Tadoussac, Quebec

Tadoussac is a village of 857 inhabitants (2005) in Quebec, Canada. An important French trading post in the seventeenth century, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in Quebec, and the oldest surviving French settlement in the Americas.

Geography

Tadoussac is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, at its confluence with the Saguenay River. The cold, fresh water from the Saguenay and the warmer, salty water of the St. Lawrence, meet to create a rich marine environment, including an abundance of krill, making the area very attractive to whales.

Tadoussac is the east end of the Baie-Ste-Catherine / Tadoussac ferry, which offers free and frequent service across the Saguenay River and is part of Quebec Route 138 and the main link to Sept-Îles.

History

Tadoussac was France's first trading post on the mainland of New France. It was established in 1599 by Francis Dupont-Gravé (a merchant) and Pierre Chauvin (a captain of the French Royal navy) when they acquired a fur trade monopoly from Henry IV. The establishment of Tadoussac as the first French colony at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River was a direct result of their desire to profit from its location. Grave and Chauvin built a settlement near the waterway's shore, however, only five out of 16 men with them survived the first winter. Tadoussac remained the only seaport of the Saint Lawrence River for 30 years.

Whaling was carried out by the Basques from the Tadoussac area from 1632 until at least the end of the century . Tourists discovered the village in the 19th century. The large hotel building in Tadoussac dates from 1864.

Present day

The modern village of Tadoussac lies not very far from the original settlement, at the mouth of the Saguenay River. It is known as a tourist destination, mostly because of its facilities for whale watching and because of the rugged beauty of the Saguenay fjord.

The entire area is either rural or still in a wilderness state, with several federal and provincial natural parks and preserves competing for prestigious spots. Tadoussac encompasses the first marine national park of Canada. The nearest urban agglomeration is Saguenay about 100 km (63 miles) west.

The film based on the 1981 novel The Hotel New Hampshire was shot at the Hotel Tadoussac.

Museums

* Old chapel (the oldest wooden church in Canada and USA) [http://www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/mission/missione.htm]
* trading post of Pierre Chauvin
* CIMM (Centre d'interprétation des mammifères marins), translated as Center of Marine Mammal Interpretation

ee also

*1925 Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake

External links

* [http://www.tadoussac.com/ Tadoussac website]
* [http://www.gremm.org/ The CIMM in Tadoussac]