Hawk1981
VIP Member
- Apr 1, 2020
- 209
- 269
- 73
The original settlement was made in 1713, and initially called Havre à l'Anglois. When the War of Spanish Succession was settled with the Treaty of Utrecht, Britain was given control of mainland Nova Scotia and France was given Ile Royale, what is today known as Cape Breton Island. On the eastern side of Cape Breton, the French found an ice-free, sheltered harbor to act as a base for France’s interests in the cod fishery and to serve as an important trading outpost because of its proximity to Europe and colonies in both New England and the West Indies. They named it Louisbourg, in honor of King Louis XIV. Subsequently, the fishing port grew to become a major commercial port and a strongly defended fortress.
Over the course of almost three decades, engineers surrounded the town and garrison with massive stone walls that would make it one of the most extensive fortifications in North America. The 2.5 miles of walls measured 30 feet high and 36 feet thick in some places. The construction and maintenance of the fortress was expensive. King Louis XV was said to have remarked that he expected to see its walls rising above the horizon when he looked out a window of his palace at Versailles, in France.
In addition to its military purpose, Louisbourg became a substantial town and seaport. Little agriculture was carried out there, the cod fishery being the principal economic activity. As a base for the fishing industry, Louisbourg developed diversified shipping links. Each year the port welcomed trading vessels from France, the Caribbean, the British American colonies, Acadia and Québec. Fishermen from France and Spain — Breton, Norman and Basque — joined the fishing industry each summer. The town's settler population, drawn partly from New France and from France itself, grew to roughly 2,000 by 1740 and double that in the 1750s. During its peak it was the third busiest port in North America.
Although its governor was subservient to the governor general of New France at Québec, Île Royale functioned as a separate colony. With its military garrison and its importance as a fishing and trading port, it was the center of French power in the region. However, due to Louisbourg’s remote location and inhospitable climate, governors and military officers disliked being posted there.
In 1744, Britain was drawn into conflict with France as part of the larger War of the Austrian Succession. The Anglo-French clash would be known in the British colonies as King George’s War. Until this time, Louisbourg had not participated in any military actions, although the fortress had provided refuge for Indigenous people allied with the French who raided English settlements. Louisbourg also offered a safe harbor for French privateers who preyed on fishing fleets and ships from New England.
On 24 May 1744, a force of soldiers from Louisbourg aboard a fleet of 17 vessels, under the command of Captain François du Pont Duvivier, made a surprise attack on the small English fort and settlement at Grassy Island, near Canso (on the present-day Nova Scotia mainland), forcing the British garrison there to surrender. The French destroyed the settlement and took the British to Louisbourg as prisoners. While the British awaited transfer to Boston in a prisoner exchange, their officers were free to move about the town. They took note of weaknesses in the so-called “impregnable” fortress. While the fortress was well defended against attacks from the sea, it was vulnerable to land-based assaults.
In Boston, the freed officers reported their observations to Massachusetts governor William Shirley. They told him that Louisbourg’s garrison was undermanned, and that morale among the French troops was low, largely because of poor food and because they hadn’t been paid in months. They also said that due to poor construction, parts of the seemingly formidable walls were crumbling. They also revealed the presence of nearby ridges and hills overlooking Louisbourg’s landward walls. And they made sketches of Louisbourg’s defenses, which they gave to Shirley.
Shirley raised a force of more than 4,000 New Englanders, for an expedition against Louisbourg. The Fortress was besieged in 1745 by the New England force backed by a Royal Navy squadron. The New England attackers succeeded when the fortress capitulated on June 16, 1745. A major expedition by the French to recapture the fortress led by Jean-Baptiste de La Rochefoucauld de Roye, duc d'Anville, the following year was destroyed by storms, disease and British naval attacks before it ever reached the fortress.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748, the British returned Louisbourg, and all of Île Royale, to the French, much to the disgust of the New Englanders, who considered it an act of betrayal by the British government. The new French governor, Augustine de Boschenry de Drucour, strengthened Louisbourg’s defences and increased the garrison to more than 3,500 regular troops augmented by militia, marines and sailors. He stocked the storehouses with enough provisions and munitions to last a year in the event of another siege.
Over the course of almost three decades, engineers surrounded the town and garrison with massive stone walls that would make it one of the most extensive fortifications in North America. The 2.5 miles of walls measured 30 feet high and 36 feet thick in some places. The construction and maintenance of the fortress was expensive. King Louis XV was said to have remarked that he expected to see its walls rising above the horizon when he looked out a window of his palace at Versailles, in France.
In addition to its military purpose, Louisbourg became a substantial town and seaport. Little agriculture was carried out there, the cod fishery being the principal economic activity. As a base for the fishing industry, Louisbourg developed diversified shipping links. Each year the port welcomed trading vessels from France, the Caribbean, the British American colonies, Acadia and Québec. Fishermen from France and Spain — Breton, Norman and Basque — joined the fishing industry each summer. The town's settler population, drawn partly from New France and from France itself, grew to roughly 2,000 by 1740 and double that in the 1750s. During its peak it was the third busiest port in North America.
Although its governor was subservient to the governor general of New France at Québec, Île Royale functioned as a separate colony. With its military garrison and its importance as a fishing and trading port, it was the center of French power in the region. However, due to Louisbourg’s remote location and inhospitable climate, governors and military officers disliked being posted there.
In 1744, Britain was drawn into conflict with France as part of the larger War of the Austrian Succession. The Anglo-French clash would be known in the British colonies as King George’s War. Until this time, Louisbourg had not participated in any military actions, although the fortress had provided refuge for Indigenous people allied with the French who raided English settlements. Louisbourg also offered a safe harbor for French privateers who preyed on fishing fleets and ships from New England.
On 24 May 1744, a force of soldiers from Louisbourg aboard a fleet of 17 vessels, under the command of Captain François du Pont Duvivier, made a surprise attack on the small English fort and settlement at Grassy Island, near Canso (on the present-day Nova Scotia mainland), forcing the British garrison there to surrender. The French destroyed the settlement and took the British to Louisbourg as prisoners. While the British awaited transfer to Boston in a prisoner exchange, their officers were free to move about the town. They took note of weaknesses in the so-called “impregnable” fortress. While the fortress was well defended against attacks from the sea, it was vulnerable to land-based assaults.
In Boston, the freed officers reported their observations to Massachusetts governor William Shirley. They told him that Louisbourg’s garrison was undermanned, and that morale among the French troops was low, largely because of poor food and because they hadn’t been paid in months. They also said that due to poor construction, parts of the seemingly formidable walls were crumbling. They also revealed the presence of nearby ridges and hills overlooking Louisbourg’s landward walls. And they made sketches of Louisbourg’s defenses, which they gave to Shirley.
Shirley raised a force of more than 4,000 New Englanders, for an expedition against Louisbourg. The Fortress was besieged in 1745 by the New England force backed by a Royal Navy squadron. The New England attackers succeeded when the fortress capitulated on June 16, 1745. A major expedition by the French to recapture the fortress led by Jean-Baptiste de La Rochefoucauld de Roye, duc d'Anville, the following year was destroyed by storms, disease and British naval attacks before it ever reached the fortress.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748, the British returned Louisbourg, and all of Île Royale, to the French, much to the disgust of the New Englanders, who considered it an act of betrayal by the British government. The new French governor, Augustine de Boschenry de Drucour, strengthened Louisbourg’s defences and increased the garrison to more than 3,500 regular troops augmented by militia, marines and sailors. He stocked the storehouses with enough provisions and munitions to last a year in the event of another siege.
