COVER N.56 - France - Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

Postmark: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon 23-11-21
Posted on the 23rd November; received on the 3rd December
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Saint-Pierre et Miquelon..., Saint Pierre et Miquelon.... Saint Pierre et Miquelon... (sound of fingers turning the electronic pages of Atlases and Encyclopaedias...)

Hmmm.... Discovered by  Portuguese navigator João Álvares Fagundes (well done, the Portuguese!😀) who called it the land of the eleven thousand virgins (we, the Portuguese, are so immensely creative....) in honour of Saint Ursula whose day  coincided with the date of discovery:  the 21st October, 1520. 

Hmmm,... The last remaining hold of France in what was once a huge North American territory - New France - that started to be colonised in the 16th century and that ran from as North as Newfoundland to as South as Louisiana. Over the years at the centre of the colonial dispute between France and England in the North  American continent, compounded by the emergence of the united States of America in 1776, New France would dwindle in size, its territory being either integrated into Canada or absorbed by the USA, with only 2 tiny islands in the southern extremity of Newfoundland retaining its allegiance to the European power: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon.

Today SPM is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, with a population of around 6000, its economy, as would be expected, having been deeply rooted in fishing. In later years, though, the restrictions imposed by Canada on cod fishing (something that would also affect Portuguese fishing traditions) and the results of overfishing have had an important negative impact on the Islands' main economic activity and the Islanders are now turning to fish farming and tourism as viable sources of income and employment.

Another curious thing about SPM is that Basque was one of the languages spoken on the islands until the late 50s of last century,  Basque presence (as well as Norman and Breton, the three flags included in the unofficial flag of SPM) dating back to the 19th century as the Islands were again resettled under French ruling. Today, a Basque festival takes place every year and the unaware visitor might be surprised to see people playing Pelota Basca at such northern latitudes...

I couldn't be more happy to have received a cover from such an uncommon origin. Thank you so much Roland. Again and again, your contribution to my collection is outstanding.

Roland used what I consider to be a tremendously beautiful stamp on this letter. Issued on 06MAR2021 as a single stamp issue, denominated at 1,55€, this beautifuly engraved stamp depicts the trawler Béarn of the SPEC - Societé de Pêche et de Congélation, a  mixed capital local fishing company that finished its activity in 1974.

Unfortunatley I could not find any information specificlly related to theis particular ship but a document concerning the insdustry of fishing at SPM stated that as of 1960 SPEC had 4 chalutiers (trawlers) with another joining in in 1961. (the image of  the Béarn does seem to fit this vintage origin)

The general features of these ships were: lenght: 34 -40 m; Moulded depth 7m; speed: 9,5 - 12 knots and they were built upon a Dutch design deemed as fit for te local conditions.

SPEC Béarne is shown on the stamp against the backdrop of the East coast of Saint Pierre with SPEC's own fish freezing facility, now also decomissioned, being clearly identifiable on the shore line.