The main building in the fort 
Burial grounds within the fort 
The view from the top of fort
We visited Fort Delgres while in Guadeloupe, and we are glad that we did. It is an amazing place with some amazing history. If you are interested in the history of Fort Delgres, keep reading! If you are interested in reading about our experience there, check out our post.
Fort Delgres is in the town of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. In 1650 the governor and ultimately the owner of Guadeloupe built a strong house on a hill overlooking the capitol of the island. This building provided a symbol of power to the people of Guadeloupe, and was named Fort Saint-Charles.
As time went on, this fort was subjected to a number of attacks from the English, Dutch and the Spanish. The fort itself was an easy target from the sea, and fell prey to bombardment often. To combat this, by the time the seven years war started in 1756, the fort was well constructed. The fort was not a match for the British however, and was occupied and renamed Fort Royal. The British held control over Guadeloupe until the end of the seven years war, at which time control was returned to Guadeloupe.
The view of the road from the fort 
The fort from a lookout point on the road
When the French Revolution started, slavery was abolished in France and all of its territories, including Guadeloupe. The wealthy plantation owners in Guadeloupe rebelled against this, and declared independence in 1791.
In 1794, just 3 years after the country declared its independence, a slave revolt caused the leaders of Guadeloupe to ask Great Britain for help, who moved into and occupied Guadeloupe in April of 1794. A rogue French Colonial administrator named Victor Hughes led a small army that ultimately removed the British from Guadeloupe in December of 1794, and freed all of the slaves… who then revolted and took governance over Guadeloupe.
I know, it is a lot. Guadeloupe is apparently a territory built on war and rebellion.
In comes Napoleon. In 1802, the Fort was occupied by Louis Delgres, a colored French military officer, who considered Napoleon to be a tyrant. Delgres led a rebellion consisting of civilians and soldiers of color, fighting against the reinstitution of slavery. Napoleon sent Antoine Richepanse to deal with the rebellion.
The rebels fought hard, but eventually the French army would overwhelm them. The rebels retreated into the fort, and it was here that Delgres proclaimed “to the entire universe” what he was fighting for. Eventually it became clear that there was “no hope of victory”. At that time, Delgres and 400 of his people gathered in a plantation built along the slope of the volcano. When the French army pursued them, they blew themselves up, along with “as many French soldiers as they could”.
Slavery was reinstated in Guadeloupe, and stayed in practice until 1848. The fort in which the rebellion stood against French slavery is now named after the man who led them, Louis Delgres. Within the grounds of the fort there is a memorial for Delgres.
Sources
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fort-delgres-memorial