La Ciotat, a small port-town in the French Mediterranean, underwent a profound metamorphosis during the nineteenth century. Once a small maritime community, it was transformed into the technical base and shipbuilding centre of the Compagnie des Messageries maritimes, France’s largest steam navigation company. This book charts the journey of a maritime society through its industrial growth and discovers its economic, demographic, labour, and social changes. Drawing on unpublished archival material, it explores how technological changes and the dominance of a single private shipping company reshaped the town’s identity and redefined its relationship with the sea.