The city of Sète in the Hérault department was born in 1666 following a royal decision. However, it was the will of Pierre-Paul Riquet, King Louis XIV, and the Chevalier de Clerville that gave birth to the Mediterranean city. Pierre-Paul Riquet, the creator of the Canal du Midi, was looking for an outlet for his canal on the Mediterranean Sea. Louis XIV, for his part, had instructed Colbert, his minister, to find a roadstead to install the royal galleys and export Languedoc products from a new port. Sète later developed in the 19th century thanks to wine, wood, sulfur, cereals, and iron trades. The population of the city tripled between 1820 and 1870, and urbanization gradually extended towards the Étang de Thau.