People lived here (and ate a lot of cod)
Do you know what the difference is between a fort and a fortress? Only military personnel live and work within a fort, but a fortress is a civilian town surrounded by military defenses. A lot of different people lived within the walls of Louisbourg, and even more lived in the fishing community around the harbour and in outposts along the coast. Many of Louisbourg’s residents were involved in trade, in the cod fisheries, or both. There were fishermen and their families. Merchants and royal officials kept an eye on everything. There were soldiers and military officers, tavern owners and artisans who lived here with their families too. Many of the business owners were women, and members of two religious orders ran a school and a hospital. At its height in the 1750s, around 4,000 people lived in Louisbourg year-round, and the population doubled, if not tripled, during the summer fishing season.Louisbourg was a French fortress, but not everyone who lived here was French. Residents included Acadians as well as people from Germany, Ireland, and the Basque region. Some people made this their home, while others only stayed for the fishing season. The community was also visited regularly by the Mi’kmaq, who came to Louisbourg to trade.Not all residents of Louisbourg came willingly, however. Over the course of the French occupation of the Fortress, over 400 people of African and Indigenous origin were enslaved here.People continued to live in Louisbourg after the military defenses were destroyed. Most moved to the sheltered side of the harbour, which became the present-day town of Louisbourg. When Parks Canada began the project of reconstructing the Fortress, 81 families were forced to move their homes, stores and church out of the new park boundaries.Turn to your left (to the west, or toward the Dauphin Gate) and continue walking along the quay.
CODFISH. (That’s pretty much it)
Why did the fishing community from Placentia decide to relocate to this cold, wind-swept, marshy piece of land? Look toward the water for the answer! Louisbourg’s harbour is large and deep, with an easily-defendable entrance. It doesn’t freeze in the winter, and it is close to the cod banks, which means that it was possible to fish out of Louisbourg all year. Salted and dried cod was Louisbourg’s main export. It was sent to France, to Quebec and to the French colonies in the Caribbean, and traded for other products like dishes, clothing, fresh vegetables, sugar, and rum. From a military perspective, warships based out of Louisbourg could easily sail out to defend the cod banks or the shipping routes.Your next stop is the King’s Bastion.
Important battles were fought here
The Fortress of Louisbourg was attacked twice in its short history: once in 1745, and then again in 1758. Both of these attacks happened in very similar ways. Troops from New England, supported by a fleet of British ships, arrived in the spring of 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession. The New Englanders knew Louisbourg’s weakness: the land side of the Fortress was poorly defended. New England troops effectively attacked the Fortress from behind, and after six weeks of siege, the French governor surrendered.The New Englanders wanted to keep Louisbourg for themselves, but at the end of the war in 1748, they had to give it back to the French by treaty. The British founded Halifax in 1749 to have their own military stronghold in Nova Scotia, and the French came back to Louisbourg for another 10 years.Then, the Seven Years’ War started, and Louisbourg was attacked a second time. A fleet of over 100 British ships arrived in Louisbourg in 1758. Again, they attacked Louisbourg from land, and again, the Fortress was forced to surrender after six weeks of besiegement. The British fleet went on to capture Quebec in 1759, and Montreal surrendered in 1760; all of New France had fallen.The two sieges of Louisbourg were important moments in British-French struggle for political control in North America.Head over to the start of the Ruins Walk, on the far side of the parade square.
The cultural landscape and you
Only about a quarter of the original Fortress of Louisbourg has been rebuilt.The ruins of the rest of the town are preserved by Parks Canada, as well as the battlefields, the shipwrecks in the harbour, the lighthouse and parts of the 18th century fishing village that used to surround the harbour.While you are within the reconstruction, you can follow the Ruins Walk to explore the un-reconstructed part of town.The Lighthouse Trail takes you to the ruins of the first lighthouse in Canada and along the coast to where British troops landed in 1758.Across the harbour, the ruins of the Royal Battery can be explored in a looped trail, and the Old Town Trail tells the story of the community that was built around the harbour after the Fortress had fallen.Are you visiting in July or August? Simon’s Point Trail follows the freshwater brook next to which the British and New Englanders set up camp, and a little further down the coast you will find two beautiful sandy beaches, Anson’s Cove and Kennington Cove. Imagine the invading forces landing their troops and cannons on these beaches as you dip your toes in the North Atlantic!
What is this place, anyway?
The island of Cape Breton, or Unama’ki, has been the home of the L’nu, also known as the Mi'kmaq, since time immemorial.The community of Louisbourg was founded in 1713 by French settlers who made it into a Fortress.In 1745, it was captured by the British, then given back to the French in 1748.Captured by the British a second time in 1758, the military defenses were destroyed in the 1760s.The site of the Fortress was mostly abandoned for 200 years, except for a small fishing community that became the modern town of Louisbourg.About 25% of the 18th century town has been rebuilt by Parks Canada for the enjoyment of Canadians and visitors to Canada.Continue down the street toward the big yellow gate.
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