| Summary: | De la Perelle Store House, reconstruction block 17, detail, pole wall and half-timber construction; A national historic site and the location of a partial reconstruction of an 18th century French fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, a reminder of imperial battles for what would become Canada. The original fortress, constructed mainly between 1720 and 1740, was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America. Fortress Louisbourg suffered key weaknesses, since its design was directed solely toward sea-based assaults (controlling the entrance to the Gulf of St Lawrence and the St Lawrence River), leaving the land-facing defenses relatively weak. Captured by British colonists in 1745, it was a major bargaining chip in the negotiations leading to the 1748 treaty ending the War of the Austrian Succession, and was returned to French control. It was captured again in 1758 by British forces in the Seven Years' War, after which it was systematically destroyed by British engineers. The fortress and town were partially reconstructed in the 1960s, using some of the original stonework and providing jobs for unemployed coal miners in the effort. The site is now operated by Parks Canada as a living history museum. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 5/12/2011)
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