Fort Rosalie

Fort Rosalie was a French fort built in 1716 in the territory of the Natchez Native Americans. The present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi developed at this site. As part of the peace terms that ended the Natchez War of 1716, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville required the Natchez to build the fort by providing materials and labor. Sited close to the main Natchez settlement, called the Grand Village of the Natchez, Fort Rosalie served as the primary French stronghold and trading post among the Natchez.

French settlements and tobacco plantations were established in Natchez territory, with the fort serving as the local seat of colonial government. Growing tension between the French and the Natchez erupted into violence several times during the 1720s, culminating in a massive Natchez attack on November 28, 1729. They destroyed the entire French settlement, killing nearly all the males, and taking a total of hundreds of women and children captive. The Natchez seized and occupied Fort Rosalie.

Retaliation by the French and allied Choctaw forces in 1730 forced the Natchez to evacuate, leaving the fort in ruins. By 1731 the French with their more numerous Indian allies had killed, captured or dispersed most of the Natchez, and they ceased to exist as a tribe. The French sold surviving Natchez into slavery, many destined for French plantations in the Caribbean. Some escaped and found refuge among the Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee of the region.

The French rebuilt Fort Rosalie in the early 1730s. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763 after the British won the Seven Years' War, the French ceded the fort and Louisiana to British control. The British renamed it Fort Panmure. During the American Revolutionary War, Spain declared war against Great Britain and took control of the fort, holding it from 1779 to 1798. After 1798, the United States took over.

The US abandoned the fort in 1804. The city of Natchez traces its origin to the founding of Fort Rosalie in 1716. Today the site of the fort is part of Natchez National Historical Park.