Whether you’re a history buff, a period drama aficionado or a diehard Outlander fan, you’re bound to enjoy the Fortress of Louisbourg. It’s a living history museum restored to the summer of 1744. The Fortress of Louisbourg makes time travel easy and reliable—fellow Outlander fans don’t need to carry gemstones, enter stone circles or worry about steering to the desired time period!
Louisbourg is located on the southeastern side of modern-day Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. Originally, the French settled in the area for its proximity to the lucrative cod fishery. Construction of a fortified town, around the ice-free harbor, began in 1719 and continued for 26 years. It served as an important strategic capital in the French colony of Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) and helped France protect the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the British.
The fortress was named for King Louis XIV of France. Here’s another crossover point for Outlanders: during the summer of 1744, Claire and Jamie Fraser were in Paris hobnobbing with King Louis XV in their efforts to prevent the Jacobite rebellion. The time period aligns with Diana Gabaldon’s storyline in, Dragonfly in Amber (the second novel in the Outlander series) and the beginning of season 2 in the Outlander TV series.
The King’s representative in Île Royale, Governor Jean-Baptiste Duquesnel at that time, was the highest-ranking resident of Louisbourg. He lived in the Governor’s apartments of the King’s Bastion.
As Parks Canada explains on their website, “Most of the governors who lived in these apartments were middle-aged naval officers, more practiced in military affairs than in government. Representing the king’s majesty in person as the fortress does in stone, the governors lived lavishly and dispensed ceremonial leadership and royal favour.”
This vignette, spotted in the Governor’s apartments, hints at their lavish life style.
The King’s Bastion also contained barracks for approximately 500 soldiers, the garrison chapel, military offices, prison and quarters for the colony’s chief civil administrator called the commissaire-ordonnateur.
Unfortunately, this impressive structure had its drawbacks back in the day. “The defects of this elegant barracks harassed its builders and residents almost from the start of construction in 1720.” explains Parks Canada. “Its roof slates were fire resistant but leaky, its mortar and beams and floors prone to crack or rot, its fireplaces drafty and smoking. One governor pleaded for a new barracks, another commandeered the engineer’s house, but the barracks survived as long as the town.”
“The commissaire-ordonnateur, was more fortunate; he built a large house in town then sold it to the King as his official residence to avoid living in the pavillon [in the King’s Bastion] planned for him” reports author John Fortier in his book Fortress of Louisbourg.
Interestingly, “through study of all categories of evidence it becomes obvious that in most years of the French colony’s history there was a constant struggle for authority and social standing between the military governor and … the commissaire-ordonnateur” reports author Terrence MacLean in his book Louisbourg Heritage: From Ruins to Reconstruction.
“The administrators were professional servants of the Crown who hoped to win promotion by proving themselves here. François Bigot established his reputation by able and devoted service as Île Royale’s commissaire-ordonnateur from 1739 to 1745, while his sharp investments simultaneously laid the foundation of his wealth.” explains Parks Canada.
En route to the King’s Bastion, you pass “an open place d’armes where soldiers mustered for drill and guard changes”. On the right is the Place d’Armes Guardhouse where the officer on-duty manages his squad of soldiers.
Sentries, such as the soldier shown below, are posted around the citadel.
A glimpse inside the Guardhouse reveals a sparse, rustic space sprinkled with a few soldiers’ belongings including their tricornes and coats.
Historical records reveal the colonial garrison was “poorly equipped and inadequately trained.” MacLean elaborates “Soldiers at eighteenth century Louisbourg were as likely to be working on the construction of the fortifications or as labourers in the town as they were to be on guard duty, and they often got drunk. Also, their officers were as concerned with their commercial involvements and with selling liquor to their soldiers in officially sanctioned canteens as they were with military affairs and the regimentation of troops in their garrison.”
One of the things that makes Louisbourg unique and special is its interpretative storytelling. By design, it is “not just a living history spectacle but a serious, contextual and well-researched interpretation programme utilizing properties, objects, people, plants and animals — a cultural landscape — to fully present the history of colonial Louisbourg” reports MacLean.
“Costumed people add life to the streets and the homes” notes Parks Canada. “Louisbourg’s inhabitants are happy to share their stories, and can be found working the forge [and] tending the gardens.”
“The beat of drums and the chime of the garrison clock order the soldiers’ day.”
“Music might be heard from a waterfront tavern.”
Fortier explains “Each member of the costumed staff in the reconstructed buildings represents someone—if not an original inhabitant, then at least a specific class of townsperson. A soldier receives the nom de guerre of an original soldier and a dossier of historical information on the man so that he may better understand the person he is to represent.” Knowing this makes it easier to engage in conversation with Louisbourg’s inhabitants. You might, as Parks Canada suggests, ask a soldier to demonstrate the use of his weapon or ask a servant what’s cooking in her kitchen.
A servant in the Engineer’s Residence enthusiastically answered our questions about the Engineer’s “high-tech” kitchen including the self-propelled roasting spit driven by weights and pulleys.
Étienne Verrier was Louisbourg’s chief engineer, aka the King’s Engineer, for most of the construction period from 1725 to 1745. Here the gentleman portraying Verrier voices his opinion.
The Engineer’s “stately house was one of Louisbourg’s most imposing homes. The military engineers who lived and worked here were town planners, architects and construction engineers all in one – their influence pervades the town. The royal engineers laid out the streets and blocks, planned the fortifications and outlying works, and designed all the colony’s public buildings. Consulted on all scientific and technical issues, they even influenced military tactics” explains Parks Canada.
“Dozens of maps and plans for the fortifications and King’s buildings were drawn under [Verrier’s] supervision, and have been copied from the French archives to guide [Louisbourg’s] reconstruction.” reports Fortier.
