At one time France controlled vast holdings throughout North America. They stretched far into the interior and all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.
France had been a great colonial power in North America since the Sixteenth Century while jostling against the territorial aspirations of Britain and Spain. The other powers ascended, often at France’s expense.
France lost colonial holdings after incursions, fighting, negotiations and treaties. It also sold one of its major segments, the Louisiana Colony, to the fledgling United States of America. That land became a springboard for the USA to dominate the central portion of the continent.
Over time, widespread French holdings that once reached throughout much of North America dwindled to a mere vestige. Now it’s nearly nothing. Only a tiny archipelago off the southern coast of Newfoundland known as Saint Pierre and Miquelon remains.
French Influences
St. Pierre and Miquelon are 4500 kilometres from Paris but only 25 km from Canada. They sit just south of Newfoundland. Nonetheless, the islands take on a distinctly French flair, a slice of continental Europe in an unlikely, remote spot. The islands stand apart culturally despite their proximity to the North American continent.
- They occupy a unique time zone for North America, two hours ahead of Eastern Time, one hour ahead of Atlantic Time and thirty minutes ahead of Newfoundland Standard Time.
- Residents use the Euro as their local currency.
- Canadians visitors need to bring electrical converters with French-style plugs because outlets work at 220 Volts.
- Someone calling on a phone presses six digits rather than the standard seven found a few kilometres away.
- License plates are not the usual twelve by six inches ubiquitous throughout North America but rather the longer, skinnier European version.
Island Life
The islands themselves are composed primarily of St. Pierre, where the majority of the 7,000 residents live, and Miquelon with about 700 residents. There are also a number of smaller islets including Grand Colombier, Petit Colombier, Île aux Marins, Île aux Pigeons and Île aux Vainqueurs. These islets are generally uninhabited through much of the year except for the summer months.
Miquelon itself is interesting from a geological standpoint because it’s actually three islands that have been joined together by tombolos, or large sandbars formed over time by the action of waves. Miquelon’s distinct pieces are Le Cap, Miquelon, and Langlade. The landmass of the entire archipelago, the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, when added together is a mere 242 square kilometres. That’s a far cry from the glory that was once New France.
Trying To Get Along
European inhabitants first settled permanently on St. Pierre & Miquelon in the 17th Century. They were Basques, Bretons and Normans looking for fish. Abundant cod on the nearby Grand Banks attracted them. It was a rugged and hard-working lifestyle. Residents prospered only when alcohol prohibition in the United States turned the islands into a smuggling outpost. However, that didn’t last.
Relationships between Canada and France sometimes strain over these islands, or more accurately, over the fishing rights as over-fishing reduced local cod populations. A 1992 International Court of Arbitration ruling settled the question for the moment. It ruled generally in favor of Canada with the exception of a narrow rectangular corridor running 370 km due south of the islands. Unfortunately the decision greatly impacted the fishing industry in St. Pierre and Miquelon which is now undertaking efforts to diversity its economy. One of the ways it hopes to do this is through tourism.
This may be the only spot on the planet where one can take a regularly-scheduled ferry ride directly from Canada to France.
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