Fort St. Luis was erected on a hill near Marigot Bay on the French side of Saint Martin island in the Caribbean during the reign of French King Louis XVI. In the second half of the 18th century, military protection of the Marigot settlement became a necessity. It was a time when French settlers were constantly harassed by the attacks of British privateers and pirates, who destroyed cotton, tobacco, and indigo plantations. Three batteries of cannons were installed, one of them on Marigot Hill. Fort St. Louis protected the entrance to the city, the port and secured the main road leading from the Dutch side of the island.
