Chapter 6 · 1649 – 1715
Île Bourbon
From 1665, colonisation was organised around the French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes orientales), created on the initiative of Louis XIV and Colbert to develop French trade in the Indian Ocean.
1665–1669, the first districts
Saint-Paul, then Sainte-Suzanne (1667) and Saint-Denis (1669) were founded.
1723, the Code Noir
This text provided the legal framework for slavery on Île Bourbon.
1738, a new capital
Saint-Denis replaced Saint-Paul as the island's capital.
The story
Saint-Paul holds a founding place in the story of Bourbon's settlement. Its bay offers one of the most useful anchorages on the west coast, and the area became the first lasting centre of settlement. From this foothold, colonisation gradually spread to other districts. For a long time, Bourbon's spatial organisation was built around the coast, while the mountainous interior remained hard to reach.
Photo: Illustration created for the app · Illustration, not an authentic period photograph
Sources (3)
- Georges Azéma, Histoire de l'île Bourbon, 1862
- Y. Combeau, P. Ève, S. Fuma et al., Histoire de la Réunion, Nathan 2002
- Île de La Réunion Tourisme, historique et patrimoine de Saint-Paul