Information about the French Islands of Saint-Pierre & Miquelon which are located off the eastern coast of Canada.

14. June 2008 by admin.

I thought I knew a fair amount about history and geography, but I came across something that surprised me today.  France actually still has some colonial possessions, located just off the coast of North America, namely some islands which are commonly called “Saint-Pierre & Miquelon”, which are located just south of the Canadian Province of Newfoundland.  And you can drive there from the US or Canada, by first driving to Fortune, Newfoundland, and then taking the ferry to the islands.  In fact, here is the driving instructions on their website:From the United States of America Drive to Nova Scotia from Maine via New Brunwick. Drive to North Sydney, Cape Breton island, Take ferry to Argentia or Port aux Basques. Drive Interstate 95 North to the Canadian border, Trans Canada 2 East in New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. Drive to North Sydney, Cape Breton island, Take ferry to Argentia or Port aux Basques.   Where is it?

Some interesting facts about Saint-Pierre & Miquelon:

• James Cook was the first to map the island of Saint-Pierre during the summer of 1763
• If you go there, make sure you have your Passport, as you are entering French territory.
• There are more than 600 shipwrecks off the coasts of the area.

• You can fly there from several different Canadian cities.
• Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is in its own time zone with respect to the rest of North America (UTC-3) which is the same as some parts of Brazil
• The Euro is the official currency (although I saw that US or Canadian dollars are commonly accepted unofficially).
• About 6000 people live there, mostly of French, Basque, or Acadian ancestry.
• The only time the Guillotine was ever used in North America was in Saint-Pierre on the 24th of August 1889.
• During US Prohibition, the islands enjoyed a lot of prosperity due to participation in smuggling of alcohol to the US.
• During WWII, the islands were for a time controlled by the Vichy French goverment which meant that indirectly at least, by the Nazi Goverment (DeGaulle’s Free French forces did “liberate” the island in 1941 in a bloodless invasion).

To Find out more:Wikipedia Entry for Saint-Pierre & Miquelon

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