Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

St. Pierre and Miquelon - why French?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • St. Pierre and Miquelon - why French?



    Obviously, these small islands are literally within sight of a Canadian province, and it'd probably make much more sense for it to be a part of Canada than a country an ocean away. According to Google Earth, the straight line distance between Newfoundland and St. Pierre is a whopping 11 miles.

    So why on God's green earth is it French?

  • #2
    Jesus said so?

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Crism
      Jesus said so?
      He said a lot of things that don't make sense... leaving mere mortals to figure it out. So why the hell is it French?

      Comment


      • #4
        Maybe French people first inhabited it??? Maybe the same reason that there's people in Louisiana that speak French (ok, it's a bit different ).

        Comment


        • #5
          We've been trying to get rid of them for years....but they are whiners....you know, French....


          My Flickr Pictures! Click Me!

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by JordanD
            Maybe French people first inhabited it??? Maybe the same reason that there's people in Louisiana that speak French (ok, it's a bit different ).
            Yea, but there's Québec which was promptly taken by the Brits after the Seven Years War. Apparently St. Pierre went part and parcel with all of New France, but the Brits gave back that spat of land to the French.

            And I wonder how many people have French as their first language in Louisiana. Sure, the sign says 'Welcome to/ Bienvenue a Louisiana" but besides some people in the swamp, is there a sizeable population?

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by ATLcenter
              Yea, but there's Québec which was promptly taken by the Brits after the Seven Years War. Apparently St. Pierre went part and parcel with all of New France, but the Brits gave back that spat of land to the French.

              And I wonder how many people have French as their first language in Louisiana. Sure, the sign says 'Welcome to/ Bienvenue a Louisiana" but besides some people in the swamp, is there a sizeable population?
              No, I think it's pretty much in the swamps.

              Comment


              • #8
                It always has been french, though in recent years the local population sent the Paris appointed governor packing. When the Brits and the French came to an agreement ca. 1763 about North America, France was left these two rocky outposts perhaps a a reminder of their failure to hold on to their vast territorial holdings. I took a ferry there from Newfoundland in 1984 and stayed two nights, a pretty quiet place, quite French but also quite newfy in some respects.

                Comment


                • #9
                  So are Euros the proper currency? I'd expect that CAD is predominant or at least accepted there!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Nope, take your Euro's.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by ptbodale
                      Nope, take your Euro's.
                      thats crazy

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        It is as much as french as much as the Danish Hans Island.... *Hahaha Henry Go home !

                        Danish flag rising on Hans Island, 13th August 2002.



                        Satellite image of Nares Strait and, insetted, Hans Island (encircled) surrounded by ice. Note that many of the icebergs dwarf the island.

                        Inactive from May 1 2009.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Max, I think you're mistaken...

                          Canadian Forces Northern Area troops raise a Canadian flag on Hans Island, Nunavut, on July 13, 2005. (image: Canadian Forces)

                          It is Canadian!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by ATLcenter
                            thats crazy
                            Not really. There are French territories in the Pacific that use the Euro too (If I remember correctly).

                            There are a lot of far flung U.S. Territories that use the buck too.

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X