Contemporary Tadoussac
is a village 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. In 2005, its population was 857.
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 terminus 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 1600 by
François Gravé Du Pont, (a merchant) and
Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit (a captain of the French Royal navy) when they acquired a
fur trade monopoly from
Henry IV. The establishment of Tadoussac at the mouth of the
Saint Lawrence River was a direct result of the French desire to profit from its location. Grave and Chauvin built a settlement near the waterway's shore, but only five out of 16 men with them survived the first winter. Tadoussac remained the only seaport on the river for 30 years. Whaling was carried out by colonists 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 the 1940s, and replaces a Victorian hotel with origins dating to 1864 that burned.
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.
A 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)
- trading post of Pierre Chauvin
- CIMM (Centre d'interprétation des mammifères marins), translated as Center of Marine Mammal Interpretation
See also
