Fort Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

Canada certainly has an interesting history! Since I can’t even remember all I learned about American History, it has taken me several weeks to make sense of the Maritime Provinces and their beginnings.

Canada was officially made a country in 1867. But it was not until 1982 that The Canada Act severed all constitutional and legislative ties with the UK. Can you believe that? Just 28 years ago!

In 2009, the population of Nova Scotia was 940,000. Almost 80 percent of Nova Scotia's population trace their ancestry either wholly or partly to the British Isles. French origin ranks second: 16.7 percent of residents have some French ancestry. The next largest groups by ancestry are German and Dutch. Residents of Nova Scotia are also of Polish, Italian, Chinese, and Lebanese descent. Over 6,400 residents of the province have African origins. About 28,560 residents have Amerindian origins, and primarily belong to the Micmac Nation.

Up there they are referred to as “First Nations people”.

So, it was difficult for me to unravel the tangled history of the Fortress at Louisbourg on the eastern shore of N.S. In 1713, mainland Nova Scotia was ceded to the British, and the French build the fortress on Cape Breton Island. In 1745, the fort was captured by a force from Maine. Later it was destroyed by the British and it was left in rubble. Because it was on a sheltered body of water it lay undisturbed for many years.

The government of Canada has now restored this fort in Nova Scotia,, to the state as it would have been in 1744. Thanks to documented inventories of the fort, archaeologists and historians were able to reconstruct the fort and outer buildings using much of the original materials into a condition that impresses one as being 'authentic.'

It’s good location offered ready access to fishing and links to colonies in the FrenchWest Indies, North America and France, so the settlement became a thriving town and seaport. It became one of the most significant fishing and commercial ports in North America

The fortress of Louisbourg became a National Historic Site in 1928. In 1961, Parks Canada began reconstruction of approximately 25 percent of the fortified town.

While we toured the fort, we were amused and intrigued by the ‘people of the village.” They were local residents, of course , and a fair number of college kids working there on summer vacation. Each person is given a role to play and they are trained in the habits, customs and events of the time. All that we encountered were excellent in answering our questions about what life was like for the soldiers inside the fort and for the townspeople who manned the taverns, bakery, blacksmith shop, and finer homes for the officers’ families. These are some of the photos I took which gives you a glimpse into the reinactment.

As we looked out over the harbor, we tried to imagine what it would be like at the end of a cold winter, when the ice melted and one kept a constant lookout for ships ,arriving with long awaited supplies from England or France..