French engineer Grillot de Poilly concludes his winter tour of Cape Breton and the corresponding document entitled “Plan et memoire d’un voyage fait pendant l’hiver de 1757, autour de l’Isle RoĂŻale,” which has been transcribed and translated through parts 1 to 5 of this article series. They set off on the final leg of their … Continue reading Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 5
Historical Figures and Their Time on Cape Breton Island
Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 4
French Engineer Grillot de Poilly arrives in Port Toulouse, present-day St. Peters, Nova Scotia and gives a thorough assessment of what he finds there. This portion of his journal contains much valuable information about the Mi'kmaq that inhabited the area at this precarious time in Cape Breton's history. In some places we've inserted a question … Continue reading Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 4
Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 3
The next leg of the French engineer de Poilly's journey, as found in the document “Plan et memoire d’un voyage fait pendant l’hiver de 1757, autour de l’Isle RoĂŻale,” takes a very dangerous turn. Poilly and his travelling companions enter the Bras d'Or Lakes - an unfamiliar place to the French living in Cape Breton … Continue reading Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 3
Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 2
Header image: Following the Moose, Cornelius Krieghoff (1860) The next portion of the journal "Plan et memoire d’un voyage fait pendant l’hiver de 1757, autour de l’Isle RoĂŻale," prepared by Monsieur Grillot de Poilly, details their journey from Spanish Bay to Port Dauphin, known today respectively as Sydney and St. Ann's. If anyone out there … Continue reading Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 2
Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 1
Header image - Winter Landscape, Laval by Cornelius Krieghoff (1862) François-Claude-Victor Grillot de Poilly (or Monsieur de Poilly for short) was an Engineer in the French army who served at Louisbourg from 1755 to 1758. In February 1757, when the rivers and lakes had finally frozen over and travel on foot was now possible, he … Continue reading Monsieur de Poilly’s 1757 Winter Tour of Cape Breton Island – Part 1
Podcast Episode 04 – Explorers La PĂ©rouse and Cook Converge on Cape Breton, 1758
In the age of Pacific exploration, two men spearheaded expeditions to parts of globe previously uncharted by Europeans - Jean François de La PĂ©rouse and James Cook. Although La PĂ©rouse and Cook would never meet, both men would converge on Cape Breton Island in the year 1758, near the beginning of their careers. This episode … Continue reading Podcast Episode 04 – Explorers La PĂ©rouse and Cook Converge on Cape Breton, 1758
Podcast Episode 03 – French Explorer La PĂ©rouse and the Shores of Cape Breton, 1757
Jean-François de La PĂ©rouse was one of the most renowned mariners and explorers of the 18th century, but in 1788 he and his expedition disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a mystery that would take decades to unravel. La PĂ©rouse visited Cape Breton Island several times during his early years at sea - this episode … Continue reading Podcast Episode 03 – French Explorer La PĂ©rouse and the Shores of Cape Breton, 1757
Podcast Episode 01 – John Montresor’s Overland Trek from Louisbourg to the Bras d’Or Lakes, 1759
In our first episode, we introduce the Lost World of Cape Breton podcast series. We also follow John Montresor, an engineer in the British army, overland from Louisbourg to the shores of the Bras d'Or Lakes as he embarks on an "inland scout" in the months following the fall of Cape Breton Island to the … Continue reading Podcast Episode 01 – John Montresor’s Overland Trek from Louisbourg to the Bras d’Or Lakes, 1759
“The Worst Place There is in the World”: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Aide-de-camp in Louisbourg – part 2
Having miraculously survived an apocalyptic 66-day North Atlantic crossing, the Chevalier de Johnstone arrived in Louisbourg on the 13th of September 17501 aboard L'IphigĂ©nie, a merchant ship owned by Louisbourg businessman Michel Rodrigue2. She limped into Louisbourg harbour a shell of her former self, dismasted and carrying a desperate assortment of tattered worn-out canvas. During … Continue reading “The Worst Place There is in the World”: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Aide-de-camp in Louisbourg – part 2
“The Worst Place There is in the World”: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Aide-de-camp in Louisbourg – part 1
The Chevalier de Johnstone was a miserable man - cynical, critical and abrasive. No doubt he was a miserable man well before the more disappointing moments of his life, but the hardships of his later years surely exacerbated a bitterness that was already malignant. He is known to have at one time escaped imminent danger … Continue reading “The Worst Place There is in the World”: Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Aide-de-camp in Louisbourg – part 1
The Lost World of Cape Breton Island 