Carbonear Island National Historic Event
Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador
Image of HSMBC plaque
(© Parks Canada / Parcs Canada, 1989)
Address :
Water Street, Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1954-06-07
Other Name(s):
-
Carbonear Island
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Defence of English settlements against French attacks in 1697 and 1705
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: Mounted on cairn in park Water Street, Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador
During the winter of 1697, after French raiders had laid waste most of the English settlements in Newfoundland, the residents of Carbonear and surrounding communities entrenched themselves on Carbonear Island. From here they repelled repeated attempts to take the island and for a brief time were virtually the only holdout against French domination of Newfoundland. Carbonear Island was successfully defended again in 1705 by local inhabitants led by William Pynne of Carbonear against a French force from Placentia which had pillaged the coastal fisheries.