Where is louisbourg

Mi'kmaw Interpretive Centre. Walking trails. Stay connected Facebook Twitter. Hours of operation October 12, to May 20, Open Monday to Friday except statutory holidays am to pm More information. Contact us Send an email. Click here for details. Sites nearby. Cape Breton Highlands National Park A third of the world-famous Cabot Trail winds through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, renowned for stunning ocean vistas, deep-cut canyons, 26 diverse hiking trails, spectacular campsites and glorious sandy beaches.

Cook over an open fire. Fire a cannon as they did years ago. Test your physical endurance in military basic training—18th-century style. The gates may close, but the experience continues on. Camp under the stars, safe inside the fortress walls. Or, become an honorary Louisbourg resident and sleep in a period-style house for the night. Explore the taste and aromas Century colonial living. Skip to main content We use cookies on our website to provide you with the best possible web experience.

By using this website, you consent to the use of all cookies. Visit The Fortress. View Parks Canada Updates. They had emplacements for cannon, though the full complement of guns was never installed. Additional gun emplacements around Louisbourg harbour and on Battery Island further protected the seaward approach to the town. The ground on the landward side of Louisbourg was considered to be too marshy to allow an attacking enemy to deploy heavy artillery within range of the walls.

Louisbourg was thought to be impregnable. The construction and maintenance of the fortress was expensive. King Louis XV was said to have remarked that he expected to see its walls rising above the horizon when he looked out a window of his palace at Versailles, in France.

Drunkenness among common soldiers was a constant problem. In addition to its military purpose, Louisbourg became a substantial town and seaport. Little agriculture was carried out there, the cod fishery being the principal economic activity. As a base for the fishing industry, Louisbourg developed diversified shipping links. Fishermen from France and Spain — Breton, Norman and Basque — joined the fishing industry each summer.

The town's settler population, drawn partly from New France and from France itself, grew to roughly 2, by and double that in the s. With its military garrison and its importance as a fishing and trading port, it was the centre of French power in the region. In , Britain was drawn into conflict with France as part of the larger War of the Austrian Succession.

Until this time, Louisbourg had not participated in any military actions, although the fortress had provided refuge for Indigenous people allied with the French who raided English settlements.

Louisbourg also offered a safe harbour for French privateers who preyed on fishing fleets and ships from New England. The French destroyed the settlement and took the British to Louisbourg as prisoners. While the British awaited transfer to Boston in a prisoner exchange, their officers were free to move about the town. In Boston, the freed officers reported their observations to Massachusetts governor William Shirley.

They also said that due to poor construction, parts of the seemingly formidable walls were crumbling. Shirley raised a force of more than 4, New Englanders, commanded by William Pepperell , for an expedition against Louisbourg. In April , Pepperell established a base at Canso , where he met with Warren in early May to plan a land and sea operation.

The first siege of Louisbourg began on 11 May The colonial army used sledges to haul artillery across marshy ground to high points from which the guns could bombard the town and batter the walls. Arrangements were made for most of the population to be transported to France. Warren was promoted to rear admiral, and Pepperell was rewarded by Britain with a baronetcy.

He stocked the storehouses with enough provisions and munitions to last a year in the event of another siege.