SAINT-PIERRE and MIQUELON

Île aux Marins Battery | Fort Lorraine | Pointe aux Canons Battery | St. Pierre Fort

LE GRANDCOLOMBIER - THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON
SPM HISTORY - NEWFOUNDLAND HERITAGE
SPM TOURISM INFO
HERITAGE MUSEUM OF ST. PIERRE

NOTE: Permanent settlement by the French began in earnest by 1670. Became a British possession from 1714 - 1763, administered as part of Newfoundland. The 1763 Treaty of Paris restored the islands to France, becoming the last remaining outpost of the French North American empire after the fall of New France. The British again took control in 1778 and evacuated all the residents. The French regained control in 1783. Defences were planned by the French in 1784, but never carried out due to lack of money. The British once again took control in 1793 and captured the French garrison. The residents were not evacuated until 1794. The British left in 1796, but the French did not resettle the islands again until 1816. The islands are today administered by France as a Territorial Collectivity.

Île aux Marins Battery
(1853 - 1856 ?), Île-aux-Marins
Located on the north west side of the "Island of the Sailors", it was built during the Crimean War to protect the entrance to Saint-Pierre Harbour. Still extant and accessible to the public as a noted landmark. Before 1931 the island was called Île-aux-Chiens (Island of the Dogs). It has been uninhabited since 1965.

Pointe aux Canons Battery ?
(1690 - 1708, 1793 ?, 1853 - 1856 ?), Saint-Pierre
Located just before the jetty to the Pointe-aux-Canons Lighthouse, near the Chamber of Commerce. During the 19th century, this modern battery was established as a precautionary measure during the Crimean War. Four guns on iron carriages are on display. No remains of any fortification structure. Another 19th century cannon is located upright next to the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is not open to the public.

This was previously the site of a much older six-gun fort (aka St. Pierre Fort) that defended Saint-Pierre during the British raids of King William's War and Queen Anne's War. Attacked and destroyed by the British in 1702. Probably rebuilt, but the town was abandoned by the French in 1708. The British took formal possession of the island in 1714. It is not known if they fortified the islands during their tenure. The French probably refortified the harbour by 1792.

Fort Lorraine
(1942 - 1945), Saint-Pierre
Build during World War II as a surveillance outpost, a concrete ditch is all that remains of the fortifications that were undertaken by the Free French Forces of General Charles de Gaulle. Located near Rue Beaussant about four or five blocks inland from the harbour. In December 1941 Free French forces led by Rear-Admiral Émile Muselier "invaded" the islands on behalf of General de Gaulle, commanding three corvettes and the submarine Surcouf. The Vichy administration on the islands immediately surrendered. This "invasion" by Free French forces exploded into a major international incident because the use of military force by Free France was contrary to the Monroe Doctrine. The United States and Canada both threatened invasion of the islands, despite Free France being a nominal ally of both countries. However, the "liberation" of St. Pierre and Miquelon had graced the front pages of major newspapers in both countries as one of the first territories to be removed from Axis control.

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