Fort Fleur d'épée is a fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 on Grande-Terre

Grande-Terre

Grande-Terre is an island in the Guadeloupe, separated by Basse-Terre Island by a salt river. Grande-Terre's northernmost point, Pointe de la Grande Vigie, is also the northernmost point in Guadeloupe....

 on Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

. The origins of its name are unknown, though it may correspond to a nickname of a soldier who lived in it. It was built from 1750 to 1763 to a polygonal plan by Vauban

Vauban

Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...

 in the heights above the town of Gosier

Le Gosier

Le Gosier is the third most populated commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the south side of the island of Grande-Terre, and is part of the urban area of Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest conurbation in Guadeloupe.-External links:*...

, many metres above the bay. It is made up of underground rooms leading to small rooms. The powder magazine and kitchen with a furnace are still visible. It spacious entrance hall now hosts temporary art exhibitions. It was captured by the British then retaken by a French battalion under Victor Hugues

Victor Hugues

Victor Hugues was a French politician and colonial administrator during the French Revolution, who governed Guadeloupe from 1794 to 1798, emancipating the island's slaves under orders from the National Convention.-Early life and appointment:Hugues was born in Marseille's salesmen family and was a...

which expelled the British from Guadeloupe on 3 June 1794.