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Though the Louisbourg coast is not thought to have been the site of a village, the Mi'kmaq were familiar with the area.
In 1593, the English crew of the Marigold encountered Mi'kmaq at or near this harbour. The log reads: "wee founde certain round pondes artificially made by [the Native people] to keepe fish in, with certaine weares in them to take fish." The encounter ended abruptly, with the English firing muskets at the Mi'kmaq.
During the time the French were at Louisbourg, the Mi'kmaq visited the fortified town. Some came to discuss military affairs with the governor; others to trade or to baptise children. In 1737 a chief was buried at Louisbourg with military honours.
The Mi'kmaq were among the first of North America's Aboriginal peoples to encounter Europeans. From the days of Grand Chief Membertou in the early 1600s through to the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, the Mi'kmaq and French enjoyed a close relationship. Representatives from both sides renewed the alliance annually.
For 150 years the Mi'kmaq resisted British expansion into their homeland. Near Louisbourg in 1745, 77 Mi'kmaq and 80 French battled several hundred New Englanders until forced to retreat from lack of ammunition. In 1757, hundreds of Mi'kmaq and other First Nations came to Louisbourg's aid when there was a threatened British attack.
Where the French established an alliance with the Mi'kmaq without ever signing treaties, the British preferred to sign formal documents for peace. The most notable of several Mi'kmaq-British treaties is that signed in 1752, which was entered into by Jean-Baptiste Cope and other Mi'kmaq leaders. The treaty has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada. It is renewed on October 1 of each year with a ceremony in Halifax.
Source: http://fortress.uccb.ns.ca/parks/mtrail_e.html |
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