The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site
Hello friends!
For anyone who read my last blog post, I am back from my adventure in Nova Scotia! I just got back on Saturday (August 6th), but I'm already reminiscing about all of the fun things that we did. We had a great time visiting family, but we also made some amazing memories exploring our own beautiful country. Gosh, there is so much to see.
One of the highlights from our Eastern trip, aside from seeing the Cabot Trail and doing the Skyline Trail, of course, was visiting the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. I'm not sure which excursion I liked more, to be honest! They both had their perks. What an absolutely breathtaking experience back to the 1700s, though. One of the lines directly from Parks Canada that got me the most when I was researching the Fortress of Louisbourg before going was, "it's so real, it seems surreal". Boy did that ever prove to be true. I didn't feel like I was living in 2022 that's for sure (other than how hot it was...thanks, climate change).
Since I have done nothing but reminisce since I've been back, I wanted to come up with a creative way to showcase at least one of the things that I did to my followers. I spent a lot of time creating a narrated slideshow with some of the photos I took as I walked through the Fortress of Louisbourg. There is just over three minutes of total narration, but feel free to take your time and look at all the pictures once I finish talking.
Before that, though, is a brief history of the Louisbourg for those curious in learning more.
I have also included the maps of the Fortress that can be referred to while watching the slideshow. I make direct reference to the locations on the map throughout the slideshow so it might be useful for you to follow along to get an idea of where I was.
Feel free to also use these maps if you plan on going to the Fortress yourself! They are from the Parks Canada website, and you will get a physical map on the day of, but it might be useful to plan beforehand!
Let me know if you have any questions! I'll do my best to answer them or will point you in the right direction. I would love to see more photos if anyone else has been to Louisbourg before!
Enjoy,
Emily ♡
HISTORY OF THE FORTRESS OF LOUISBOURG
All information below is paraphrased from Parks Canada - full citation in Works Cited below
The French came to Louisbourg all the way back in 1713 after giving up the land of Acadia and Newfoundland to the British, marking the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. This left the French with only the Isle Royale and Isle Saint-Jean, which is now called Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island (PEI). These islands were used by the French to continue their cod fishing, which accounted for most of the Island's prosperity.
Construction of the fortified town in Louisbourg began in 1719 and finished 26 years later in 1745, on the eve of the first siege. The town quickly became a thriving community and became a hub of commerce, trading of manufactured goods and carious imported materials from France, Quebec, the West Indies, as well as New England.
Although the harbour was well-defended, the mainland wasn't quite as strong, and it was only a matter of time before battle struck out. The first attack came in 1745 following a declaration of war between the British and French. The British informed the French that the fortress was in disrepair with its poorly supplied troops, and before they knew it, New Englanders mounted an attack on Louisbourg. The fortress was captured after 46 days; however, only three days later Louisbourg was restored to the French by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
In 1758 Louisbourg was forced to surrender a second time, though. Lacking a strong navy to protect the sea surrounding its walls, it became hard to defend. The British army attacked with 13,100 troops supported by 14,000 crew on board 150 ships. They captured the fortress within seven weeks.
It was at this point that the British demolished the fortress walls so that Louisbourg would never again became a fortified French base.
NARRATED SLIDESHOW OF THE FORTRESS OF LOUISBOURG
FORTRESS OF LOUISBOURG SITE MAPS
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| Map of each attraction within the fortress, along with a detailed legend of amenities (Parks Canada). |
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| Second fortress map with parking information and remaining attractions (Parks Canada). |
Works Cited
Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada. “Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site.” Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada, 6 June 2022, https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg.
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