Île-Royale

Île-Royale
1713–1763
Motto: 
Map of the colony.
Map of the colony.
StatusColony of France within New France (1535–1758)
Under British military occupation (1758–1763)
CapitalLouisbourg
Official languagesFrench
Religion
Catholicism
GovernmentMonarchy
King of France 
• 1534–1547
Francis I (first)
• 1715–1763
Louis XV (last)
Viceroy of New France 
• 1534–1541
Jacques Cartier (first; as Governor of New France)
• 1755–1760
Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil (last)
History 
• Established
1713
• Disestablished
1763
CurrencyLivre tournois
Today part ofCanada (Îles de la Madeleine, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia)
Louisbourg on Ïle Royale in 1750

Île-Royale (French pronunciation: [il ʁwajal], lit. 'Royal Island') was a French colony in North America that existed from 1713 to 1763 as part of the wider colony of Acadia.

It consisted of two main islands, Île Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), Île Saint-Jean (present-day Prince Edward Island) and the Magdalen Islands archipelago. It was ceded to the British Empire after the Seven Years' War, and is today part of Canada.

Context

The 1713 Treaties of Utrecht, which brought an end to the War of the Spanish Succession, broke the equilibrium that existed in North America between Great Britain and France. The treaties marked the start of the reduction of French royal authority in this region of the world. Article 13 of the Treaties of Utrecht reads: "The Island called Cape Breton and all the others located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, will as of this date belong to France...".

France recognized the rights of Great Britain on the Hudson Bay region and also ceded continental Acadia, Newfoundland and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to Great Britain. In now-British Newfoundland, the French kept their fishing rights and some rights to use parts of the land along the coast to work. Mostly, French settlers from those ceded lands relocated to the maritime islands that were established as France-owned.

The territory of modern New Brunswick was a source of contention between Great Britain and France for 50 additional years, which was only to be resolved by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 with the surrender of French.

Re-settlement

Philippe de Pastour de Costebelle, 1st Governor of Île-Royale

Philippe de Pastour de Costebelle, regional French colonial governor and naval officer, persuaded the Acadian inhabitants of Plaisance and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to move to Île-Royale. In 1714, they came to inspect the land and certain families, such as the Costes and the Tillards, decided to establish themselves while others only passed through before settling on Île Saint-Jean. The majority established themselves at St. Peters (renamed Port Toulouse) and situated on the eastern coast of Île-Royale, recreating the Acadian colony. French ships came regularly to fish cod.

Partisan map of Acadia in 1754.

Louisbourg

Strategically located, Louisbourg was founded in 1713 and used as a fishing port for cod. It had a readily defensible harbour and served peacefully for three decades as a seaport for the French colony. A fortress was constructed starting in 1719 to protect French interests in North America and to serve the seasonal fishing industry. Its geographic position permitted Louisbourg to serve, not only as capital of Île-Royale, but as first line of defence in the 18th century during a series of wars with Great Britain for the supremacy of North America.

During the War of the Austrian Succession, New England colonial troops aided by the British Royal Marines attacked the city, capturing it in 1745 after six weeks of siege. Despite its capture and then three years of British governance, Louisbourg was returned to France in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in exchange for Madras, India, which the French had captured in the war. With Louisbourg's return, the French Minister of Marine appointed Charles des Herbiers de La Ralière as governor in 1748, and Jean-Louis de Raymond in 1751, who was replaced in 1754 by Augustin de Boschenry de Drucour.

End of French rule

Peace was short lived, and on 26 July 1758, after the second Siege of Louisbourg led by British officers Edward Boscawen and James Wolfe, the French Governor Augustin de Drucourt gave the keys of the city to the British.

Following the transfer, 4,000 Acadian inhabitants were deported. A group of ten families from Port Toulouse fled to Isle Madame where their descendants still live today.

Portrait of Commodore Charles Knowles when Governor of Louisburg, hangs in Portsmouth Athenæum

Governors

Notes

  1. ↑ The Royal Banner of early modern France or "Bourbon Flag" was the most commonly used flag in New France
  2. Lesser version of the coat of arms as used by the French Government.
  3. ↑ Lesser version of the coat of arms as used by the French Government.

References

  1. ↑ The Governor General of Canada (12 November 2020). "Royal Banner of France – Heritage Emblem". Confirmation of the blazon of a Flag. February 15, 2008 Vol. V, p. 202. The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General.
  2. ↑ New York State Historical Association (1915). Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association with the Quarterly Journal: 2nd–21st Annual Meeting with a List of New Members. The Association. It is most probable that the Bourbon Flag was used during the greater part of the occupancy of the French in the region extending southwest from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, known as New France... The French flag was probably blue at that time with three golden fleur-de-lis ....
  3. ↑ "Background: The First National Flags". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2021. At the time of New France (1534 to the 1760s), two flags could be viewed as having national status. The first was the banner of France – a blue square flag bearing three gold fleurs-de-lys. It was flown above fortifications in the early years of the colony. For instance, it was flown above the lodgings of Pierre Du Gua de Monts at Île Sainte-Croix in 1604. There is some evidence that the banner also flew above Samuel de Champlain's habitation in 1608. ... the completely white flag of the French Royal Navy was flown from ships, forts and sometimes at land-claiming ceremonies.
  4. ↑ "INQUINTE.CA | CANADA 150 Years of History ~ The story behind the flag". inquinte.ca. When Canada was settled as part of France and dubbed "New France," two flags gained national status. One was the Royal Banner of France. This featured a blue background with three gold fleurs-de-lis. A white flag of the French Royal Navy was also flown from ships and forts and sometimes flown at land-claiming ceremonies.
  5. ↑ Wallace, W. Stewart (1948). "Flag of New France". The Encyclopedia of Canada. Vol. II. Toronto: University Associates of Canada. pp. 350–351. During the French régime in Canada, there does not appear to have been any French national flag in the modern sense of the term. The "Banner of France", which was composed of fleur-de-lys on a blue field, came nearest to being a national flag, since it was carried before the king when he marched to battle, and thus in some sense symbolized the kingdom of France. During the later period of French rule, it would seem that the emblem...was a flag showing the fleur-de-lys on a white ground... as seen in Florida. There were, however, 68 flags authorized for various services by Louis XIV in 1661; and a number of these were doubtless used in New France
  6. ↑ R.R. Palmer, A History of the Modern World 2nd ed. 1961, p. 234.
  7. ↑ M. Philippe de Pastour de Costebelle
  8. 1 2 Crowley, T. A. (1979). "Raymond, Jean-Louis de, Comte de Raymond". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  9. ↑ Pothier, Bernard (1974). "Monbeton de Brouillan, Saint-Ovide, Joseph de". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  10. ↑ Forant, Isaac-Louis. "Biography – FORANT, ISAAC-LOUIS DE – Volume II (1701-1740) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". Canadian Dictionary. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  11. ↑ Adams, Blaine (1974). "le Prévost duQuesnel, Jean-Baptiste-Louis". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  12. ↑ Fortier, John (1974). "des Herbiers de La Ralière, Charles". In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.