2020 commemorated the 300th anniversary of French presence on Prince Edward Island. Like much of North America, the Canadian Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, and Prince Edward Island were highly contested regions. In fact, the way France and Great Britain fought for presence and control of this region places the Canadian Maritimes among the most contested regions in eighteenth-century North America.
Anne Marie Lane Jonah, a historian with the Parks Canada Agency, joins us to explore the history of Prince Edward Island and why Great Britain and France fought over the Canadian Maritime region.
This episode was originally posted as Episode 283.
About the Show
Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Ben Franklin’s World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg.
Episode Summary
Anne Marie Lane Jonah, a historian with the Parks Canada Agency, joins us to explore the history of Prince Edward Island and why Great Britain and France fought over the Canadian Maritime region.
During our exploration, Anne Marie reveals the early history of Prince Edward Island, including details about the Mi’kmaq people and their homeland, which encompasses Prince Edward Island; How and why the French came to settle Prince Edward Island in 1720; And, details about the ways in which the French and British vied for presence and control in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, including details about the Acadians and the Grand Deportation of 1758.
What You’ll Discover
- The 300th Anniversary of the French arrival on Prince Edward Island
- The Mi’kmaq people and their life on Prince Edward Island
- The territory of the Mi’kmaq homeland
- Mi’kmaq seafaring traditions
- Mi’kmaq trade before the French
- The French decision to settle Île Saint-Jean in 1720
- The highly contested nature of Île Saint-Jean/Prince Edward Island
- French and British approaches to diplomacy with First Nations peoples
- The development of French Île Saint-Jean
- Settlement building and warfare in northern North America
- Acadian identity
- Île Saint-Jean in the Seven Years’ War
- The Grand Deportation
- Why the British did not deport all French habitants from Canada
- The impact of the Grand Deportation on Île Saint-Jean
- The 300th anniversary of French settlement in Prince Edward Island
- Parks Canada historic sites about 18th-century Acadian & Canadian history
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Time Warp Question
In your opinion, what might have happened if the French had retained control of Île Saint-Jean and won the Seven Years’ War? How might the history of Île Saint-Jean and Maritime Canada be different?
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