Captain Savalette

Starting in the second half of the 16^th century, Captain Savalette, a Basque fisherman from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, travelled every year to Eskikewa’kik, a district of Mi’kma’ki within the traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq. In the area close to the Sugar Harbour Islands, within the Tor Bay/Charlos Cove region of what is now mainland Nova Scotia, Captain Savalette and his crew caught codfish, which they cleaned, salted, and dried on shore. At the end of the fishing season, captains like Savalette often met and traded with Mi’kmaw men who lived with their families along the coast in order to harvest the rich bounty of land and sea. In 1607, it was here that Captain Savalette was sought out by Samuel de Champlain and Marc Lescarbot as they sailed from Port Royal to Canso. The travel accounts of these two French explorers testify to the longevity and seasonality of Captain Savalette’s activities as part of the European commercial venture for dried cod.

Starting in the 1530s, Basque cod fishermen settled on a seasonal basis in what is now known as Placentia Bay and Cape Breton Island. The crews, which practiced “sedentary” fishing, brought their daily catch ashore to prepare and dry it so that it could be preserved. Captain Savalette learned of the existence of the location near Sugar Harbour Islands from his father and fished in this region from 1565 to 1607, and perhaps even longer. His activities are representative of the practice of many European cod fishermen who fished in North America’s waters from the 16^th to the 18^th centuries.

During the warm months, Mi’kmaw families settled near the coastline, and encountered fishermen like Captain Savalette. Some First Nations established lasting relationships with European fishermen, and used these opportunities to trade furs for supplies, fuel and manufactured goods. In time, these trade networks established between First Nations and Europeans became monopolized by fur trade companies supported by France and England.

Captain Savalette was designated as a national historic person in 1944, and was noted for the longevity of his fishing practice as well as his meeting with Champlain and Lescarbot in 1607, speaking to the importance that the cod fishery played in stimulating European interest in this region.