French Fortresses in North America 1535–1763: Québec, Montréal, Louisbourg and New Orleans

Osprey Fortress #27

by René Chartrand

Following the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, European colonists brought their system of fortification to the New World in an attempt to ensure their safety and consolidate their conquests. French and British explorers came later to North America, and thus the establishment of their sizeable settlements only got under way during the 17th century. The inhabitants of New France built elaborate fortifications to protect their towns and cities. This book provides a detailed examination of the defenses of four of them: Québec, Montréal and Louisbourg in Canada, and New Orleans in Louisiana.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Military History

64 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2005

Reviews

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this overview: M Chartrand describes the state of Québec, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Louisbourg, and New Orleans. The focus of the story is clearly on the two grand Canadian cities, and one can’t blame the author for this. These two clearly offer more of a chance for descriptions and illustrations than the disappeared fortifications of Nouvelle-Orleans, the broken down structures of Louisbourg, or the ever-neglected Trois-Rivières.

The author starts also with a very helpful look into how the French governed their colonies, and this stride is maintained throughout the book. These explanations — including some anecdotes on M Vauban — make for a very interesting story. Most of the fortresses, as well, are covered chronologically with as much detail as possible. Montréal, perhaps as a minor exception, is also used to illustrate systems of outlying fortifications stretching to considerable distances.

My only (minor) beef with this is that there is less reference to original sources than what I’ve come to expect. Every writer has their own style, and that’s for the best, but I was hoping for more reflections from the contemporary citizens and adversaries in order to create a more colourful mental picture of these places.

This review was originally posted on my blog.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent diagrams and pictures with a nice general background history, and a history of each fortress including its surrounding and related forts in most cases (under French control).