Brouage was founded in 1555 by
Jacques de Pons on the
Bay of Biscay facing the
Atlantic Ocean. The town was founded on swampy land which had previously been underwater. Its name, "Brouage," comes from the surrounding mixture of water and clay, which was called "broue". Its economy was based on salt and access to the sea. Brouage was known for producing salt that was black in colour, which was often sold to the royal family. Brouage exported large quantities of salt by land and sea as early as the 15th century. The town was fortified between 1630 and 1640 by
Cardinal Richelieu as a
Catholic bastion in order to fight against the neighbouring Protestant town of
La Rochelle. Gradually the harbour silted up in the last part of the 17th century, leaving the town stranded and useless as a port. It fell into ruin. The town's most celebrated person is the French navigator
Samuel de Champlain, who lived here when young, before being the co-founder of the
French settlement in
Acadia (1604–1607) and
Quebec (1608–1635). Cartographer Charles Leber du Carlo lived in Brouage at the same time and may not have taught the art of map-making to the young Champlain. In 1825 Brouage was joined to the village of
Hiers, away, forming the commune of Hiers-Brouage. ==Population==