The Impact of Cod Fishing and Trade on Coastal Development Strategies in Saint Pierre and Miquelon Archipelago (France, 17th-19th centuries)

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Sal, Bacalhau e Açúcar : Trade, Mobility, Circular Navigation and Foodways in the Atlantic World", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is the only French colony that is entirely devoted to the exploitation of cod fishing rights on the Grand Banks. Since the 17th century, it was the technical base of this activity and thus the starting point of the world cod trade. The maritime archaeological research led by the Drassm since 2017 allows us to understand the coastal development strategies on the scale of this archipelago and the footprints left by this activity.

The presentation will focus on the developments undertaken from the 17th century onwards by private individuals, some of whom travelled between the Atlantic Arc and the West Indies. In the 18thcentury, while the central government encouraged the use of cod in all French territories, public development in the archipelago was slowed down by Anglo-French rivalries and other constraints. After 1816, public projects focused on the Barachois of Saint-Pierre, before stopping in the 1930s.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023   •
• Sal, Bacalhau e Açúcar : Trade, Mobility, Circular Navigation and Foodways in the Atlantic World

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow