Collioure’s History During The Renaissance Period (1500 to 1800)

Ferdinand & Isabella of Aragon and Collioure

By the early 16th century, the famous of duo of Ferdinand and Isabella, Aragon’s King and Queen, took Collioure and was then succeeded by the famous Hapsburg Charles V of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. This was a period of decline and uncertainty in Collioure and the Catalans revolted again Spanish rule in 1642.

Louis XIII, the 1659 Treaty of Pyrenees & Collioure

By 1659, the Spanish withdrew from Collioure as part of the famous Treaty of Pyrenees, which finally drew a line between France and Spain that holds to this day. By this time, Collioure was in a poor state of repair and, with the very real threat of Spain just over the border, Louis XIII The Just, ordered that heavy fortifications and upgrades be built at Collioure – led by Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis of Vauban.

Saint Hillaire - Our Lady of the Angels Church, Collioure, 1690

These defensive upgrades meant some serious demolition between 1672 and 1674, including the parish church, and the local Dominican church had to step in as a makeshift parish.

So, the burning question at the time was where to rebuild the church. Vauban, during one of his trips to Roussillon in 1679, decided on a spot for the new church right at the base of the lighthouse and laid the foundation stone in 1684.

Our Lady of the Angles Church was briskly completed in 1690 and, much later, the lighthouse, which the church was leaning on, became the church bell tower.

Fort Miradou, 1668 (now present-day National Commando Training Centre)

To further beef up the town’s defences, building of the sea walls began and the Miradou fort and barracks was built in 1668 to protect the southern side, as well as the Carre and Rond Forts on Collioure’s western side.

There has been an old medieval fort and tower from Charles V’s time in the mid-16the century as well as 14th century towers, but Vauban rebuilt the fort completely to what we see today and which is now owned by the Army as the National Commando Training Center (CNE) and trains around 3,000 commandos every year.

Collioure Arsenal, 1670 (now present-day local Office du Tourism and Cinema)

Constructed by Vauban, Collioure’s great weaponry was held here in Collioure’s Arsenal for centuries and, by 1770, Collioure was home to 3000 foot soldiers and 300 horsemen and an Arsenal was built store more than 50 pieces of artillery of every size and it cost over 1 million livres to build.

Collioure & The French Revolution, 1789

Collioure was in decline by the time the French Revolution rocked France in 1789. The endless war, fortifications and billeted troops was bad for business.

At the time of its outbreak, the population in Collioure was around 2300 people – less than in previous centuries – and many of them troops – whilst large parts of town had been militarised and many artisans and traders, as well as its Jewish community, had fled.

In the early stages of the revolution, the revolutionary spirit led to a conflict between the Third Estate, the nobility, and the Clergy, so one of the actions Collioure residents took was to destroy the nobility's fishing ponds and impose taxes on foreign fishermen.

The revolutionary government also abolished the privileges of the Ancien régime and monopolies enjoyed by the local Collioure clergy. 

Colliourencs participated in the revolution in different ways, including voting for the new constitution, but the constitution had to be translated into Catalan before they could vote.

The translation was a major aspect of their involvement as they faced challenges from the new administration, which considered French the national language and required minorities to identify as French.

So, most Colliourencs found themselves harboring an ambivalent attitude towards the revolution and were shocked to see church land and property had been sold and so many executions. Despite this, there was a profound cultural shift, with Colliourencs proudly identifying as French but retaining their Catalan culture.

Spain besieges Collioure, 1793

Taking advantage of the power vacuum and chaos of the French Revolution, the Spanish sought to exploit these challenges and retake Collioure.

In 1793, the Spanish troops besieged and briefly occupied Collioure. However, it was not long before French General Jacques François Dugommier kicked them out, recapturing it in 1794.

Thus, the 1793 occupation by the Spanish was the last by a foreign power to occupy Collioure and it has since remained under French rule ever since.