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Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American Geography

   Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

   Flag of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon Coat of arms of Saint-Pierre and
                                     Miquelon
   Flag                              Coat of arms
   Motto: A Mare Labor  (Latin)
   "From the Sea, Work"
   Anthem: La Marseillaise
   Location of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
   Capital
   (and largest city) Saint-Pierre
   46°47′N 56°10′W
   Official languages French
   Government
    - President of the
      General Council
   Stéphane Artano
    - Préfet (Prefect) Yves Fauqueur
   Collectivité d'outre-mer^a of France
    - ceded by the UK^e 30 May 1814
    - Territoire d'outre-mer^b 27 October 1946
    - Département d'outre-mer^c 17 July 1976
    - Collectivité territoriale^d 11 June 1985
    - Collectivité d'outre-mer 28 March 2003
   Area
    - Total 242 km² ( 208th)
   93.4 sq mi
    - Water (%) negligible
   Population
    - July 2006 estimate 7026 ( 223rd)
    - March 1999 census 6316
    - Density 29.0/km² ( 176th)
   75.1/sq mi
   GDP ( PPP) 2003 estimate
    - Total $48.3 million ( 226th)
    - Per capita $6,874 ( not ranked)
   Currency Euro ( €) ( EUR)
   Time zone PMST ( UTC-3)
    - Summer ( DST) PMDT ( UTC-2)
   Internet TLD .pm
   Calling code +508^f
   ^a Overseas community; ^b Overseas territory;
   ^c Overseas department; ^d "Territorial community".
   ^e Treaty of Paris (1814).
   ^f 0508 from metropolitan France or overseas départements.

   Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (French Saint-Pierre et Miquelon) 46°47′N
   56°12′W is a French overseas community consisting of several small
   islands off the eastern coast of Canada near Newfoundland. It is the
   only remnant of the former colonial territory of New France.

History

   Miquelon and St. Pierre were settled very early by Europeans taking
   advantage of the rich fishing grounds, and characterized by periods of
   conflict between the French and English.

Highlights

     * The French fished near the islands for about 200 years.
     * France and Britain fought and traded the islands back and forth for
       about 100 years, associated with various wars and the American and
       French Revolutions.
     * France took the islands back after Napoleon abdicated and a fishing
       boom followed for a few decades.
     * After the late 1800s, fishing went into decline.
     * Alcohol smuggling boomed during U.S. Prohibition in the 1920s and
       1930s.
     * The islands were controlled by the Axis powers and then recaptured
       in World War II.
     * Fishing continued to decline after the war so the islands are
       trying to diversify their economy.

Historical Summary

   There is evidence of prehistoric native inhabitation on the islands.
   The European settlements on the islands are some of the oldest in the
   Americas, dating from at least the early 1500s. At first the Basque
   fishermen only visited the islands seasonally during the fishing
   season, and by the mid 1600s there were permanent French residents on
   the islands.

   At the end of the 1600s and into the early 1700s, British attacks on
   the islands lead to the French settlers abandoning the islands, and the
   British took possession for 50 years (from 1713 to 1763). The French
   took the islands back in 1763 and settlers returned to live peacefully
   for 15 years.

   Then the French support of the American Revolution lead a British
   attack on the islands, and the deportation of the French settlers.
   Possession of Miquelon and St. Pierre passed back and forth between
   France and Great Britain for the next 38 years, as the islands suffered
   attacks by both countries, voluntary or forced removal of the island's
   residents, and upheaval associated with the French Revolution.

   France finally took the islands back after Napoleon's second abdication
   in 1815, and there followed 70 years of peace and prosperity for the
   French fishing industry and residents on Miquelon and St. Pierre.
   However, political and economic changes lead to a slow decline of the
   fishing industry after the late 1800s.

   There was a short 13 year economic boom on the island associated with
   the period of Prohibition in the US, when Miquelon and St. Pierre were
   prominent bases for alcohol smuggling. This boom ended with the the end
   of prohibition in 1933, and the economy sank into depression.

