Bruker:Sosekopp/sandkasse

De tidlige bosetningene av St. Pierre og Miquelon, som ble priset av europeerne for de rike fiskebankene, var karakterisert av perioder med konflikter mellom franskmennene og engelskmennene.

Mye tyder på at det har vært innbyggere på øyene også i forhistorisk tid (sannsynligvis Beothuk). De europeiske bosetningene er noen av de eldste i Amerika (med de spanske og portugisiske bosetningene), fra ihvertfall tidlig i det 16. århundre. Først var det baskiske fiskere som bare besøkte øyene i fiskesesongene, men fra midten av det 17. århundre var det permanent fransk bebyggelse på øyene.

På slutten av det 17. århundre til begynnelsen av det 18. århundre gjorde britiske angrep på øyene at de franske kolonistene måtte forlate øyene, og britene tok kontrollen i 50 år (fra 1713 til 1763). Franskmennene tok tilbake kontrollen i 1763 ved Parisfreden, (som overdro hele Ny-Frankrike til Storbritannia unntatt Saint-Piette og Miquelon.) og innbyggerne kom tilbake for å leve fredfullt i 15 år.

Fransk støtte til den amerikanske revolusjon førte til et britisk angrep på øyene, og de franske nybyggerne ble deportert. Kontrollen over Miquelon og St. Pierre gikk frem og tilbake mellom Frankrike og Storbritannia for de neste 38 årene, og øyene måtte tåle angrep fra begge land, frivillig- eller tvangsflytting av øyenes innbyggere, og omveltninger i forbindelse med den franske revolusjon.

Frankrike tok til slutt tilbake øyene etter at Napoleon abdiserte for andre gang i 1815, og etter dette fulgte 70 år med fremgang for den franske fiskeindustrien og innbyggerne på Saint-Pierre og Miquelon. Dog gjorde politiske og økonomiske endringer at fiskeindustrien fikk en langsom tilbakegang etter slutten av det 19. århundre.

Det var en 13 år lang økonomisk boom i forbindelse med forbudstiden i USA, da Miquelon og St. Pierre var viktige baser for smugling av alkohol. Denne perioden endte med at forbudet ble opphevet i 1933, og økonomien sank ned i en depresjon.

Igjennom andre verdenskrig var governør Gilbert de Bournat lojal mot Vichy-regimet; han måtte forhandle om finansielle forordninger med amerikanske autoriteter for å få tak i lån med garanti fra franske skattepenger. På samme tid vurderte Canada å invadere Saint-Pierre og Miquelon. Flere påskudd ble satt fram, mest radiosendinger med Vichy-propaganda. Det ble påstått at radioen hjalp tyske ubåter på Grand Banks, men dette ble aldri bevist. Etter råd av statsminister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, autoriserte aldri guvernørgeneral Alexander Cambridge planene.

Under ordre fra de Gaulle, Organiserte admiral Émile Muselier frigjøringen av Saint-Pierre og Miquelon, uten at canadiske og amerikanske autoriteter samtykket i eller visste om det. Den 24. desember 1941 tok en krigsflåte ledet av ubåt-cruiseren Surcouf kontroll over øyene uten motstand. De Gaulle organiserte en folkeavstemning, som endte i hans favør, og Saint-Pierre og Miquelon ble så et av de første franske territoriene til å bli med i det Frie Frankrike. Affæren førte til mye mistro i forholdet mellom De Gaulle og Roosevelt.

Politikken i Saint-Pierre og Miquelon har plass i et rammeverk av et parlamentarisk representativt demokrati. Saint Pierre er et fransk oversjøisk samfunn, og dermed er Presidenten av Saint-Pierre og Miquelons Territorialråd (fransk: conseil territorial) regjeringssjef, og av et multi-partisystem. Utøvende makt blir praktisert av regjeringen.

Saint Pierre og Miquelon sender en representant til Frankrikes nasjonalforsamling og en senator til Frankrikes senat.

Saint-Pierre og Miquelon er delt opp i to kommuner. De er: Miquelon-Langlade and Saint-Pierre.

The island of Saint-Pierre is surrounded by smaller dependencies which include the island of Grand Colombier, Petit Colombier, Île aux Marins (formally known as Île aux Chiens), Île aux Pigeons and Île aux Vainqueurs. The total area of the islands is 242 km² (93.4 sq mi). They have a coastline which is 120 km (75 miles) long.

The island of Miquelon is roughly 25 km (16 mi) from the main coast of Newfoundland at their closest points. However, there is a small Canadian island with a lighthouse belonging to Newfoundland called Green Island that is halfway between Langlade and Newfoundland at 46°52′44″N 56°05′21″V, and is about Mal:Unit km from both Langlade and St. Pierre.^[1]

The island of Miquelon is separated from St. Pierre by a 6 km (4 mi) strait with very fierce currents. Fishermen call this section of ocean "The Mouth of Hell". The waters around these islands are very treacherous, and there have been over 600 shipwrecks along the coasts of the islands.

The island of Miquelon was formed by the joining of three islands by sand dunes and Quaternary deposits. These islands are Le Cap, Miquelon (Grande Miquelon), and Langlade (Petite Miquelon). Miquelon and Langlade were separate until a large sandbar joined them in the 18th century.^[1] Miquelon has a lagoon called Grand Barachois, where seals and other wildlife can be found.

