History of Magdalen Island anglophones Magdalen Island Anglophones who now make up only five per cent of the population are mainly concentrated in the municipalities of Grosse Ile and Entry Island. Municipality of Grosse Ile includes the hamlet of East Cape, the village of Old Harry - (the actual site of Jacques Cartier's landing on June 28, 1534 and also the site of the finest beach on the Islands) -, and the now uninhabited Brion Island which Jacques Cartier visited and described in his journal. The municipality of Grosse Ile was established on January 1, 1893 as part of Coffin Island the eastern most section of the connected islands. The people live mainly by fishing, like most others on the Islands. Most of the Magdalen Island Anglophone population is descended from Irish and Scottish settlers with names like Dunn, Clarke, Keating, McLean and Goodwin. Settlement really began in the early 19th century. In the first decades of that century settlers came for the seal hunt and for the fishing. Immigrants came looking for a new home; others were shipwrecked and stayed on the island. Four of those shipwrecked settlers made their home on the Islands after the "Miracle" was shipwrecked at East Point on May 27, 1847 with approximately 446 immigrants on board. The survivors were taken in and cared for at the home of James Clarke in East Cape. The English population was once spread out over the islands in the communities of Havre-Aubert, Cap-aux-Meules, Havre-aux-Maisons and Etang-du-Nord where there is still evidence in the English names such as Cummings, Delaney, Langford and Pealey. People left the islands to look for work when lobsters were shipped out live instead of being canned and the English population declined.

   Text and research : Katherine Clarke, Robina Goodwin

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