For centuries,
the history of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and New France were closely
linked, but by the second half of the 18th century, Saint-Pierre and
Miquelon had become the lone French territory in North America. Its destiny,
initially tied to the volatile relations between Britain and France,
ultimately became a close reflection of France’s own struggles
with absolutism, revolution, colonialism and war.
Exploration and discovery
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon’s privileged geographical position along the
southern coast of Newfoundland gave the islands a particular importance in
the early cartography of Newfoundland; the Barbatos of Johannes Ruysch’s
map of 1506, the Ile Verte of the Corte Real expeditions, the Illa de la Trenidat
of the Juan de la Cosa map of 1500 are all likely representations of the Saint-Pierre
and Miquelon group of islands.
Beyond the cartographic
record, it was in 1536 that the first written reference to the name Saint-Pierre
was made by Jacques Cartier. Clearly not a discovery, Cartier’s reference to the “said
islands of sainct Pierre” was more a summary reference to a well-known
territorial beacon. In actuality, Jacques Cartier was not the first explorer
to make note of his passage in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
Some fifteen years
earlier, Joao Alvarez Faguendes, an explorer from King Manuel’s Portugal
baptised the Archipelago in honour of Saint Ursula, who according to Christian
legend was the saviour of Eleven Thousand Virgins. The Onze Myll Virgines Archipelago
or Virgines Islands were present on many maps as late as 1593; however, the
Portuguese influence was short lived and the name became extinct. As the Lusitanian
presence in Newfoundland waxed and waned, geographers of other European countries
made episodic mention of Saint-Pierre, Miquelon and the adjoining islands.
For instance, in 1541, the Spanish geographer, Alonzo de Santa Cruz described
the islands of Eleven Thousands Virgins as being frequented by Breton and Irish
fishermen.
Three years later, the
French geographer Jean Alphonse described the islands of Saint-Pierre in
his Islario and in 1579; the first mention of the island of Miquelon was
made in Martin de Hoyarçabal’s navigational
pilot.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon,
French fishing establishment
Archival references aside,
by the end of the 18th century, Saint-Pierre had become a seasonal settlement
for fishermen from Saint-Malo and Granville. The Basques of Saint-Jean de
Luz used Miquelon and Lizardie cove in Saint-Pierre.
In Saint-Pierre, harbour
tensions often arose between local inhabitants and the seasonal captains
from France over trade issues and access to the vital shoreline and graves
for drying and curing of fish. By the 1690’s,
Saint-Pierre had become a bustling community with many fishing stations
and close to 200 workers. Then again, skirmishes with the British left
Saint-Pierre unprotected and vulnerable. This situation, compounded with
the staunch refusal of those established in Saint-Pierre to follow any
orders from the Governor of Placentia, made the defence of the islands
a difficult task at the least.
Franco-British Rivalries
Constant battles between
the French and the English around the coast of Newfoundland in the following
years made any use of Saint-Pierre as a fishing ground a risky enterprise
at the best of times; no fewer than five British raids occurred between 1691
and 1708.
Nevertheless, by 1713,
the treaty of Utrecht had sealed the fate of the French possessions in
Newfoundland, and most of the French inhabitants of Placentia and the surrounding
communities were encouraged to migrate towards Louisbourg in the new colony
of l’Isle Royale (Cape Breton).
Despite official despatches
to France, several French citizens who swore allegiance to Britain remained
on the Southern Shores of Newfoundland and in Saint-Pierre as noted by
Captain William Taverner. It was under these circumstances that the “Island of Saint Peter”, became a fishing establishment of
British Newfoundland for the next fifty years.
The end of the French
North American Empire
In 1755, in neighbouring
Nova Scotia, the Acadian population became the unwilling participants of
a deportation campaign designed to rid the British colony of Nova Scotia
of its French inhabitants. Some Acadians escaped to Louisbourg, others made
it to Quebec, and France.
