The years leading up to the second siege of Louisbourg were some of the most tumultuous and uncertain that the island of Cape Breton had ever seen. Despite the apprehension, however, people living on the island were making plans for their future. In the 1750s, the French Governor, the Count de Raymond, ordered three roads … Continue reading Falling Through the Cracks: An 18th Century Acadian Village on the Bras d’Or Lakes?
Louisbourg
Off The Beaten Track: The Old Roads, Trails and Footpaths of Cape Breton, 1713 – 1758
Thomas Davies, "vue du pont de la rivière du Sault a la Puce pres de Quebec, au Canada, prise en 1790." Although depicting a scene outside of Québec City, the road and bridge seen in this painting would have been similar to some of the ones built by the French on Cape Breton Island. English … Continue reading Off The Beaten Track: The Old Roads, Trails and Footpaths of Cape Breton, 1713 – 1758
Podcast Episode 07a – The Chevalier de Johnstone: From Culloden to Cape Breton
The Chevalier de Johnstone is one of the most colourful personalities to have come through Cape Breton in the 18th century. A Scottish exile who was involved in the 1746 Jacobite Rebellion, Johnstone was likely one of the only - if not the only - Scotsmen in Cape Breton during the time of Louisbourg. He … Continue reading Podcast Episode 07a – The Chevalier de Johnstone: From Culloden to Cape Breton
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 Roïale," 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 Pérouse 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 Pérouse and James Cook. Although La Pérouse 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 Pérouse and Cook Converge on Cape Breton, 1758
The Lost Settlements of 19th Century Cape Breton – the Old French Road, Clarke’s Road and Pollett’s Cove
Figure 1.1 - Cape Breton Island in 1831. By this time, Scottish immigration has been ongoing for more than two decades, and the island's communities and the roads that link them begin to look familiar to the modern eye. For the full size image from Archives Nova Scotia, click here. Drawn by John L. Johnston. … Continue reading The Lost Settlements of 19th Century Cape Breton – the Old French Road, Clarke’s Road and Pollett’s Cove
The Lost Settlements of 18th Century Cape Breton – St. Esprit, Allemands, Rouillé and Espagnole
Figure 1.1 - Map of Isle Royale, 1749 by Robert de Vaugondy. This map of Cape Breton Island is recognizable to us today, but a closer look helps us to appreciate just how different Île Royale was from the Cape Breton Island that emerged during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Certain French place … Continue reading The Lost Settlements of 18th Century Cape Breton – St. Esprit, Allemands, Rouillé and Espagnole
Podcast Épisode 2 (part. 1) – Helen Creighton et le mystère de « La Complainte de Louisbourg »
Dans la première partie de notre deuxième épisode, nous examinons la chanson traditionnelle acadienne « La complainte de Louisbourg », une chanson qui semble provenir d'un témoin oculaire du siège de Louisbourg en 1745. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giL5viUcG2c Recherché et écrit par JM Bourgeois, narration et production, JR Bourgeois -- Crédit vidéo : Songs of Nova Scotia - … Continue reading Podcast Épisode 2 (part. 1) – Helen Creighton et le mystère de « La Complainte de Louisbourg »
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 Lost World of Cape Breton Island 