Our Vacation to the East Coast: Cannons Muskets and Funny French Food

(Installment #6 - Friday)
Photos and many edits to follow.

After leaving Broad Cove (AKA noisy and crowded Cove) we headed off in search of the recreated town of Louisbourg. Last time we were in Nova Scotia the historical site of Louisbourg was closed so this time we made specific plans to be there in plenty of time to see the site.

Louisbourg is a recreation of the French fortified town which thrived on Cape Breton or Isle Royale as they called it from 1713 to 1758 The French came to Louisbourg , after forfeiting Acadia and Newfoundland to the British by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, leaving them with only Isle Royale (Cape Breton) and Isle Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island). The history of the town was violent as they had barely finished building it before the first siege in 1745. Eventually it was to fall in a siege in 1758 at which time the British laid total waste to the town leaving only the foundations to prevent reoccupation.

In 1961 the Government of Canada at a cost of $25 million dollar rebuilt approximately one-quarter of the original town and fortifications recreated as they were during the 1740s, immediately preceding Louisbourg's first siege.

You enter the site via the visitor centre and a transit style bus takes you the few Kilometres to the town. The size and scope of the project is amazing. It is, by all accounts, a small town with streets and walls and many buildings all functioning with a staff of actors dressed in period costumes. Michelle and I enjoyed it immensely being both history majors (Hers an MA and me a BA in history). We walked in and around all the buildings we were greeted by several actors that all stuck to their roles well. We met soldiers and merchants and cooks. We watched as they fired muskets and cannons heard the sounds of drums as they marched down the broad streets of the town. We even ate an authentic 1745 meal in a low class establishment. We where given only the utensils you would have in 1745, which amounted to a simple metal plate a chipped ceramic cup and a heavy metal spoon. Eating an open-face sandwich and vegetables with only a spoon proved challenging. I cut through the very heavy bread with some difficulty cleaving the thing into two pieces then gave up and used my hands (I am told this was the norm)

The day was warm but cloudy and some what foggy but it only added to the ambiance of the place. The firing of the cannons left an interesting but slightly acrid smell in the air. Mixed with the smell of wood smoke that was endemic to the place, it left a lasting impression on our memories of the place. Every time I smell a slightly sulfury smell now I think of Louisbourg.

We stayed as long as we could watching the actors go about their business and following wandering sheep and goats in the street. The enclosures held goats, sheep, pigs but there seemed to be many that preferred the narrows streets to the pens.

As we left the town on one of the last busses we watched the final cannon firing for the day accompanied by drums yelling and marching all in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.