Discover the mysterious story of Anticosti Island, «jewel» of the St. Lawrence Gulf
Throughout Anticosti’s stormy and sometimes mysterious history, many have dared to tame the « jewel » of the St. Lawrence. This savagely beautiful lost continent, risen from the primordial Champlain Sea 6 million years ago, has a history that reads like a seafarers novel. With its shipwrecks, starvation, cannibalism, piracy, lunacy, greed, colonization debacles, and finally bankruptcy and ruin, Anticosti Island is where danger and beauty exquisitely entwine.
From the sea, the view of Anticosti’s shoreline portrays jagged towering limestone cliffs formed like the teeth of a giant saw. An emerald green canopy of lush boreal forests borders the shorelines, contrasting sharply with the blue coastal waters. The island’s pale limestone cliffs, caves and canyons got their start more than 400 million years ago with the layered deposits of sediments, ancient sea creatures and corals. Glaciers compressed and submerged the island during the last ice age. As the ice receded and the island emerged, its limestone features began forming from the seawater run off.
1534
Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier, the explorer and adventurer, cursed Anticosti Island as the land that God gave to Cain. He often referred to the island as Jinx Island and also as the strangest island in the world, for its dangerous coast of treacherous reefs and rocks chilled by the Labrador Current.
1680
Louis Jolliet Born in Quebec City, he was the first lord of Anticosti and the first to erect permanent installations there. It was in 1680 that Louis XIV granted him the island as a reward for his exploratory trips to Mississippi and Hudson Bay. Jolliet, Sieur de Mingan and Anticosti, operated the salmon trade and a farm there until 1690, when the Phips fleet, on its way to attack Quebec, burned down its facilities. When he died in 1700, the island was divided between his three children, who had no significant development there.
1895
Henri Menier In 1895, a chocolate manufacturer from France named Henri Menier bought Anticosti Island. Menier fell in love with the island and, with a vision towards the island's future sustainability, proceeded with the introduction of most of the animal species now living on the island. He introduced white-tailed deer, bison, elk, cariboo, moose, fox, frogs, partridge, grouse and hare. From the original 220 white-tailed deer that were released, the population now numbers approximately 50,000 heads. Many of the other game species did not fare as well, but the moose remain in smaller numbers along with the hare, fox, frogs, partridge and grouse. Port Menier, the only town on the island, was named after him. The town has a resident population of 180 people.
1939
Of great historical interest Just prior to the Second World War, the German Nazi Government tried to buy Anticosti Island with the pretext to invest and develop its lumber industry. However, historical documents have later shown that the Germans had a hidden agenda. The natural and deep water coves of Anticosti Island were well suited for hiding U-Boats that were to be used against the merchant shipping in the Atlantic.
1974
The Government of Quebec In 1974, the Quebec Government purchased the island back from lumber company interests and proceeded to turn Anticosti Island into a Provincial Wildlife Reserve. Through the development and mergers of other existing private lease owners, Safari Anticosti now manages over 25% or 2000 square kilometers of the island.
2021
Sale of a major partAfter a long period of negociations, Safari Anticosti sold three quarters of its territory to the SÉPAQ, a Quebec provincial park and wildlife reserve association, reducing its land to around 550 kilometers square, on the eastern tip of the island. It was of the upmost importance to us to keep the island in Quebecer's hands, to ensure its perennity and the best possible management of its wonderful resources.
2023
UNESCO World Heritage siteIn 2023, Anticosti island has officially been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The fossil collection found on Anticosti island is the most complete palaeontological record of the first mass extinction of animal life on a global scale, between 447- & 437 millions years ago. Lots of biologists and curious enthusiasts visit the island every year for its incredible sights, in addition to its incredible popularity for its salmon rivers and hunting grounds.
