 Fort Du Marquis at Beausejour was started in October 1649, under the leadership of Sir Marquis, Lieutenant of the first company. Due to the cramped living conditions at Fort annunciation, permission was obtained from Du Parquet for the building of the fort and dwelling places. As a result, just over twenty persons were chosen to settle in that fort located on the point of the Beausejour Bay and river.
This was the second area on the island to be settled by the French, thus it was frequently attacked by the Caribs. In one incident, a whole fleet of Caribs came down from St. Vincent and hid themselves in thundefinede bushes by the river. Knowing that the French like to hunt, in an attempt to lure them into the open, started a trick by having a pig run along the beach. As expected, three French soldiers went after it but were ambushed and killed by the Caribs.
After being abandoned in 1653, the site was resettled again. This time a chapel was built for a priest who had been exiled from the Great Fort by the then Governor le Comte. On 14th April, 1654, it was again abandoned after being ransacked and burnt by about 500 Caribs. On 2nd October, Sir le Fort reoccupied the Fort after he felt that he should have been made the governor. However, he was summoned from the Fort and arrested after a bloody encounter with some Brazilian soldiers when he refused to attend a meeting at the Great Fort. He then drank poison provided by his black woman servant.
Thus Beausejour, meaning in old French ‘beautiful dwelling Place’, has been at the fore- front of Grenada’s development. Sitting next to or adjoining an agricultural belt, the Grenville Vale Valley (said to have been given the name by the French meaning land of great value), this area is also accredited for one of the early plantations on the Island known as Cockburn Hall Estate.
Other Points for Pondering
It appears that Happy Hill and some of the surrounding areas have been new additions to this village. Happy Hill is believed, used to be the area around the Catholic Church and School where the slaves from both estates used to assemble for their merry making, overlooking Ance de Flamand, the big red ants known locally as ‘Flama’. Hence the name of Flamingo has been a corruption of the old French name.
The people of Mt. Mortiz were first settled as part of a scheme at Beausejour.
In 1779, Molinere was the scene of the French landing of a massive force of about 10, 000 soldiers under the command of D’ Estang, in their quest of recapturing Grenada from the British. In this regard, they used the old roadway from Molinere to Mt. Mortiz, through Bel Vue onto Beaulieu down the Tempe Valley, for their attack on the Town of St. George.
It is believed that the area called ‘The Fence’ was as a result of the old fort and settlement. The Fence was the area of the ‘Negro Huts’ or settlement, as can be seen on the old plan.
Additional Information
Beausejour has seen one of the most extensive and ingeniously built canal system for spinning the water powered sugar mills at Beausejour and Molinere. As seen in the diagram, the canal ran along the hills, then, flowing down the present new concrete road opposite the medical station, then crossing the present Happy Hill Main Road, passing around the present site of the Happy Hill Catholic Church (then the estate ‘hot house’ or hospital) on its way to spin the other mill at Moliniere. It has been said that the mills and canal system, were built by a Scottish Engineer called Mr. Stephen’s
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