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Île Royale and the Founding of Louisbourg
During the 1500s, the great age of exploration, European powers were constantly seeking to expand their empires and searching for new sources of wealth. A faster route to China and its riches of silks and spices was desired and several explorers, like John Cabot and Jaques Cartier, set sail in the hopes of establishing such a route. The voyages of discovery, however, were to lead not to the exotic commodities of China, but to the rich fishing grounds along the eastern coast of North America and to France's colonization of Île Royale, now known as Cape Breton.
The island quickly became popular with fishermen from France, England, Spain, and Portugal because they found an important source of income in the vast stocks of cod so significant in the European diet. They came and cast their nets in the summer months, returning to Europe in the winter and, though there were a few brief settlements, no large scale attempt was made until 1713 and the founding of colonial Louisbourg.
France, under King Louis XIV, was the dominant empire of the early 18th century. With the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, England and other European powers sought, in part, to quell the expanding influence of France in the New World. Under the terms of this treaty France was stripped of two colonies important to the lucrative cod fishery, Acadia and Newfoundland, and was left with Île St. Jean ( Prince Edward Island ) and Île Royale. In order to retain an economic and strategic foothold, France was obliged to establish new settlements elsewhere in the region.
In 1713, a sailing vessel called the Semslack landed in what was then known as Havre à l'Anglois (English Harbour), and left behind a group of approximately 160 people, mostly men, who were to begin the initial settling of Louisbourg.
Port Dauphin (Englishtown), Port Toulouse (St. Peter's), and Louisbourg were the three main settlements in Île Royale at this time. Originally Port Dauphin was chosen as the administrative centre. By 1717 Louisbourg, though not favoured by most, became the capital and soon most strongly fortified settlement on the island. France saw in Louisbourg a port offering an excellent location in regard to the important fishing grounds and a large, defensible, ice-free harbour well located for trade routes with France, Canada, and the West Indies.