Between 1689 and 1693 the whole town of Cayenne, including the fort, was surrounded by a classic line of fortifications by Vauban.

The town was occupied by the Portuguese during the Napoleonic wars between 1809 and 1817 and Vauban's fortifications were destroyed, as were the bastions of the fort.

The remains of Fort Cépérou are at the western edge of the present city of Cayenne, French Guiana.

[2] A map from 1769 shows the fort and town in the north west of the Island of Cayenne, which lies on the Atlantic coast of Guiana between the mouths of the Cayenne and Mahury rivers, with a channel connecting the two rivers and separating the island from the coast.

[3] The fort is located on Mont Cépérou, with a panoramic view over the land, the sea and the entrance to the Cayenne River.

[4] The Spanish and Portuguese had not settled this section of the coast, although it was thought to lead to the land of El Dorado.

[6] Guerin Spranger obtained a grant from the States General of the Netherlands and established a Dutch colony on Cayenne Island around 1656.

[2] In 1666 the English commanded by Captain Peter Wroth visited the colony of Cayenne but did not harm the governor Cyprien Lefebvre de Lézy.

[9] Cayenne was sacked by an English fleet under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir John Harman in August 1667.

Binckes left shortly after for Marie-Galante and Tobago, leaving a small force to hold Cayenne.

[12] On 18 December 1676 French troops under vice-admiral Jean II d'Estrées took the city back from the Dutch.

[6] A 1677 map, still using the Dutch name of Bourg Louis, shows a watchtower, some small batteries and a miniature star-shaped fort on Morne Cépérou.

[13] In 1689 new fortifications for the town were laid out by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the king's engineer.