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Building the Fort

 In 1830, a crucial decision was made to construct a fort on Petite Montagne hill. This new stronghold was intended to protect the harbor, secure inland routes to the capital, suppress civil unrest within the city, and provide a strategic retreat for regular troops from Line Barracks if needed. The possibility of a French attack, mirroring the British landing on an undefended northern beach in 1810, underscored the urgency. Construction of Fort Adelaide , named after the wife of the reigning British King William IV, began in 1834. Captain Cunningham, a renowned military tactician also responsible for Fort George and the Martello towers, designed the fort's plans. Building the fort primarily involved cutting massive basalt rocks. Local labor, comprising convicts from India, enslaved people, and soldiers, proved insufficient for the task. Consequently, the British had to bring in skilled laborers from their own Royal Engineer Corps and expert stone cutters from British territories i...
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Historical background

 The aftermath of the French Revolution saw Britain and France embroiled in a prolonged conflict from 1793 to 1814. Throughout this tumultuous era, Ile de France (today's Mauritius), a French colony, emerged as a crucial strategic outpost in the Indian Ocean. Its position on the vital trade route connecting Europe with the East, around the Cape of Good Hope, made it indispensable for both European powers engaged in the lucrative spice and silk trade with China and India. Operating from Ile de France, privateers , sanctioned by commissions of war and financed by affluent merchants in Port Louis and Bourbon, actively engaged in maritime warfare. Their primary target: ships of the East India Company . These audacious attacks resulted in considerable British losses, as captured vessels and their valuable cargoes were sold off in the colonies. Despite the relentless efforts of the British Navy to blockade the harbor and quell these French assaults, they proved unsuccessful until the is...
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