The treaty of Paris,
1763
It was the Treaty of
Paris, in 1763, following the Seven Year War, which established the islands
of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon as a shelter for the French fishery; the French
soon took advantage of this establishment and the King took all necessary
steps to ensure that the colony was a successful enterprise but before
long the arrival of Acadian refugees, Louisbourg Merchants, and the fast
growth of the new colony raised serious issues. On top of this, relations
with the British government in Newfoundland quickly became difficult. Hugh
Palliser saw any French military presence in Saint-Pierre as a serious
threat, just as William Pitt the Elder in London feared the islands would
become a second Louisburg.
Thus relations between
the French and the British remained tense. Moreover, events in the American
colonies would soon prove disastrous for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. An
active trade had developed between the French and the Americans in Saint-Pierre,
which the British in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia had tolerated to some
degree.
French support for
the American war of Independence, consequences for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
But French support for
the American war of Independence meant only one thing in the end: on September
13th 1778, five British war ships sailed into Saint-Pierre’s
harbour under Commodore Evans. The Baron of l’Espérance, unable
to defend his island, capitulated. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon was evacuated
and the inhabitants were deported and dispersed, only to live in poverty
in the many harbours of western France, while the British ensured that the
establishments in Saint-Pierre were completely destroyed.
The treaty of Versailles,
1783
Nevertheless, when the
treaty of Versailles of 1783 established the return of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
to France, establishments were rebuilt and the population returned to the
islands. The baron of l’Espérance had
grand plans for the fortification of the islands and the building of a large
settlement; however, French policy was more fiscally conservative.
The kingdom
of France had declared bankruptcy some years earlier and after bankrolling
the American Revolution, the coffers were empty, and no monies would
be available for fortifications. All such plans were abandoned and the
islands were to remain a fishing outport. By 1788, the economic situation
in France had become so desperate that the Estates General had been called
for the first time since 1615 to examine the King’s request to raise new taxes. France was on
the verge of revolution.
The French Revolution
in North America
Before long, the history
of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon was to mimic, albeit on a much smaller scale,
the history of France. The flow of ideas between the islands and France
was maintained through the seasonal fishery and the commercial trade.
By
1789, the excessive punishment of a respected elder inhabitant of the
island by the commander of a corvette of the French Navy caused unrest
in the colony. Such events in the midst of revolutionary fervour became
pivotal. The French Revolution had arrived in Saint-Pierre. A local assembly
of 28 delegates was elected with the approval of the local governor who
believed he had no choice but to acquiesce. Fortunately for governor Danseville,
the great majority of the inhabitants and most of the elected delegates
were conservatives. On the other hand several merchants with important
interests in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon formed delegations to the French
National Assembly, bypassing the authority of the governor. Then in 1792,
the accidental killing of a young woman by her republican brother became
the necessary pretext for the governor to enact the banishment of many
political agitators and overt republicans.
However, during the early
spring of 1793, news of the trial and execution of Louis the XVIth had
reached Saint-Pierre. Jacobin elements of the local assembly proposed
and enacted a number of symbolic Republican edicts including the removal
of all royal symbols. Danseville had all but lost control of the affairs
of the colony.
The last British Expedition
against Saint-Pierre & Miquelon
The traditional Acadian
population of Miquelon, being staunchly loyal to its Catholic faith and
to the throne of France, fled the colony for the Magdalen islands. By
May 5th 1793, news of War between Britain and France reached Saint-Pierre.
Nine days later, at six o’clock in the morning,
the 300 British troops, three frigates and four other ships of Rear-Admiral
King and Brigadier General Olgivie marked the end of North America’s
smallest republican experiment. Over the next year, the 1500 inhabitants
of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon who hadn’t managed to flee were held
prisoner by 160 British troops. During the fall of 1794, the remaining
population was shipped to Halifax and held until 1796. The British used
the settlements of Saint-Pierre for their own fishery, but could not survive
the retaliatory campaign of French Admiral Richerie, who sank over 80 British
fishing vessels and destroyed the establishments of Saint-Pierre after
failing in an attack on Saint John’s.
