A Mare Labor - A Visit to Saint Pierre et Miquelon Quiz

Answer: Overseas collectivity of France

Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Saint Pierre et Miquelon is the only remnant of the vast territory once known as New France, which included large parts of eastern Canada and the central-eastern US. This small island group has been a territorial overseas collectivity of France since 1985, sharing this status with French Polynesia, the Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna, and the Caribbean islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. These territories are semi-autonomous and self-governing, unlike overseas departments and regions of France such as French Guiana and Réunion, which have the same status as the regions and departments of the mainland country. The Prefect of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, appointed by France, represents the national government, and oversees administrative control as well as matters of public order and law enforcement.

This politically correct question was written by LadyNym.

Answer: Yes

While the Portuguese visited the island in 1520, it was in 1536 that Jacques Cartier claimed the islands as a French possession. In 1670 they were annexed as part of New France but the British pillaged the few French settlers causing them to flee. The islands stayed uninhabited but still part of New France.

At the end of the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, in the ensuing Treaty of Paris, France gave up all its North American possessions. However, Britain granted fishing rights to France around the Newfoundland coast, and later an extension of that arrangement returned Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to France. However, during the Revolutionary War (where France supported the US) Britain invaded the St Pierre Colony, sent the 2000 inhabitants back to France and burnt the place to the ground. In 1793 the British expelled the few French left on the island and tried to start a British colony, but France invaded and retook the islands a year later. The Treaty of Amiens (1802) officially gave the islands to France, but the British reoccupied the islands a year later. In the second Treaty of Paris (1814), the islands were given back to France. They were occupied by the British during the Hundred Days War in 1815, but the islands in the group other than St Pierre were resettled by mainly Basques, Bretons and Normans. These immigrants made a profitable fishing industry and the island group has remained part of France ever since.

This question was submitted by Phoenix Rising team member Francophile 1nn1.

Answer: Newfoundland and Labrador

Saint Pierre lies just 19 kilometres (12 miles) from Newfoundland's Point May. With the popularity of ice hockey, the local players compete in Newfoundland-based leagues. They also participate in Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador's annual tournaments.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon has a national ice hockey team which first played an exhibition game in 2008 against the French national side. Local skaters have also played for France in Winter Olympics competition.

Phoenix Rising's psnz slid this question into the quiz, as part of the Gold Team's Global Tour 2022.

Answer: Saint Peter - Apostle

Saint Peter was one of Jesus Christ's twelve Apostles. Both he and his brother, Apostle Saint Andrew, were fishermen (Matthew 4:18-20 [NIV]). Saint Peter became the first Pope of the Catholic Church. Since then, part of the papal regalia has been the "Fisherman's Ring" referring to his former occupation. Saint Peter is also the patron saint of fishermen.

One of the reasons why France desired land in this part of the world was its access to the Grand Banks fishing grounds off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Some of the first French settlers on Saint Pierre and Miquelon were fishermen. Traditionally, the local economy has relied on fishing and other seafood. Disputes arose with Canada over access to the fishery. In 1992, arbitrators awarded Saint Pierre and Miquelon an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 square kilometres (4,768 sq mi) around the islands.

This question was netted for the quiz by Phoenix Rising's psnz, part of the 2022 Global Tour's Gold Team.

Answer: Basques

Among the very first European settlers on Saint Pierre and Miquelon there were a group of whalers and cod fishermen from the Basque Country, the region on the Atlantic coast shared by France and Spain. These people, who left Europe during the wars of religion of the late 16th century, established the oldest Basque colony in North America; Basque migration to the islands continued until the late 19th century. Some maintain that the name "Miquelon", first recorded in 1579, is of Basque origin - being the Basque version of "Michael", and possibly commemorating some of the early settlers who bore this name. Though the use of the Basque language by people of Basque ancestry died out in the 1950s, the mark left by these hardy people can still be seen in the many family names of Basque origin, and the Basque festival celebrated every year at the end of August - which includes demonstrations of Basque pelota (known in the US as "jai alai").

