Governor of the Gulf:
Freed from his Port Royal dungeon, Denys hastened
to France to lodge a protest with the king.
Here, in 1653, his luck seemed to turn. Not
only was the dispute with Le Borgne decided
in Denys’ favour, but for the price
of 15,000 livres, the tenacious trader also
was able to negotiate the purchase of rights
to most of the coast and islands of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. Denys’ vast territory
now included all of Cape Breton and Prince
Edward Island. His triumph was complete when
shortly afterwards, he was appointed governor
and lieutenant-general of his new domain.
With his jurisdictional rights now assured,
and a successful transcontinental fishing
venture underway, Denys returned to his Bras
d’Or base of Saint-Pierre to establish
his colony in earnest. Resuming his good relations
with native Mi’Kmaq fur traders; he
also fished, farmed and cut timber in the
vicinity of the Bras d’Or Lakes. Taking
his cue from the Mi’Kmaq, who had long
used the isthmus at Saint-Pierre to cross
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Lakes’
inland sea, Denys used the ancient portage
trail as a “haulover” road. Teams
of oxen pulled ships from one shore to the
other.
Failure and Frustration:
At last, Denys’ future in the New World
seemed secure. He expanded his operations,
establishing a mainland post near present-day
Guysborough, on Chedabucto Bay. But once again
the trader’s luck was running out. His
colony at Saint-Pierre was floundering, and
his debts were mounting steadily. To make
matters worse, his Chedabucto-based lieutenants
were conspiring against him, gradually taking
over his property. For the next several years,
the increasingly desperate Denys moved his
family and his business back and forth between
Saint-Pierre and Chedabucto, struggling to
affirm his rights to both. Denys’ financial
ruin was complete when, during the winter
of 1668-1669, fire completely destroyed his
settlement at Saint-Pierre. At the age of
70, Denys was forced to relocate to his only
remaining property, a stockaded post at Nipisiguit,
on the Bay of Chaleur near present-day Bathurst,
New Brunswick.
Literary Legacy:
It is at Nipisiguit that Denys penned his
2-volume study of the maritime lands of New
France, including a detailed description of
the cod-fishery and a realistic, respectful
account of the region’s First Nations
people. (Denys’ respect for the Mi’Kmaq
was mutual; many of them referred affectionately
to the white-bearded Frenchman as “La
Grande Barbe.”) Despite his great misfortune,
Denys remained enthusiastic and optimistic
about the future of the New World. His writings,
published in France in 1672, were designed
to encourage others to seek their fortune
in his adopted land.
Visit the Nicolas
Denys Museum and the St. Peter’s Canal
National Historic Site
Nicolas Denys Museum: Although
little trace of Cape Breton’s first
European settlement survives in the community
of St. Peter’s, at the southwest end
of the Bras d’Or Lakes, the Nicolas
Denys Museum honours the memory of the Island’s
first permanent settler. Exhibits include
examples of clothing worn by Denys and his
wife in the 17th century, and a reproduction
of a painting by Lewis Parker depicting
Denys at the original 1650 French trading
post known as Saint-Pierre. The Museum also
houses an extensive collection of local
artifacts from the 18th century to the present,
including photographs of the construction
of the historic St. Peter’s Canal.
Plan to visit St. Peter’s during the
first week in August, when the community
hosts Nicolas Denys Days, an annual celebration
that includes a parade, ceilidhs, and chowder
lunches.
St. Peter’s Canal National
Historic Site: With its beginnings
as a Mi’Kmaq portage trail between
the Atlantic Ocean and the Bras d’Or
Lakes, and a “haulover” road
used by French colonist Nicolas Denys, the
St. Peter’s Canal, constructed between
1845 and 1869, is a nationally significant
transportation route. It was built to provide
a navigable corridor between the outer sea
and the inland Lakes, and is Canada’s
oldest tidal lock canal. The St. Peter’s
Canal continues to be used by both pleasure
craft and commercial vessels. Learn more
about the historic waterway at the St. Peter’s
National Historic Site interpretive exhibit,
featuring a 19th century lockmaster’s
house. |
