Construction of the Old Port
From Provençal the Port of Vielh, the Vieux-Port is the oldest port in Marseille. It was in 600 BC that the Phocaeans settled there on the North bank. The Phocaeans built temples, a theater, an agora and ramparts there. The right bank will serve as quarries for the construction of the ramparts and as a city of the dead.
In the Middle Ages the city extended towards the south where theSaint Victor Abbey. At X are installed on the east bank of the Port, warehouses, carpentry yards and a municipal shipbuilding yard. It was only in the 1423th century that the quays were built. The Spanish attacked them in XNUMX, stealing the chain blocking the entrance to the Old Port.
In the 17th century, the Old Port of Marseille became one of the largest trading ports in Europe and therefore an important land of immigration. THE Friuli Islands are at the heart of an important system of control, reception and above all quarantine in order to protect against the plague.
Plague
Unfortunately, all precautions will not be enough to prevent the plague from entering Marseille. It will cause up to 120000 victims throughout Provence. It's the Grand-Saint-Antoine, a boat from the Levant (the region of Syria), docking in Marseille on May 25, 1720 which was the origin of the epidemic. Indeed, its cargo consisting of fabrics and bales of cotton was contaminated by the Yersin bacillus responsible for the plague.
Responsibility for the non-application of the regulations was sought at the time from the commander of the ship, Captain Jean-Baptiste Chataud, and the first alderman, Jean-Baptiste Estelle. No formal proof could be found. It is, however, certain that the health officials responsible for these regulations acted very lightly. The question of whether they were pressured by aldermen remains unanswered.
Feeding the population and disposing of corpses pose serious problems. This mobilized the aldermen who showed a lot of courage. The removal of corpses from the Tourette district by the galley slaves of the Arsenal of the galleys mobilized for this purpose and placed under the command of Chevalier Roze. This constitutes a major fact of this tragic event. The religious with M at their headgr of Belsunce provide moral comfort to the dying.
This epidemic constitutes a significant historical episode. It is still present in the collective memory of the Marseillais.
Commercial port activities were then moved to other sites further north. The current basins Large seaport from Marseille.
You want to discover the Fanal Tower on the old port is here 😉 or learn more about the city's neighborhoods to visit , it's here !