   During the Second World War, the governor, Gilbert de Bournat, was
   loyal to the Vichy regime; he had to negotiate financial arrangements
   with US authorities to obtain loans guaranteed by the French treasure.
   At the same time, Canada was considering an invasion of Saint-Pierre
   and Miquelon. Several pretexts were put forward, notably radio
   broadcasts of the Vichy propaganda. It was alleged that the radio was
   helping German U-Boots on the Grand Banks, though this was never
   proven. Canadian Prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King never
   authorised the implementation of the plans.

   Under orders of De Gaulle, admiral Émile Muselier organised the
   liberation of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, without the consent and
   knowledge of the Canadian and US authorities. On the 24 December 1941,
   a Free French flotilla lead by the submarine cruiser Surcouf took
   control of the islands without resistance. De Gaulle had a referendum
   organised, which was favourable to him, and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
   thus became one of the first French provinces to join Free France. The
   affair led to a durable distrust between De Gaulle and Roosevelt.

Politics

   The politics of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon take place within a framework
   of a parliamentary representative democratic French overseas
   collectivity, whereby the President of the General Council is the head
   of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power
   is exercised by the government.

   In 1992, a maritime boundary dispute with Canada over the delineation
   of the Exclusive Economic Zone belonging to France was settled by the
   International Court of Arbitration. In the decision, France kept the 12
   nautical mile (NM) (22.2 km) territorial sea surrounding the islands
   and was given an additional 12 NM (22.2 km) contiguous zone as well as
   a 10.5 NM (19.4 km) wide corridor stretching 200 NM (370 km) south. The
   total area in the award was 18% of what France had requested.

   The boundary dispute had been a flash point for Franco-Canadian
   relations. New claims made under UNCLOS by France over the continental
   shelf might cause new tensions between France and Canada.

Administrative divisions

   Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is administratively divided into two communes
   (municipalities). They are: Miquelon-Langlade and Saint-Pierre.

Geography and Environment

   The island of Saint-Pierre is surrounded by smaller dependencies which
   include the island of Grand Colombier, Petit Colombier, Île aux Marins
   (formally known as Île aux Chiens), Île aux Pigeons and Île aux
   Vainqueurs. The total area of the islands is 93.4 square miles (242
   km²). They have a coastline which is 74.5 miles (120 km) long.

   The island of Miquelon is roughly 15.8 miles from the coast of
   Newfoundland at their closest points. However, there is a small island
   with a lighthouse belonging to Newfoundland called Green Island that is
   between Langlade and St. Pierre and Newfoundland at 46°53′N 56°05′W,
   about 10 kilometers from Langlade and St. Pierre.

   The island of Miquelon is separated from St. Pierre by a 6 kilometer
   strait with very fierce currents. Fishermen call this section of ocean
   "The Mouth of Hell". The waters around these islands are very
   treacherous, and there have been over 600 shipwrecks along the coasts
   of the islands.
   Simulated view of the islands by NASA
   Enlarge
   Simulated view of the islands by NASA

   The island of Miquelon was formed by the joining of three islands by
   sand dunes and Quaternary deposits. These islands are Le Cap, Miquelon
   (Grande Miquelon), and Langlade (Petite Miquelon). Miquelon and
   Langlade were separate until a large sandbar joined them in the 18th
   century. Miquelon has a lagoon called Grand Barachois, where seals and
   other wildlife can be found.

   The term 'Miquelon' is Basque for "Michael". The island name 'Langlade'
   is a corruption of 'l'île à l'Anglais' (which is translated as English
   Island). Saint-Pierre is the Patron Saint of Fishermen (along with St.
   Andrew, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Benno, St. Nicholas of Myra, St. Zeno
   of Verona. )

   The climate is very damp and windy, the winters are harsh and long. The
   spring and early summer are foggy and cool. Late summer and early fall
   are sunny.

   Every spring, whales migrating to Greenland are visible off the coasts
   of Miquelon and St. Pierre.

   Trilobite fossils have been found on Langlade. There were a number of
   stone pillars off the island coasts called "L'anse aux Soldats" that
   have been eroded away and disappeared in the 1970s.

