aquin
Site of the final battle between Rigaud and Toussaint Louverture.
Simón Bolívar Bust
This bust commemorates Simón Bolívar's stay in Les Cayes. He arrived on December 24, 1815 to meet President Pétion, who gave him weapons and soldiers to liberate South America.
Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral
An 18th-century church (1722–1726) and the cathedral of the Diocese of Les Cayes. A neoclassical building with a white dome in the heart of town.
Ruins of the English fort, Aquin
The ruins of an old English fort on a small island in one of Aquin's rivers.
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