Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saint Pierre and Miquelon , French territorial collectivity (2005 est. pop. 7,000), 93 sq mi (241 sq km), consisting of nine small islands S of Newfoundland, Canada, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The capital is Saint Pierre on the island of the same name. Miquelon (83 sq mi/215 sq km) is the largest island. Most of the population live in or near the capital and earn their living by fishing. The islands are barren, rocky, and often fogbound, but their proximity to the Grand Banks makes them a valuable base for fishermen. Fish processing and the servicing of fishing fleets are the main industries. There is some tourism. In April and October, Norman and Breton fishermen come from France to fish. There is a 19-seat legislature, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect one representative to the French Senate and one to the French National Assembly. A thirty-year boundary dispute between France and Canada over offshore fishing rights was resolved in 1992. The French zone consists of waters within a 24-mi (38.6-km) limit of the two islands and also includes a 10.5-mi-wide (16.9-km) corridor leading south 200 mi (322 km) to international waters.

History

Probably first settled by Basques, the islands were colonized by France in 1604. They were taken by the British (1713) but returned to France in 1763; twice retaken by the British, they were restored to France in 1814, with the provision that they be unfortified. They were granted local autonomy in 1935, became an overseas department in 1976, and reclassified as a territorial collectivity in 1985 to comply with European Community (now European Union) trade regulations.

St Pierre and Miquelon Group of eight small islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, sw of Newfoundland, Canada. The capital is St Pierre (1999 pop. 5618) on the island of the same name; Miquelon is the largest island. The group was claimed for France in 1535, and since 1985 has been a ‘territorial collectivity’, sending delegates to the French parliament. Fishing is the most important activity, and has led to disputes with Canada. Area: 242sq km (93sq mi). Pop. (1999) 6316.

St Pierre and Miquelon, France's oldest and smallest colony, situated off the Newfoundland coast, which was occupied by de Gaulle's Free French forces on 24 December 1941.

In early 1941 the USA concluded an agreement with Admiral Robert, the Vichy French high commissioner for the French West Indies whose fief included the islands, for the maintenance of the status quo of all French possessions in the western hemisphere. However, a powerful wireless station on the islands began to cause the UK and Canada concern, and discussions started on how best to control its transmissions. The USA vetoed any Free French interference and suggested Canada take action. But Canada, because of its French-Canadian population, had no wish to offend Vichy France. While all parties hesitated, de Gaulle, despite agreeing to hold his hand, ordered the islands occupied by Vice-Admiral Muselier's naval forces, a decision overwhelmingly supported by a local plebiscite. The British were delighted, the Canadians relieved, but the US secretary of state, Cordell Hull, was furious as he regarded it as a breach of the Havana Act (see Havana conference). He threatened to use force to oust ‘the so-called Free French’, and though a compromise was eventually reached, whereby the islands were demilitarized and declared neutral, he barred the Free French from signing the United Nations Declaration then being drawn up.

Bibliography

Anglin, D. , The St Pierre and Miquelon Affair of 1941 (Toronto, 1966).