The Basque language ("Euskara") has no known relatives and is believed to predate the arrival of Indo-European languages in Europe. The Sámi (Lapps) and the Circassians are also minority ethnic groups indigenous to Europe, though not to Western Europe; the Romani, or Roma, originated from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.

This question was crafted by LadyNym, who - as a self-confessed language buff - wishes she knew some Basque.

Answer: Basques, Bretons, and Normans

The yellow ship facing the hoist is purported to be Grande Hermine, which Jacques Cartier used to visit Saint Pierre on 15 June 1536 and claim the islands for France. The ship and the waves upon the sea represent its maritime past.

On the hoist side, one vertical band is divided into three squares: the top square (called Ikurrina) is red with a green diagonal cross overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections representing the Basques; the middle square has a white background with an ermine pattern for Brittany; the third part has a red background with two yellow lions, one above the other, representing Normandy. These are the three heraldic arms representing settlement by colonists from the three French regions.

Question submitted by Phoenix Rising's amateur vexillologist 1nn1.

Answer: 2

Totalling 242 square kilometres (93 square miles), of the eight islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, just two are inhabited. These two islands are Saint-Pierre and Miquelon-Langlade. The islands form part of the northeastern end of the Appalachian Mountains in the United States, which extend from Alabama to Maine. The islands are rocky and bare, with steep coasts, and only have a thin layer of peat to soften the harsh landscape.

This question was inhabited by JAM6430 of Phoenix Rising.

Answer: Executed by guillotine

Sources vary with some giving Néel's first name as Auguste, while others list it as Joseph. Late in 1888, the drunken Néel and fellow-fisherman Louis Olliver decided to break into Coupard's shanty on l'Île-aux-Chiens (Island of the Dogs). This now uninhabited island off the coast of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has since been renamed l'Île-aux-Marins (Island of the Sailors). Néel ended up stabbing Coupard and the pair dismembered his body.

After being found guilty, Néel was sentenced to death, while Olliver was given 10 years' hard labour. Néel's 1889 execution by guillotine is the only recorded use of the device in North America.

By all accounts, the execution was not without difficulties. The guillotine was imported from Martinique, a French territorial collectivity in the Caribbean. When it arrived on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, the device was not working. Also, someone had to be found to carry out the court's sentence, with great reluctance exhibited by French law enforcement officers. Eventually, a convict named Legent and his half-brother were persuaded to undertake the work. Unfortunately for Néel, the local authorities were ultimately successful.

The guillotine remained on Saint-Pierre never to be used again and can still be viewed in the township's Musée de l'Arche. The year 2000 Canadian-French film production "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" (French: "La veuve de Saint-Pierre") starring Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil was loosely based on this incident.

This question was sliced and diced for the quiz by psnz of Phoenix Rising's Gold Crew as they competed in their team Global Tour 2022.

Answer: Tombolo

Tombolo is a word derived from Italian, literally meaning 'sand dune'. When an island is attached to mainland by the sandy isthmus that is a tombolo, it is referred to as a 'tied island'. The tombolo connecting Grande Miquelon and Langlade is called La Dune, and it was formed in the eighteenth century. Ships could sail between the islands prior to the tombolo's formation then. La Dune is about 12 kilometres long.

An estuary is a passage of water where the tide meets a river current, a typhoon is a tropical cyclone, and a hoodoo is a column of weathered rock.

This question was waved in by Phoenix Rising's Rizeeve.

Answer: Bald eagle

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is part of the ecoregion known as the South Avalon-Burin oceanic barrens, characterized by the association of shrubs of the heather family with dense carpets of moss and lichen. This kind of vegetation also occurs in Iceland and northern Scotland and does not support large mammals such as those listed as incorrect answers. On the other hand, the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a sea eagle, found in most of Canada as well as in Alaska, the contiguous US, and northern Mexico. The cape of Miquelon in particular is a nesting site for these majestic birds, and a favourite haunt of birdwatchers: indeed, the cape's northernmost point is known as Cap du Nid à l'Aigle (Eagle's Nest Cape). Many other seabirds nest on the islands, including Atlantic puffins, Arctic terns, and Northern gannets.

LadyNym had to fly very high in order to complete this question.