Nantes is developing thanks to its commercial circuits inherited from the Middle Ages. Nantes was in turn Franc, Breton. She knew the wars of Succession of Brittany (XIVth century) as well as the wars of religion (XVIth century). Then, comes the time of the colonists and the "committed whites" who will develop the colonial economy in the West Indies.
But the enrichment of Nantes will come with the development of the slave trade between Europe, Africa and America, known as triangular trade. If Nantes is not the only French port to have practiced the slave trade, it is the pioneer: between 1707 and 1711, 75% of the slave ships left there. The memorial to the abolition of slavery is located on the Quai de la Fosse, between the Anne de Bretagne bridge and the Victor-Schoelcher footbridge which leads to the Palais de Justice. On this route, 1.5km (0.93mi) long, 2000 glass plates embedded in the ground testify to the slave expeditions that left Nantes, the capital of the slave trade in France in the 18th century.
During the French Revolution, the city held by the Republicans was on the front line against the Vendée revolt and its resistance was one of the keys to Republican success. Nantes continued its development in the 19th century and became industrialized. The town's industrial past has bequeathed it an important heritage, in particular the "LU" biscuit factory which has become Le Lieu unique. A large part of the industrial port has become an artistic center: "Les Fabriques".