Saint Pierre And Miquelon History

Saint Pierre and Miquelon History. Touristic Information and Environment. Twenty-five kilometers offshore from the Burin Peninsula floats a little piece of France. The islands of St-Pierre and Miquelon aren't just French-like with their berets, baguettes and Bordeaux, they are France, governed and financed by the tricolore. Locals kiss their hellos and pay in euros, while sweet smells waft from the myriad pastry shops, and French cars crowd the tiny one-way streets. It's a world away from Newfoundland. St-Pierre is the more populated and developed island, with most of its 5500 residents living in the town of St-Pierre. Miquelon is larger geographically but has only 600 residents overall. France's only territory in North America, are but a ferry ride away from Newfoundland. Shopping and dining on French cuisine are both popular pastimes here. The bakeries open early, so there's always piping-hot fresh bread for breakfast, and bargain hunters can find reasonably priced wines from all over France. An interesting side trip via boat takes you to see seals, seabirds, and other wildlife, plus the huge sandbar (formed on the bones of shipwrecks) that now connects formerly separate Great and Little Miquelon. Jacques Cartier claimed the islands for France in 1536, after they were discovered by the Portuguese in 1520. At the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, the islands were turned over to Britain, only to be given back to France in 1816. And French they've remained ever since.