Dunkirk

Dunkirk, or Dunkerque, "the church on the dunes or sandbanks," is a fortified port in the department of Nord, France, 43 miles N.W. of Lille. According to tradition, it owes its origin to a chapel founded by St. Eloi in the 7th century, and was raised to the rank of a town by Baldwin III. in 960. The English burned it in 1388, and later on occupied it, being driven out in 1558 by the French, who in turn surrendered it to the Spaniards. In 1646 it was again captured and soon afterwards restored, but in 1658 Turenne wrested it from Spain, and gave it. to England. Charles II. sold it for £200,000 to Louis XIV. The Duke of York besieged it in vain in 1793. Dunkirk has a military as well as a commercial harbour, and though the entrance is shallow and difficult there is safe anchorage in the roads. The docks cover 100 acres, and a large import and export trade is done. The Dunkirk boats take a considerable part in the herring and cod fisheries. The growth of beetroots and the manufacture of sugar afford occupation to much of the population, but ship-building, iron-founding, distilling, and the making of soap, starch, and salt are important industries. There are many churches, the chief being that of St. Eloi, rebuilt in 1560. The Beffroi or signal tower, with a fine peal of bells, the modern Palais de Justice, the pictures in the Exchange and elsewhere, and the statue of Jean Bart by David d'Angers, deserve to be noticed.