Aspects of Louisbourg: Essays on the History of an Eighteenth-Century French Community in North America

Olaf Uwe Janzen is an associate professor of history at Sir Wilfred
Grenfell College, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

This book about the historic port town of Louisbourg contains more than
two dozen articles by historical researchers, archeologists, and
archivists who worked on the restoration of Louisbourg during the 1970s
and 1980s. Following the introductory essay—“The Evolution of Urban
Louisbourg” by A.J.B. Johnston—the articles are grouped around four
themes: military, social, economic, and “preservation, conservation,
research.” Some are first-rate pieces of historical analysis, such as
Chris Moore’s “Trade and Merchant Enterprise in Ile Royale,”
Donald Chard’s essay on New England’s commercial relations with
Louisbourg, B.A. Balcom’s analysis of the cod fishery at Ile Royale,
and Allan Greer’s fascinating social study of the Louisbourg garrison,
which explains so well the 1744 soldiers’ mutiny. Other pieces are
shorter and lighter, but still revealing, such as Anne O’Neill’s
essay on the Louisbourg gardens and Kenneth Donovan’s “Communities
and Families,” which focuses more on the material culture of the
family than on its social structure or role. Bruce Fry’s essay on
Louisbourg’s fortifications emphasizes the town’s origins as a
commercial centre rather than as a military one; the essay, however, is
somewhat disjointed because it consists of extracts taken from a larger
work. The four articles on preservation, conservation, and research
should be read in conjunction with Terry MacLean’s Louisbourg
Heritage.

The absence of any editorial annotation is keenly felt. Thus, Alan
Greer’s remark that Louisbourg guarded the “maritime approaches to
Canada” appears without comment immediately following Fry’s essay,
which disputes that notion. Nor do the editors suggest areas (such as
the naval dimension of Louisbourg’s history) where work still needs to
be done. No attempt is made to compare Louisbourg with colonial seaports
elsewhere; it is therefore impossible to determine the degree to which
Louisbourg’s social character is unique or typical. There is no
bibliography or suggestions for further readings, which might guide
students through the considerable literature available today. Still, for
the sheer convenience of ready access to some perceptive and useful
essays on 18th-century Louisbourg, this book is certainly recommended.