Verrier also produced sketches such as this one—View of Louisbourg in 1731.
“Louisbourg was one of the busiest harbours in North America and one of France’s key centres of trade and military strength in the New World.” explains Parks Canada. Verrier’s 1731 sketch helps us imagine how the harbor, quay and town would have looked in 1744.
The harbor would have been filled “with a forest of masts and a fleet of boats and barges. Scores of sailing ships found shelter here after crossing the stormy North Atlantic, or they sailed out to hazard Caribbean hurricanes and Saint Lawrence ice flows.” People and merchandise travelled to and from the colony through Louisbourg Harbour. “Most large ships anchored offshore. The crews launched boats and then pushed and carried their cargo over the wharf and through” the ornate arch called Frédéric Gate.
Louisbourg was “also popular for its exporting of fish” reports Wikipedia. “In 1731, Louisbourg fishermen exported 167,000 quintals [hundredweight] of cod and 1600 barrels of cod-liver oil. … Louisbourg’s commercial success was able to bring ships from Europe, The West Indies, Quebec, Acadia, and New England.”
“The sailors who landed here represented a score of ports.” elaborates Parks Canada. “On a busy summer’s day you might have heard them speaking French, English, Portuguese, Basque and Breton, joined by the German of the Swiss troops and the Mi’kmaw of the Indigenous people. … Overturned boats, piles of lumber, fat cables and massive anchors piled up along the wall as sailors and teamsters struggled with heaps and bales of merchandise.”
“Business houses, inns and taverns made the quay a gathering place for townspeople as well as mariners.” One of these establishments, L’Epée Royale, was frequented by “well-to-do merchants and visiting captains. Innkeeper Jean Seigneur … charged more for a month’s pension than many men earned in that time, but the service was good: guests entertained their clients and friends with pork, duck, casseroles and meat pies. Of course the liquor bill was extra — Seigneur offered French wine and brandy by the jug, bottle or keg. Your servant could stay too for a small fee, eating the scraps and perhaps sleeping in the storehouse at the back.” reports Parks Canada. In the below photo, a local businessman waits outside L’Epée Royale.
Elsewhere in town, Louisbourg’s commercial success is evident in the finer homes. The Rodrigue Property is a case in point. Michel Rodrigue was “one of the men who sailed the merchant ships at anchor in the harbour. [He] learned seamanship from his father and he helped build a family trading business in their schooner Revanche. In the 1730s he sailed frequently up the Saint Lawrence with French and West Indian goods to trade for the Canadian grain, flour and dried vegetables Louisbourg needed. As he prospered Rodrigue hired captains to haul his freight around the Atlantic. … He rented this house [the Rodrique house shown below] from his uphill neighbour.”
A servant is hanging laundry on the front of the Rodrique house.
This is the storehouse Rodrique added to stock his merchandise, as viewed from the backyard.
When you walk through the town’s historic streets as they were in their heyday of 1744, it’s difficult to believe what happened next. War was declared between France and Britain and the Fortress of Louisbourg was attacked the next year.
“Charged with the fervour of a religious crusade, and informed that the fortress was in disrepair with its poorly supplied troops on the verge of mutiny, the New Englanders mounted an assault on Louisbourg. Within 46 days of the invasion the fortress was captured.” explains Parks Canada. “To the chagrin of the New Englanders, only three years later the town was restored to the French by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
In 1758 Louisbourg was besieged a second time. Without a strong navy to patrol the sea beyond its walls, Louisbourg was impossible to defend. Attacking with 13,100 troops supported by a 14,000 crew on board 150 ships, a British army captured the fortress in seven weeks. Determined that Louisbourg would never again become a fortified French base, the British demolished the fortress walls.
None of its structures survived the next two centuries.”
In 1920, the site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. “In 1961, the Government of Canada began a $25 million project aimed at reconstructing approximately one-quarter of the original town and fortifications. Within this area the buildings, yards, gardens and streets are being recreated as they were during the 1740s, immediately preceding Louisbourg’s first siege.”
Thanks to this immense historical reconstruction project, we have the unique opportunity to travel through time and spend a day in 1744. It’s so convincing, you’d be forgiven for thinking you saw an original inhabitant (or a member of the Outlander cast) strolling through the streets, conducting business, or working in the kitchen gardens.
More Info
The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is located in Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The site is open year-round but hours and services vary by season. Check the Parks Canada website for more information.
One option you might want to consider is staying overnight in the Fortress. As of summer 2023, there are a few different options including a period tent, the fortress prison, the guardhouse or a period-style house. We were advised to make reservations well in advance.
You can learn about Outlander, Diana Gabaldon’s epic book series, on her website.
In addition to the Parks Canada Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site website, the following resources were consulted in the writing of this blog post:
… Wikipedia article – Fortress of Louisbourg
… Canadian Encyclopedia article – Louisbourg
… Encyclopedia Britannica – Louisbourg
… 1979 book, Fortress of Louisbourg, by John Fortier which is available here on Internet Archive
… 1995 book, Louisbourg Heritage: From Ruins to Reconstruction, by Terrence MacLean which is available here on Internet Archive
The Sketch of Louisbourg in 1731 by Claude-Etienne Verrier is available here in the Toronto Public Library Digital Archive Links.
I have the pleasure of frequent visits to my home province of Nova Scotia. Check out this FanningSparks’ Travel > Canada > Nova Scotia category index to learn more about my Nova Scotian adventures.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Fact-based historic fiction can be educational as well as entertaining.
2. Interpretive storytelling adds meaning and brings life to a historic site.
3. Consider delving into the historic details of a site you’ve visited.
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