Economy

   The islands were dependent upon the cod fishery for the best part of
   the last four centuries. However, overfishing on the Grand Banks has
   led Canada to impose a long-term closure of this industry. Since
   fishing quotas are governed by Canada, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and
   the French fishing fleet (whether based out of the islands or out of
   mainland France) have been seriously affected.

   In Saint-Pierre and Miquelon many efforts are being made, with the help
   of the French government, to diversify the local economy. Tourism, fish
   farming, crab fishing and agriculture are being developed.

   Except for two coins issued in 1948, the islanders have used French
   currency, and now use the euro. Until the 1990s, the islanders used
   French postage stamps, but now the islands issue their own. Domestic
   French postal rates apply to mail between mainland France and the
   islands. The French postal code is 97500.

Demography

   The population of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon at the 1999 French census
   was 6,316 inhabitants. 5,618 of these lived in the commune
   (municipality) of Saint-Pierre and the other 698 in the commune of
   Miquelon-Langlade (697 on Miquelon proper, and 1 on Langlade Island).

   Langlade currently is unpopulated, since its sole inhabitant, Charles
   Lafitte, died in July 2006. Langlade is a summer retreat for many
   inhabitants of Saint-Pierre, when its population can swell up to 1000.

Culture

   French is the official language of the islands, but the accent and many
   of the words used are similar to the language of Normandy.

   French patriotism is strong on the islands, and the islanders are proud
   that some of the soil on the island is French, having been brought over
   in the ballasts of ships.

   Basque pride might be just as strong, given the strong historical ties
   of the islands to the Basque region of France. Every year in the summer
   there is a Basque Festival, with demonstrations of harrijasotzaile
   (stone heaving), haitzkolari (lumberjack skills), and paleta (a game
   somewhat like Jaï-Alaï).

   Hockey is very popular in Miquelon and St. Pierre. Several players from
   the islands have played on French teams and even participated on the
   French National hockey team in the Olympics.

   Street names are not commonly used on the islands. Directions and
   locations are commonly given using nicknames and the names of nearby
   residents.

   The only time the guillotine was ever used in North America was in
   Saint-Pierre in the late 1800s. Joseph Néel was convicted of killing a
   Mr. Coupard on the "île aux Chiens" on December 30, 1888, and executed
   by guillotine on August 24, 1889. The guillotine had to be shipped from
   Martinique and it did not arrive in working order. It was very
   difficult to get anyone to perform the execution; finally a recent
   immigrant was coaxed into doing the job. This event was the inspiration
   for the film, "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" ("La Veuve de Saint-Pierre")
   released in the year 2000. The guillotine is now in a museum in
   Saint-Pierre.

Military

   Defense is the responsibility of France.

Transportation

   Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has no railway and 114 km of highways (plus
   45 km of unpaved roads). Its only major harbour is Saint-Pierre. The
   dependency has no merchant marine and two airports, one with 1,524 to
   2,437 m of paved runways and one with 914 and 1,523 m.

   Regular ferry service is available between Saint-Pierre and the town of
   Fortune, Newfoundland.

Time zone

   Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is in its own time zone, UTC-3, which means
   three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. This also translates to two
   hours ahead of New York ( Eastern Time Zone), one hour ahead of Halifax
   ( Atlantic Time Zone), and thirty minutes ahead of St. John's (
   Newfoundland Standard Time Zone).

   However, most road atlases (those from North America in particular)
   erroneously place Saint-Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Time Zone
   (UTC-4), which is incorrect.

Notables

     * Denis Kang, martial arts fighter.
     * Henry Hughes Hough, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and
       Governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
     * Léon Charles Albert Calmette, a member of the French Naval Medical
       Corps, was assigned to the islands after being stationed in Hong
       Kong, and arrived in 1887, in time to witness the guillotine
       execution. He studied the codfish, and realized that a bacterium
       was responsible for their colour. In later work, he collaborated
       with veterinarian Camille Guérin to produce the BCG vaccine against
       tuberculosis.

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