CONFERENCE: Legacies of Empire: 39th annual meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society

Legacies of Empire

39th annual meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society

13.06.2013-15.06.2013, Louisbourg and Sydney

As part of the anniversary celebrations marking the 300th Anniversary of Île Royale (Cape Breton and Prince Edward islands), Parks Canada’s Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site and Cape Breton University will host the 39th annual meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society in Louisbourg and Sydney from June 13th to 15th, 2013.

Founded in 1713, Fortress Louisbourg anchored France’s new world fishery and was the Atlantic stronghold of its North American empire – a position supported by the labour of migrant Europeans and African slaves, and sustained by relationships with the indigenous Mi’kmaw people.

While the history of French Louisbourg ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 as did France’s imperial dreams both on Île Royale and in North America generally, the legacies of colonization and imperial conflict are still evident in the region – as they are across the continent and around the globe.