Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo stands on a rocky site at the mouth of the Rance, its walls facing the tides and reefs of the Breton coast. Its harbour fostered a community of sailors, merchants and shipowners whose voyages reached far beyond the Channel. Fishing fleets sailed toward Newfoundland, while privateers used the port as a base during wars at sea.

In 1534 Jacques Cartier sailed from Saint-Malo on the first of his voyages to the St Lawrence region, claiming land for Francis I. During the Wars of Religion the town's inhabitants asserted their independence, maintaining a short-lived republic from 1590 to 1594. Their choice reflected both the political uncertainty of the kingdom and the confidence of a maritime community accustomed to defending its own interests. In the eighteenth century Saint-Malo's privateers included René Duguay-Trouin, who led an expedition against Rio de Janeiro in 1711. Wealth from overseas ventures and maritime warfare supported the great houses of shipowners, while the harbour's difficult approaches and powerful tides remained central to the town's defence and navigation.