The drive was pleasant and it was not too hot out today. Gas is probably the mostly costly part of this adventure and I prefer to fill the tank frequently so that each bill s smaller. Not that it costs any less, I do know that, but the shock factor is lowered a bi.
I stopped to visit the Port-Royal habitation site in Annapolis Royal. Oh, oh here comes another history lesson. The history of Nova Scotia is simple: if the French had a spot the British would take it and vice versa and this seems to have been continual and sometimes one would give a place to the enemy in order to get back another place they thought was more important strategically.
That is the basic story of Port-Royal. It was built in 1605 by the French who became friendly with the Mi'kmaq people. In 1607 the French left Port Royal and returned to France. The Mi'kmaq people looked after it until the British came, and then religion became an issue and then a British expedition came from Virginia and burned it all down. It was called a habitation because everything that was needed was within this square space that looked like a fort but which flew the merchant flag meaning it was a trading post not an armed fort such as Louisbourg.
The really exciting part, to me anyway, happened in 1939 to 1940 when the Canadian government agreed to to rebuild it. This was the first large-scale restoration undertaken by the Canadian government. Back in the 1630s the original construction was done in a manner that allowed the pieces to be disassembled and relocated. Things were held together with pegs not nails. The reconstruction was done authentically using only the tools that would have been used in 1605.
The Canada Parks guides, all male, were dressed in period appropriate clothing. Wool pant and socks,
Linen shirt and Woden shoes called sabos. They could sort of skate across the mud at low tide.The hat is made from beaver.
One side of the complex- the forge, the kitchen and the bakery.
Above: The kitchen.
Above: The bakery
The next side housed a common room, artisans quarters and the chapel.
The common room-a gentler term for the mess hall.
The chapel.
The third side was living quarters for four gentlemen and a large room for the non-gentlemen or common folk. There were no women in this habitation because sickness was prevalent and they didn't want to expose the women to those conditions.
The gentlemen slept on bunks, similar to those at Louisbourg.
The original slip-on Shute.
The last room on this side was for the priest.
Above his main room was a gable room with a prayer desk.
Looking down the stairs up to the priest's bedroom. Quite steep and the stairwell was arrow.
The fourth side had a sail loft, storeroom/wine cellar, and trading room
The sail loft.
This is the cannon platform.
Just outside the walled habitation,
It was relatively cool in the teepee.
And that was today's adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Family and friends—please include your first name when leaving a comment.