Book is in French

The Magdalen Islands belong to Quebec, even though they are twice as close to Cape Breton Island as they are to Gaspésie. The fishhook-shaped archipelago which rests on immense salt domes is made up of a dozen islands, half of which are connected by narrow sand dunes. The smallest historic region of Quebec is at the heart of the richest fishing zone in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the exploitation of marine resources has marked its entire history.
The archipelago was not permanently occupied before the Conquest. It was the Acadians uprooted by the Great Disruption in 1755 who provided most of its initial population, soon reinforced by a few families of English, Irish and Scottish origin. Today, it is Cormier, Boudreau, Arseneau, Thériault, Vigneau, Lapierre, Clark and Dickson who welcome the growing flow of visitors who come to discover the splendors of their land and sea domains. The Madelinots also deserve that those who come to see them linger on the story of their presence on the archipelago for seven or eight generations, a story offered by this brief history.
This brief summary constitutes the summary of the History of the Magdalen Islands - published in 2003, a work which required the financial participation and collaboration, at the research stage, of a large number of Madelinots . The authors could only see to what extent the Magdalen tradition of hospitality deserves its reputation. I would also like to thank Paul Larocque, professor of history at the University of Quebec at Rimouski and co-author of the work, who has proven to be both a valuable researcher and an effective collaborator.