The fort as it is now is supposed to be set in the year previous to the British siege, and the staff/characters express all manner of anti-British sentiments.
While in Cape Breton, we spent a day at the Fortress of Louisbourg. Louisbourg is a national historic site, the partially rebuilt remains of the 18th century fortress and settlement there. About one quarter of the original settlement has been reconstructed. The fort is staffed by people who dress in period clothing and chat about the history of the settlement. The gentleman below is a fisherman; fishing was big business in Louisbourg- mostly cod. For example, in the year 1731 alone, Louisbourg fishermen exported 167,000 quintals of cod (a quintal is 220 pounds, so about 36,740,000 lbs) and 1600 barrels of cod liver oil. The site was originally peopled by settlers who travelled from Newfoundland (around 1713) and gradually built up as it became important to France both for its fishing industry and as a first line of defense against British attack by sea. The walls around the fortress took about 20 years to complete, between 1720-40. The Military chapel at Louisbourg: The Fortress was named after the late King Louis XIV of France, and in its heyday was one of the most impressive- and expensive- fortifications in North America. So... aptly named, I would say. A thief being marched off to the pillory: The nieces ready to defend the fort... or shoot their aunts... not sure which: The fortress was built on this location because it provided a good defense to attack by sea; there's a reef south of the harbour which made it necessary for the British, if they wished to enter it, to sail through a relatively narrow (500 ft) channel, within range of Louisbourg's two batteries. It would be very difficult to take the fortress solely by a sea attack. Unfortunately (for the French) Louisbourg was not well positioned for attacks by land. Built on low coastal land, it was vulnerable to attack from surrounding hills. Also, Quebec and/or France were a long distance away if they needed to send for reinforcements. This is basically what occurred in 1745 when the British took Louisbourg for the first time. Supported by British naval forces, a colonial force from New England erected artillery batteries on the low hills around the fortress and laid siege, eventually forcing the fort's garrison to surrender. The Fortress of Louisbourg was used as a bargaining chip by the British during peace talks and, in 1748, they returned it to France in exchange for the coastal city of Madras in India. This treaty was short lived, lasting only until the Seven Years' War broke out in 1756. In 1758 the British once again attacked and defeated Louisbourg, and this time they meant business. They completely demolished the military fortifications at Louisbourg- the batteries, the King's Bastion (fortress headquarters which at the time was the largest building in North America)- heck, they even razed the lighthouse, as I mentioned in an earlier post. The British set up a garrison there for about a decade, but eventually moved operations to Halifax, on the mainland. The fort as it is now is supposed to be set in the year previous to the British siege, and the staff/characters express all manner of anti-British sentiments. Niece must be restrained from climbing in with the sheep: One final thought: while we were driving to the fort, we passed a local church- not sure what denomination, we were past it before I could see- which was called The Mighty Fortress Church. Capitalizing on their proximity to the Fortress of Louisbourg while calling to mind Martin Luther's hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God... well played, church planters, well played.
