Tadoussac, Quebec

About Tadoussac, Quebec

Contemporary Tadoussac

Tadoussac in about 1612, illustrated by Samuel de Champlain

'Tadoussac' is a village of 857 inhabitants (2005) in Quebec, Canada which was once an important seventeenth century French trading post. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in Canada, and was the first surviving non-Iberian, European colony in the Americas.

Geography

Tadoussac is located where the Saguenay River meets the St-Laurence river on the North side. The first is not very deep and brings cold fresh water into a very deep second where the water is salted. The water swirls with fresh water into the deep salted one creating an incredible area of fauna and flora where krill dwells. This has become a privileged area for whale feeding.

History

Tadoussac was France's first trading post on the mainland of New France. It was established in 1599 by Francis Grave (a merchant) and Pierre Chauvin (a captain of the French Royal navy) when they acquired a fur trade monopoly from Henry IV. The establishment of Tadoussac as the first French colony at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River was a direct result of their desire to profit from its location. Grave and Chauvin built a settlement near the waterway's shore, however, only five out of 16 men with them survived the first winter. Tadoussac remained the only seaport of the Saint Lawrence River for 30 years.
The Bay of Tadoussac was a centre of whalehunting. Tourists discovered the village in the 19th century. The large hotel building in Tadoussac dates from 1864.

Present day

The modern village of Tadoussac lies not very far from the original settlement, at the mouth of the Saguenay River. It is known as a tourist destination, mostly because of its facilities for whale watching and because of the rugged beauty of the Saguenay fjord.
The entire area is either rural or still in a wilderness state, with several federal and provincial natural parks and preserves competing for prestigious spots. Tadoussac encompasses the first marine national park of Canada. The nearest urban agglomeration is Saguenay about 100 km (63 miles) west.
The film based on the 1981 novel The Hotel New Hampshire was shot at the Hotel Tadoussac : www.hoteltadoussac.com.

Museums

★ Old church (the oldest in Canada and USA)

★ trading post of Pierre Chauvin

★ CIMM (Centre d'interprétation des mammifères marins), translated as Center of Marine Mammal Interpretation

External links

★ Tadoussac website

★ The CIMM in Tadoussac

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