La Possession

Where is La Possession situated and how did its history begin?

La Possession is a commune located in the French overseas department of Réunion in the Indian/Reunion timezone, positioned in the northwestern part of the island of Réunion between the capital of Saint-Denis and the commune of Le Port. At latitude -20.92909 and longitude 55.3348, the municipality has a population of 35245 residents who utilize the EUR currency and speak fr-RE languages within the region governed as admin1 Reunion.

Cultural exchange and diverse roots trace back to the early eras of settlement in the territory, which originally belonged to the commune of Saint-Paul until 1890 when the La Possession commune was created. In 1675, the first settlements were led by Jean Marquet, whose name was given to a creek. Later, in 1699, sugar cane concessions were attributed to Texer de Mota, noted as a Portuguese from India. Additional historical layers developed over subsequent centuries, including the construction of the Chemin Crémont paved walkway between 1730 and 1767 to connect to Saint-Denis, and the attribution of the Rivière des Galets concession to Dr Rivière in 1797.

Global connections and heritage are further visible through the municipality's designated sister cities, which include Port Louis in Mauritius, Villeneuve-d'Ascq in Metropolitan-France, Antanifotsy in Madagascar, Foshan in China, and Barakani in Anjouan, Comoros. Locally, the territory spans the major part of the Cirque of Mafate—a caldera of the dormant Piton des Neiges volcano—and forms part of the Réunion National Park. Infrastructure milestones over time included the building of La route de la Montagne from 1849 to 1854, the construction of the lazaret of La Grande Chaloupe as the quarantine station of Réunion in 1860, and the opening of the railway and harbour networks in the late nineteenth century.