It was opened in and closed in The bagne was created by an ordinance of King Louis XV on September 27, , to house the convicts who had previously been sentenced to row the galleys of the French Mediterranean fleet.
The decree stated, in article 11, "All the galleys in the port will be disarmed, and the chiourmes the ancient term for the convict galley rowers will be kept on land in the bagnes , guarded halls, or other places which will be designated for their confinement.
Since the 15th century, French prisoners had been sentenced to serve on the galleys, sometimes even for minor crimes. The galleys were long, narrow craft with cannon mounted on the bow and a high, ornamentally-decorated deck at the stern.
Unlike sailing ships, they could operate when there was no wind. They were a force used only on the Mediterranean, where the sea was relatively calm, and were entirely independent of the Navy, with their own Grand Admiral.
The galleys were used both for military missions and for ceremonial travel, for example carrying the Cardinal de Guise from France to Rome for the election of a new Pope after the death of Pope Paul IV in By the 18th century, changes in naval tactics and weapons had made the galleys obsolete, and the galleys were decommissioned, However, prisoners sentenced to forced labor continued to be sent to the south of France. The galleys were originally based in Marseille.
