Tour du Père-Labat, Historic fortified tower in Baillif, Guadeloupe

The Tour du Père-Labat is a fortified stone tower in Baillif, Guadeloupe, standing near the coast at the edge of town. Its thick walls are made of dark stone and sand mortar, enclosing a single interior room.

The tower was built in 1703 on the orders of the local governor to protect the southern coast of Basse-Terre against possible English attacks. In that same year, English forces captured Baillif, and the tower was never used in its intended role.

The tower is named after Jean-Baptiste Labat (1663–1738), the Dominican missionary and military man who directed the building of Guadeloupe's defence towers and had helped found a mission at the nearby site known as the "Pères-Blancs". The name ties the battery to the religious mission established on this stretch of coast north of Basse-Terre.

The tower sits along the main road at the edge of Baillif and is easy to spot from the street. Visitors can walk around the outside of the structure, and arriving in the morning generally means fewer people around.

The tower's name honours Jean-Baptiste Labat (1663-1738), the Dominican missionary and military man who directed the building of Guadeloupe's defence towers and helped found a mission at the nearby site of the "Pères-Blancs". The battery he oversaw never fired a shot in anger: the English took Baillif in 1703, the year the tower went up.