Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presence of
megalithic architecture. Ruins of
Roman roads (linking
Vannes to
Quimper and
Port-Louis to
Carhaix) confirm
Gallo-Roman presence.
Founding In 1664,
Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded the
French East Indies Company. In June 1666, an
ordinance of
Louis XIV granted lands of
Port-Louis to the company, along with Faouédic on the other side of the
roadstead. One of its directors, Denis Langlois, bought lands at the confluence of the
Scorff and the
Blavet rivers, and built
slipways. At first, it only served as a subsidiary of Port-Louis, where offices and warehouses were located. The following years, the operation was almost abandoned, but in 1675, during the
Franco-Dutch War, the
French East Indies Company scrapped its base in
Le Havre since it was too exposed during wartime, and transferred its infrastructures to l'Enclot, out of which Lorient grew. The company then erected a chapel, workshops, forges, and offices, leaving Port-Louis permanently. The city's name is derived from ''Le Soleil d'Orient
, the first ship constructed at the site, in 1669. Workers gave the site the name of the ship, which, by contraction, became simply L'Orient
and finally Lorient''. The
French Royal Navy opened a base there in 1690, under the command of
Colbert de Seignelay, who inherited
his father's position as
Secretary of State of the Navy. At the same time,
privateers from
Saint-Malo took shelter there.
Growth under the Company of the Indies The town experienced a period of growth when
John Law formed the
Perpetual Company of the Indies by absorbing other
chartered companies (including the
French East India Company), and chose Lorient as its operations base. Despite the
economic bubble caused by the Company in 1720, the city was still growing as it took part in the
Atlantic triangular slave trade. From 1720 to 1790, 156 ships deported an estimated 43,000 slaves. In 1732, the Company decided to transfer its sales headquarters from
Nantes to Lorient, and asked architect
Jacques Gabriel to raise new buildings out of
dimension stones to host these new activities, and to embellish the L'Enclos domain. In 1769, the Company's monopoly ended with the scrapping of the company itself, under the influence of the
physiocrats. Until the Company's closure, the city took advantage of its prosperity. In 1738, there were 14,000 inhabitants, or 20,000 considering the outlying villages of Kerentrech, Merville, La Perrière, Calvin, and Keryado, which are now neighbourhoods within the present-day city limits. In 1735, new streets were laid out and in 1738, it was granted city status. Further work was undertaken as the streets began to be paved, wharves and slipways were built along the Faouédic river, and
thatched houses were replaced with stone buildings following 18th-century classical architecture style as it was the case for l'Enclos. Following the demise of the Company, the city lost one-seventh of its population. In 1769, the city evolved into a full-scale
naval base for the
Royal Navy when
Louis XV bought out the Company's infrastructures for 17,500,000
livres tournois.
19th and early 20th centuries . Maritime activities slowed at the start of the 19th century. Activity at the shipyards and naval base reached a low that would last until the
July Monarchy. During this period, the city was more of an administrative center. The first
secondary school opened in 1822, a
lazaretto in 1823, and
barracks in 1839. The city began to modernize in the second quarter of the century; in 1825, a roofed slipway and a
drydock were added to the shipyards. opened the same year. The first
gasworks was built in 1845. In the second half of the 19th century, the
steam engine allowed the ports to strengthen their output. According to the book
Steel Boats, Iron Hearts (by former crewman
Hans Goebeler), after the Allies failed to damage the U-boat bunkers the bombing shifted to the city itself to deny the Germans workers and other resources. Before the bombings, thousands of leaflets were dropped on the population instructing the inhabitants to evacuate. Between 14 January 1943 and 17 February 1943, as many as 500 high-explosive
aerial bombs and more than 60,000
incendiary bombs were dropped on Lorient. After the
Normandy landings in June 1944 and the
subsequent breakout, Lorient was surrounded by Allied troops on 12 August 1944. Its usefulness as a naval base gone, Lorient was left in a state of siege, surrounded by the
French Forces of the West, supported by a US infantry division. On 10 May 1945, the
German garrison surrendered,
two days after the official final
unconditional surrender of Germany. In 1949, the city of Lorient was awarded the
Legion of Honour and the
Croix de guerre 1939–1945.
Reconstruction (city hall) In April 1945, the Reconstruction Ministry advocated the use of temporary wooden shacks. These shelters were shipped as a kit to be built on site. In 1948, there were 28 settlements under the city's authority, and 20 more in the
urban area, distributed among the neighboring towns of
Ploemeur,
Lanester,
Hennebont and
Quéven. Each of these neighbourhoods could hold up to 280 houses. A new
Hôtel de Ville (city hall) was completed in 1960. This temporary housing would stand from 10 to 40 years depending on the location. The last shack in the largest settlement, Soye, was torn down in 1991. Today, only a few buildings dating to the 18th century still stand. ==Geography==