In September 1763 two vessels, the Eagle and Sphinx left St Malo with one hundred and forty crew and settlers from the lost colony of Acadia, Nova Scotia.

In February 1764 after landing in Berkeley Sound the French group, led by French diplomat and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville, chose a site for the new settlement.  A fort of stone, turf and clay was built, along with an apartment house and several turf huts.  In April 1764 a ceremony of possession took place, the settlement eventually being named Port Louis.