Fortress of Louisbourg
A Bell From the Fortress of Louisbourg - Day 99 - Daily Content Challenge
Today’s bell is one I purchased to remind me of a visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg.
French settlers from Placentia, Newfoundland founded a settlement in 1713 on the rocky shoreline of Cape Breton Island. They named the settlement for Louis XIV and it became the capital of the French colony of Île Royale.
Louisbourg became an important fishing and shipbuilding centre. It was home to the local government and became a military garrison with a civilian population.
In 1720 they began to fortify the settlement and walls were built around the settlement. It took 28 years to build the fortifications and in some places the walls were nearly 11 meters thick. They had spots for 148 cannon to be placed but the full complement of guns was never installed.
Louisbourg became one of France’s chief strongholds in North America.
The British government realized that the Royal Navy could not sail up the St. Lawrence River without being molested by the French garrison at the Fortress of Louisbourg so they attacked the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1758. The British invaded the fortress, attacking with 13,100 troops who were supported by 14,000 crew on board 150 ships. It took seven weeks to capture the fortress. The British did not want Louisbourg to ever again become a fortified French base, so they demolished the fortress walls.
Two hundred years later in 1961, the Government of Canada began a $25 million project to reconstruct about one-quarter of the original town and the fortifications. The buildings, yards, gardens and streets were recreated as they were during the 1740’s. Today, almost all of the buildings on site are reconstructions that were built between the 1960s and 1980s although many of them incorporate their original foundations.
I remember going to Louisbourg while on a family trip when I think I was about 12 years old. The reconstruction had just started at that time. In 2012, ten years ago, I returned with my sister, Harriet and we decided to explore the National Historic Site.
When you reach the entrance, you are greeted by guards dressed in 1720’s costumes. They ask you to declare if you are French or English. Your answer determines how you will be treated as you enter this French Settlement. It was a great tour and the buns made daily in the reconstructed bakery are delicious.
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1 Comment
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on January 15, 2022 at 3:06 pm
We visited Ft Louisbourg when the children were young. Really enjoyed that tour. Also ate an authentic style lunch in their officer’s mess.
V. King
We visited Ft Louisbourg when the children were young. Really enjoyed that tour. Also ate an authentic style lunch in their officer's mess. V. King