L'Orient

L'Orient, a seaport in the French department of Morbihan, situated on a good bay, 116 miles by rail NW. of Nantes, is a well-built town, with a deep and spacious harbour. It was founded in 1664 by the French East India Company; but, after the ruin of their trade by the English towards the close of the next century, their plant was acquired by the government, who since 1815 have made L'Orient the principal naval shipbuilding-yard in France. The dockyard and arsenal are consequently among the best and largest in the country, and the place ranks as a fortress of the second class. L'Orient has schools of navigation and marine artillery, and an observatory. The inhabitants are engaged chiefly in shipbuilding and its cognate trades, and in fishing (especially sardines). The trade does not exceed a total of 100,000 tons annually. Pop. (1872) 30,928; (1891) 41,065. Off this port the British fleet under Lord Bridport defeated the French under Villaret-Joyeuse on 23d June 1795.