Historical Conferences

Meet your guide for coffee or a drink and learn about the island’s history through copies of maps, stories, and a chronological presentation of the island’s history. Ask any questions you have and get possible research avenues. We’ll cover John Cabot, as well as Portuguese and Spanish explorers charted them under various names. In 1536, Jacques Cartier made the first written mention of Saint-Pierre, already known to European fishermen who came for the rich cod banks. By the late 1600s, Saint-Pierre had become a seasonal base for fishermen from Saint-Malo and Granville, while Basques from Saint-Jean-de-Luz used Miquelon. Each summer, hundreds came to cure and dry cod along the shores, forming a bustling community that lived by the rhythm of the sea.

Learn about the English raids, harsh winters, and disputes over fishing grounds that were constant. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht forced France to abandon Newfoundland, and Saint-Pierre briefly became a British outpost. Fifty years later, the 1763 Treaty of Paris returned the islands to France as a refuge for French fishermen, but during the American Revolution, British forces destroyed the settlements once again. The 1783 Treaty of Versailles restored the islands to France, but the country soon spiraled into financial crisis and revolution. In 1793, war with Britain brought another invasion; the population was deported, and Saint-Pierre was left in ruins.

The islands were not permanently restored to France until after Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815, with settlers returning the following year. Throughout the 19th century, Saint-Pierre grew into a thriving port and one of France’s most important fishing bases. Trade expanded with France, Spain, and the United States. Yet tensions with Newfoundland often flared over fishing rights, leading to political and economic conflicts that would last a century. By 1900, tariffs and poor fishing seasons weakened the local economy.

Then, during American Prohibition from 1919 to 1933, Saint-Pierre suddenly boomed as rumrunners used the islands as a warehouse for liquor bound for the U.S. The “Prohibition years” brought unprecedented prosperity—until the ban ended, and the economy collapsed once again. In World War II, the islands briefly fell under Vichy France before being liberated by the Free French Navy in 1941 — a symbolic victory for General de Gaulle. After the war, the fishery was modernized, but disputes with Canada over fishing boundaries continued. In 1992, an international tribunal granted France a small economic zone and a narrow maritime corridor.