Belleisle-en-Mer

Belleisle-en-Mer, a French island in the Atlantic, 8 miles S. of Quiberon Point, in the department of Morbihan. It has an extreme length and breadth of 11 and 7 miles, and an area of 330 sq. m. Population, 10,177, chiefly engaged in fishing. Salt is made along the shores, and good pastures are found in the interior. The chief town is Le Palais (pop. 2980), a seaport and fortified place. In the 16th century, the monks of Quimperlé ceded it to Charles IX., who gave it to the Marshal de Retz, that he might fortify it. His successor sold the island in 1658 to Fouquet, intendant of finance, who further improved and strengthened it. His grandson, the celebrated Marshal Belleisle, ceded the island to Louis XV. in exchange for the Comté Gisors (1718). It was captured in 1761 by the English fleet under Keppel, but restored in 1763.