Fort Royal is a French fort built in 1687 on the island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

during the time of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. In 1662, the French established a commercial counter on a well protected hill overlooking

Placentia Bay Placentia Bay () is a body of water on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It is formed by Burin Peninsula on the west and Avalon Peninsula on the east. Fishing grounds in the bay were used by native people long before the first Europ ...

which separates the

Avalon Peninsula The Avalon Peninsula () is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland in Canada. It is in size. The peninsula is home to 270,348 people, about 52% of the province's population, according to the 2016 Ca ...

form the rest of Newfoundland island and situated near Grand Banks where fish are abundant. In order to protect the bay, several forts were erected around the hill, Fort Plaisance (1662), Fort Royal (1687) and Fort Saint Louis (1690). Fort Royal was constructed on the top of the hill which dominated the bay and the port village of Plaisance. Fort Royal served as bastion and home for the governor. In 1713, the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

forced the French to abandon their establishments in Newfoundland. Fort Royal and Fort Saint Louis were renamed "'' Castle Hill''" by the English, and "Plaisance" became "Placentia". The French inhabitants were displaced to Isle Royale (

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

), where they began the construction of

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...

.Canada- Québec, Synthèse Historique, Éditions du Renouveau Pédagogique Inc. pp.133–134

References

Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

1687 establishments in the French colonial empire Foreign military bases in Canada {{Newfoundland-stub

See also

References