Posted on 04/18/2019 11:07:02 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Just off the coast of Newfoundland is a collection of islands that are not part of the province. Indeed, they are not even Canada! Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are the last piece of French territory in North America. They are quite distinct from Newfoundland and Labrador, making them a must visit. Indeed, the tourism industry of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and the Burin Peninsula, in Eastern Newfoundland, are closely entwined. You’ll discover a whole new world when you take the ferry from the town of Fortune. Here’s some of the coolest facts about Newfoundland and Labrador’s closest foreign country.
It was French, then English, French then English, and eventually French again.
If anything, the history of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has been tumultuous. They have long been a territory that has been exchanged, sometimes violently so, between the French and the English as they waged conflicts in the larger world. Originally a French settlement, the British took control of the islands in 1713, 1778, 1794, 1803, and 1815, with the French taking back possession between each of these occupations. Eventually, the French took control of the islands once again in 1816, this time permanently.
It was a rum runner’s paradise.
During the 1920s and the American prohibition, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon featured prominently in efforts to smuggle alcohol into the US, with infamous mobsters setting up operations on the island. In fact, even Al Capone used the islands, and was a client of Hotel Robert, a hotel that still operates to this day.
(Excerpt) Read more at newfoundlandlabrador.com ...
Many Canadians may not realize that the United States isn't the only country that Canada shares a border with. W5's Kevin Newman takes a tour of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon; a tiny archipelago with a French connection. | W5: France's best-kept secret in North America | Official W5 | Published on September 29, 2018
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, officially the Overseas Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon... is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the only part of New France that remains under French control, with an area of 242 square kilometres (93 sq mi) and a population of 6,080 at the January 2011 census.
The islands are situated at the entrance of Fortune Bay, which extends into the southwestern coast of Newfoundland, near the Grand Banks. They are 3,819 kilometres (2,373 mi) from Brest, the nearest point in Metropolitan France, and 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland. | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | Wikipedia
French cars in North America: Cars of St. Pierre & Miquelon | The Truth About Cars 'blog
ST. PIERRE: Yesterday the 350-strong population was given a Christmas present - the vote.
Free French sailors under Admiral Muselier, the chief of the Free French navy, landed on this cold, windswept left-over from France's North American empire, and on its neighbour, Miquelon. Within an hour the Vichy governor, Baron de Bournat, and the island's only known fascist, Henri Moraze, were arrested. Shortly afterwards, the island's men were herded into the town hall to vote to remain with Vichy or join de Gaulle. The result: 98% for de Gaulle. | FREE FRENCH SEIZE ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON; WAKE LOST AFTER 14-DAY STAND BY TINY FORCE (12/25/41) | Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 12/25/41 | Ira Wolfert, Charles Hurd, Hanson W. Baldwin | Posted on 12/25/2011 5:00:40 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson | 5 posted on 12/25/2011 5:11:50 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
Thanks for posting this! I’ve always been curious about Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Maybe we’ll visit these islands at some point...
It was news to me, it came up as a related vid on the Roku YouTube app today -- probably because of the Curse of Oak Island that I'd been watching. :^)
And they still haven’t found the Knight Templar’s loot.
Yeah, it's weird, it's almost as if there never was any. :^)
One of the great untold stories of WWII right in our backyard.
The Free French navy had to hide somewhere. :^D The terrain looks interesting, and at one time I kinda wanted to visit NFLand and N Scotia (because of having read about Outer Baldonia in Reader's Digest, an article called "Where Is That Country?"), but I'll be satisfied with pics instead.
That’s all right, most Americans don’t realize the United States shares a border with Great Britain (in Hawaii). A small patch of land surrounding the spot where Cook died,given by the Kingdom of Hawaii to Great Britain.
That little island has airfields which host incoming flights from France. Natives of France can visit the island, hire a local fishing boat, and illegally enter Canada or the US quite easily. Guess where some of the people we end up arresting as terrorists come into the country from?
Thanks, that figures.
:^)
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