Mauritius had two major strategic values for the British which were:
- Its’ proximity to the French controlled Reunion and their port at Diego Suarez
- A convenient transit stop for vessels travelling between India and South Africa.
The three main fortifications around the harbour at Port Saint Louse, dated from French occupation, and included:
Fort George with two 7-inch RML and four 7-inch RBL guns
Fort William which was an earth work without any guns
Port Saint Louis in Mauritius was designated as a defended coaling stations by the Royal Commission of 1879 chaired by the Earl of Carnarvon. The third and final report was published in 1882 and this recommended that Port Louis be upgraded to a 1st Class Coaling Station with the total armament be upgraded to:
Nine 10-inch RML guns
Two 7-inch RML guns
Six 64-pdr RML guns
After much consideration the following armament for Port Louis was approved in October 1887:
Minefield Defence with three 6-pdr QF gun and four machine guns
Mobile armament was to include six 9-pdr RML guns, six 3-pdr QF guns, eight machine guns and six 7-pdr RML guns
These batteries were all completed by 1892 with the exception of Fort William which was not completed until March 1893.
By 1893 these fortifications had been completed some improvements had been made to their armament:
New Battery at Tombeau Point, later Albert Battery
Two 10-inch RML guns
Eight 64-pdr guns
Albert or Tombeau Point Battery,
Two 10-inch RML guns
Two 64-pdr guns
Fort William
One 9.2-inch gun
Two 7-inch RBLs (for Minefield defence)
Fort William
Two 9.2-inch BL guns on HP mounts
Two 6-pdr QF guns
New Victoria Battery
Two 10-inch RML guns
One 64-pdr RML gun
Victoria Battery
Two 10-inch RMLs guns
One 64-pdr RML gun
A Submarine Mining Establishment had also been built adjacent to Fort George to protect the harbour entrance. A Quick Fire Battery of four machine guns and three 6-pdr was also built to cover this minefield.
By 1888 the harbour at Port Louis had three good graving docks, two slips and major coaling facilities.