Life in Exile and
the Second Treaty of Paris
During the following years,
the monumental upheavals in France, including Napoleon’s accession and domination of Europe were to keep the islands
of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon out of French hands except for one brief moment
in 1802-1803. Although the Amiens treaty of 1802 had decreed that Saint-Pierre
and Miquelon would once again be returned to France, the state of the colony,
the strained relations between France and Britain, and the Napoleonic Empire
kept the islands out of French hands until the second abdication of the Emperor
in 1815. It was therefore the second treaty of Paris, in 1815, which formalized
the final restitution of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to the kingdom of France
and by 1816 the first inhabitants had returned to the islands.
A new century
Consequently,
following a century of warfare between Britain and France, deportations,
poverty and political upheaval, the exiles of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
would no longer be the pawns of Empires. By the end of the 19th century
the population would expand eight fold and Saint-Pierre would become one
of France’s most
important harbours.
The seasonal French Fishery
expanded quickly. As well, important commercial links were established
with Spain for salt, the United States and France for supplies such as
lumber, fishing equipment and food staples. Hundreds of seasonal workers
were brought over to cure, dry and salt fish. Hundreds more worked on the
fishing Banks. Despite three major fires and many losses at sea, the town
of Saint-Pierre kept expanding towards the hills, and the Island of Dogs
(Ile aux Chiens) across the harbour soon became a town of its own.
This growing importance
of Saint-Pierre and the expansion of the French Fishery before long raised
the ire of merchants and politicians of Saint John’s,
who realized that the islands’ influence on the Southern Shore of Newfoundland
and the French Shore was strengthening. New treaties between France and Britain
over the French Shore in 1857 caused significant unrest, fanning anti-French
sentiment in Newfoundland politics. For example by 1887, the Bait Bill came
into play, prohibiting the sale of bait to French fishermen. This measure in
fact was more damaging to the economy and commerce of the Southern Shore of
Newfoundland itself. It symbolized, of course, the rising tensions between
Saint John’s and Saint-Pierre.
Crisis in the fishery
In 1901-1902, Saint-Pierre’s population expanded to about 6500 inhabitants
and its fishery employed over 4000 seasonal workers, but a number of events
were about to shake the foundation of Saint-Pierre’s economy. Starting
in 1892, France imposed custom tariffs that made purchasing any materials
from Canada, Newfoundland or the USA cost prohibitive. The local fishing
industry had to import everything from France at grossly inflated prices;
this situation lasted until 1912, long enough to be a factor in a serious
economic downturn. By the early 1900s, the worst fishing campaigns in decades,
combined with tragic losses at sea and the modernisation, mechanisation and
growing independence of the French fishing fleet all contributed to the rapid
reduction of the local fleet and the departure of over 2000 inhabitants to
France and Canada. By 1904, another symbolic blow came into being, as France
abandoned the French Shore in exchange for territorial gains in its African
colonies. This was the price of the Entente Cordiale.
World War I
In 1914, war broke
out in Europe and by 1915 several hundred men from Saint-Pierre, Ile
aux Chiens and Miquelon left the North Atlantic for the Colonial Battalions
and the killing fields of France. Close to a hundred soldiers lost their
lives in Europe and many of those who returned to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
after 1919 had serious emotional and physical scars, some caused by chemical
warfare.
Prohibition
With the decline of the
fishery, and the economic consequences of the war, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
seemed destined to fade into economic collapse. At this point, the legislative
achievements of an American Senator, Andrew Volstead, unwittingly put the
islands back on the tracks to prosperity.
This new era in the economic
history of the islands came about as follows: on October 28th 1919, the United
States of America became a “dry country” under
the National Prohibition Act. In a peculiar turn of events, American rumrunners
turned their attention to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and before long the islands
had become North America’s alcohol warehouse. Powerful syndicates used
the islands as a strategic base for rum running along the Eastern Seaboard
of Nova Scotia and New England. The taxation system in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon,
along with the general activity surrounding the importing and exporting of
spirits, provided employment and revenue for all.
