View of the beach at St Malo on the North Sea, in Brittany, photographed from the diving tower of the enclosed salt water tidal pool. The wall, which encloses the city, has portions dating back to the 8th century, and was used principally to defend the city against assorted invaders from England and Scandanavia. St. Malo profited greatly from a form of legal pirating called "privateering," proceeds from which it built itself into a significant seaport. They city has, at times, been an independent country (a city-state). It is now part of France.