Fort-Liberté (French pronunciation: [fɔʁ libɛʁte]; Haitian Creole: Fòlibète) is a commune and administrative capital of the Nord-Est department of Haiti.

[2][3] The area around Fort-Liberté was originally inhabited by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and later by Spanish colonists, who founded the city of Bayaja in 1578, but abandoned it in 1605.

The city has undergone a succession of name changes: Bayaja (1578), Fort-Dauphin (1732), Fort St. Joseph (1804), Fort-Royal (1811) and finally Fort-Liberté (1820).

The shallow waters that extends to 1 mile (1.6 km) provides for adequate draft and safe anchorage conditions.

The entrance to the fort is stated to be "about 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long with not less than 15 fathoms depth of water in the fairway but is narrow and tortuous, so that a sailing vessel entering requires the wind to be well to the northward of east, and its leaving must have a commanding land breeze."

Vessels anchor at the port in 12 fathoms deep water with manoeuvring space of 600–1,200 yards (550–1,100 m) on the east and northeast direction of the Bayon Islet, which is in the midst of the bay.

[9] Marion River empties into the bay about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of the Fort-Liberté and is the source of water supply to the town.

Hispaniola island as a whole is subject to varying weather changes, which result in severe storms, such as hurricanes and sunshine.

Caracol was thought to be near the location where Santa Maria, Columbus's flagship struck a reef and sank on Christmas Day in 1492.

The shipwreck was salvaged for its wood to build settlements known as La Navidad, which was decimated by Taino Indians led by its chief Guanagarix after Columbus left the place.

This was discovered by the American Archaeologist William Hodges while excavating at Puerto Real, a city founded at the same spot years later.

[13] The fort, as such, within the city limits was constructed in 1731 at the port near the land end facing the bay, built under the directive of Louis XV, King of France, in order to defend against invasions.

Now, only the fort ruins are seen as evidence of the ingenious design of the architects who selected the most strategic point on the island to build it overlooking the turquoise blue ocean waters.

Pilferage has seen the loss of the cannons and the cannonballs, apart from removal of stones imported from Nantes, France for pecuniary benefits without realising the gravity of the vandalism act.

[7] Trade and economy of the city and its precincts, at present are – coffee, cacao, honey, logwood, pineapple, and sisal, which are the principal products.