More economic hardship
Yet, as quickly as Prohibition
came, it went. Prohibition was revoked with the 21st amendment to the
American Constitution in 1933. Under pressure from the
United States, France outlawed illegal alcohol trade activity on the islands
in 1935. The islanders swiftly came to the brutal realisation that the
local economy would once again be in tatters. The workforce had lost interest
in the difficult labour of the sea. The fishery had been all but abandoned.
Immigration towards Canada temporarily resumed as entire families left
their depressed islands. In 1937, an autocratic, conservative, yet dedicated
governor was appointed. Gilbert de Bournat undertook work for welfare schemes,
commissioned geological studies, and established measures to strengthen
the social safety net in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
World War II, Vichy
and the Free French
On a larger front, 1940
brought the complete collapse of the French under attack from Germany. French
President Albert Lebrun gave the political levers of power to Marshall Philippe
Pétain. Pétain signed an armistice
with Hitler, thrusting Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, along with the rest of France’s
colonial empire into the hands of Vichy France. As such, the islands became
an object of political and strategic concern for Newfoundland, Canada, the
United States and the Free French Forces of Charles de Gaulle.
Resenting the
autocratic and overtly Pétainist overtones of Count de Bournat’s
administration, large segments of the local population organised a pro-Gaullist
movement advocating joining the Free French Forces. Aided somewhat by the Monroe
Doctrine but chiefly by the American recognition of the Vichy Government, Count
de Bournat was able to negotiate an economic assistance package for the Saint-Pierre
and Miquelon economy based on the frozen assets of the French government. The
French Fishing Fleet returned to France after De Bournat obtained the removal
of the naval blockade by Ottawa and Washington.
On December 24th 1941,
following strict orders from Charles de Gaulle, and feigning naval exercises,
Rear Admiral Émile
Muselier headed for Saint-Pierre’s harbour with three corvettes and the
submarine Surcouf. Within minutes, Gilbert de Bournat had surrendered his authority
to Muselier and the islands became part of Free France. The liberation of Saint-Pierre
and Miquelon exploded into a bona fide international incident as Washington
refused to condone the Free French actions and considered any political change
in Saint-Pierre as contrary to the Monroe Doctrine. Despite military threats
from the American administration, public opinion and a handful of American
and Canadian journalists, forced Secretary of State Cordell Hull to abandon
any interest in the matter. The story of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon’s
liberation by the Free French went from gracing the front page of the New
York Times to complete obscurity as the violence of World War II raged on.
The post war era,
boundary issues with Canada
Moving forward to the 1950s
and 1960s, the local fishing industry employed a great number of locals as
the fleet became more mechanised. Codfish remained the essential resource
for the islands. However by 1977, a serious territorial dispute arose between
France and Canada as both countries extended their territorial rights to
200 miles offshore.
The fact that Newfoundland
and Saint-Pierre are only separated by a twelve-mile stretch of water created
a political conundrum as both states claimed overlapping territorial rights.
This issue would become the focal point of local and regional politics
for the next two decades.
In 1981, the government
of France requested an international arbitration over the territorial and
fishing rights of both countries. In 1986 Ottawa proposed an ad hoc international
tribunal determining sole territorial rights. France rejected the offer and
tensions flared between Newfoundland and Saint-Pierre. In 1988 Canada went
so far as to close its harbours to French vessels, and accused them of over
fishing the resources.
When fishing quotas were
drastically cut, the local population and its politicians organised a number
of spectacular political protests including the « illegal » fishing campaign of
1988 which culminated with the arrest of the entire crew of the Croix de Lorraine,
which included most of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon’s politicians. Despite
protests and large fines, there was no end result.
The ad hoc International
Tribunal in New York was left to determine the boundary between France and
Canada. The Tribunal set forth its final decision in June of 1992 by granting
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon a small economic zone upon which was pinned a 100-mile
long, 10-mile wide corridor to international waters.
This decision stunned
observers from both countries, but Canada believed it had benefited the
most. The settlement of the boundary issue between France and Canada has
opened the door to future oil exploration but the fundamentals of Saint-Pierre
and Miquelon’s economy has yet again been changed dramatically.