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While we were in Cape Breton, we went to see the Louisbourg Lighthouse: The present lighthouse is the third built on this site; it was completed in 1923 and manned until the 1990's. It replaced the previous one which was constructed in 1842 and unfortunately burned down in 1922. The original lighthouse was constructed between 1730 and 1734 and was the first one in Canada. Actually, it was the second built in North America, after the one in Boston Harbor which dates to 1716. This lighthouse was destroyed during the second siege of Louisbourg by the British in 1758. The foundation of it is still visible; here are my nieces climbing on it: Fun fact: the original light was fueled by cod liver oil. The Lighthouse by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The rocky ledge runs far into the sea, And on its outer point, some miles away, The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day. Even at this distance I can see the tides, Upheaving, break unheard along its base, A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides In the white lip and tremor of the face. And as the evening darkens, lo! how bright, Through the deep purple of the twilight air, Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare! Not one alone; from each projecting cape And perilous reef along the ocean's verge, Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape, Holding its lantern o'er the restless surge. Like the great giant Christopher it stands Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave, Wading far out among the rocks and sands, The night-o'ertaken mariner to save. And the great ships sail outward and return, Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells, And ever joyful, as they see it burn, They wave their silent welcomes and farewells. They come forth from the darkness, and their sails Gleam for a moment only in the blaze, And eager faces, as the light unveils, Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze. The mariner remembers when a child, On his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink; And when, returning from adventures wild, He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink. Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same Year after year, through all the silent night Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame, Shines on that inextinguishable light! It sees the ocean to its bosom clasp The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace; It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp, And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece. The startled waves leap over it; the storm Smites it with all the scourges of the rain, And steadily against its solid form Press the great shoulders of the hurricane. The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din Of wings and winds and solitary cries, Blinded and maddened by the light within, Dashes himself against the glare, and dies. A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock, Still grasping in his hand the fire of Jove, It does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock, But hails the mariner with words of love. "Sail on!" it says, "sail on, ye stately ships! And with your floating bridge the ocean span; Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse, Be yours to bring man nearer unto man!" Related Posts: I haven't been doing much reading, watching, or writing since I came back from vacation; I went back to work and found a sizable stack of purchase orders and invoices piled on my desk awaiting my return. Well, I guess if you're going to dance, you have to pay the piper...I've been wading through all that work as well as a bunch of other things which seem to have multiplied exponentially during the eleven days that I was absent. Also, since last week was the final hurrah before school started, the family was engaging in all sorts of end-of-summer activities which were fun, but didn't leave a lot of down time. Speaking of family activities, one of my nephews turned seven yesterday and we had a party for him in the evening. I sewed him a pencil case using some Harry Potter fabric I picked up the other day: I filled it with a bunch of pencils and other stuff I had on hand in the emergency gift stash, including a nose pencil sharpener which I figured would be a hit with the young boy crowd (it was). I also picked up some markers and stuff on my lunch break to add to the mix of writing implements. My nephew received one of these sticker mosaic books for Christmas last year and really enjoyed doing it, so I got him another one for his birthday: I also gave him one of these pantograph contraptions; we had one when we were kids and had a lot of fun with it. Basically it allows you to draw a picture and at the same time, produce an identical one in a larger or smaller size. I don't expect that I'll get much done this weekend either; this morning some of us are headed down to the homestead to do some repair work in the basement... well, really, preparations for repair work. As you may recall, Nova Scotia had an uncommonly rainy summer, with huge amounts of water falling from the sky. During the last big storm, my parents' sump pump gave out, resulting in the basement getting a couple of inches of water in it. Turns out, the tank containing the pump had a crack in it which led to it continually filling with water and the sump pump running almost constantly until it burned out. Anyway, the plumber has been in and replaced both pump and tank, so now we're going to cut out the ruined drywall, etc. Such fun. Then it'll be a rush home to get cleaned up and ready; my sister-in-law sings in a gospel quartet and her group is coming down from New Brunswick to perform at a charity event tonight which I and a number of other family members will be attending. And of course, Sunday morning will be church, followed by family dinner at the homestead; basically a really full weekend. But I should be able to get back into some sort of regular routine again after that. Hopefully. On the topic of Harry Potter (see above), I'd never purchased any fabric- or other HP merchandise- before. I've never even read the books or watched the movies; I could never seem to summon up any interest in any of it. Although some of my nephews and nieces love them. And JK Rowling, when speaking about any social issues, always seemed predictably- and annoyingly- leftist with all the usual boring progressive talking points. So I wasn't in a hurry to support her efforts with my money... pretty sure she was doing just fine without it, in any case. But after her spirited and yes, courageous, defense of truth and the right of women to not be importuned by the trans troopers, I am disposed to think more kindly of her. I may never actually read her books (though if the gender goons continue on their present trajectory, they may convince me to do so) and she'll probably continue to annoy me with the rest of her opinions, but I could certainly see my way clear to buying some of the licensed HP fabric. Which I did.
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