The climate is very damp and windy, the winters are harsh and long. The spring and early summer are foggy and cool. Late summer and early fall are sunny.

Every spring, whales migrating to Greenland are visible off the coasts of Miquelon and St Pierre.

Trilobite fossils have been found on Langlade. There were a number of stone pillars off the island coasts called "L'anse aux Soldats" that have been eroded away and disappeared in the 1970s.^[2]

The islands were dependent upon the cod fishery for the best part of the last four centuries. However, overfishing on the Grand Banks has led Canada to impose a long-term closure of this industry. Since fishing quotas are governed by Canada, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and the French fishing fleet (whether based out of the islands or out of mainland France) have been seriously affected.

In Saint-Pierre and Miquelon many efforts are being made, with the help of the French government, to diversify the local economy. Tourism, fish farming, crab fishing and agriculture are being developed.

Between 1890 and 1965, the islanders used the Saint Pierre and Miquelon franc, which was equal to the French franc until 1945, then to the CFA franc between 1945 and 1960, and then to the French new franc until 1965, when the French currency was established as the sole circulating currency. Since 2002, the islanders have used the euro. Until the 1990s, the islanders used French postage stamps, but now the islands issue their own. Domestic French postal rates apply to mail between mainland France and the islands. The French postal code is 97500.

The population of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon at the 2006 local census was 6,125 inhabitants. 5,509 of these lived in the commune (municipality) of Saint-Pierre and the other 616 in the commune of Miquelon-Langlade (all on Miquelon proper, and none on Langlade Island).

Langlade currently has no year-round residents, since its sole inhabitant, Charles Lafitte,^[3] died in July 2006. Langlade is a summer retreat for many inhabitants of Saint-Pierre, when its population can swell up to 1000.

Saint-Pierre is French for Saint Peter, who is the patron saint of fishermen (along with St Andrew, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Benno, St Nicholas of Myra, St Zeno of Verona^[4]).

The present name of Miquelon was first noted in the form of 'Micquelle' in the Basque sailor Martin de Hoyarçabal's navigational pilot for Newfoundland^[5]. It has been claimed that the name 'Miquelon' is a Basque form of Michael^[6][7], but it appears that this is not a usual form in that language. Many Basques speak Spanish, and Miquelon may have been influenced by the Spanish name Miguelón, a form of Miguel meaning 'big Michael'.^{[trenger referanse]}

The adjoining island's name of 'Langlade' is a corruption of 'l'île à l'Anglais' (Englishman's Island)^[7].

French is the official language of the islands. The local accent and many of the words used are similar to the Norman language.

French patriotism is strong on the islands,^{[trenger referanse]} and the islanders are proud^{[trenger referanse]} that some of the soil on the island is French, having been brought over in the ballasts of ships.

Basque pride might be just as strong, given the strong historical ties of the islands to the Basque region of France and Spain. Every year in the summer there is a Basque Festival, with demonstrations of harrijasotzaile (stone heaving), haitzkolari (lumberjack skills), and paleta (a game somewhat like Jaï-Alaï).

Hockey is very popular in Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Several players from the islands have played on French teams and even participated on the French National hockey team in the Olympics.

Street names are not commonly used on the islands. Directions and locations are commonly given using nicknames and the names of nearby residents.

The only time the guillotine was ever used in North America was in Saint-Pierre in the late 19th century. Joseph Néel was convicted of killing Mr. Coupard on Île aux chiens on December 30, 1888, and executed by guillotine on August 24, 1889. The guillotine had to be shipped from Martinique and it did not arrive in working order. It was very difficult to get anyone to perform the execution; finally a recent immigrant was coaxed into doing the job. This event was the inspiration for the film The Widow of Saint-Pierre (La Veuve de Saint-Pierre) released in 2000. The guillotine is now in a museum in Saint-Pierre.

France is responsible for the defence of the islands.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon has no railway and 114 km (70.8 miles) of highways (plus 45 km (28 miles) of unpaved roads). Its only major harbour is Saint-Pierre. The dependency has no merchant marine and two airports; the runway at Saint-Pierre Airport is 1800m long, and at Miquelon Airport, 1000m.

A regular ferry service is available between Saint-Pierre and the town of Fortune, Newfoundland.

Air transport is provided by Air Saint-Pierre which connects Saint-Pierre with Miquelon and several Canadian cities.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is the only jurisdiction in North America not to have adopted for its vehicle registration plates the standard of six inches in height by twelve inches in width and instead uses French-style plates.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is in its own time zone with respect to the rest of North America, UTC-3, which means three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. This also translates to two hours ahead of New York (Eastern Time Zone), one hour ahead of Halifax (Atlantic Time Zone), and thirty minutes ahead of St. John's (Newfoundland Standard Time Zone). This is the same time zone as Greenland, most of Brazil, and French Guiana.

However, most road atlases (those from North America in particular) erroneously place Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Time Zone (UTC-4).

• Denis Kang, martial arts fighter.
• Henry Hughes Hough, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and Governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
• Léon Charles Albert Calmette collaborated with veterinarian Camille Guérin to produce the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis. As a member of the French Naval Medical Corps, he was assigned to the islands after being stationed in Hong Kong and arrived in 1887.

• Communications in Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Franco-Canadian relations
• French overseas departments and territories
• Administrative divisions of France