La France au bord de l’Amérique (France on the edge of America): Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Historians of Empire have overwhelmingly turned their attention to the study of peoples who, once oppressed by their imperial ruler, have achieved emancipation. Rarely do they examine the peoples who did not demand independence but, rather, willingly chose to remain linked to the ‘metropole.’ Saint Pierre et Miquelon provides a particular example of the later. Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a unique community, one of a handful of territories in the world where a small settler population is still under the control of a former colonial power. It is also the only French territory of this type. Better known ones include the British territories of the Falkland Islands or St Helena. Through a thorough investigation of historical currents and their impact on the people Saint Pierre et Miquelon, this study examines on how a transplanted group of people can develop a sense of national identity without having a nation state and how they can maintain an attachment to a 'metropole' that has long ago ceased to be a 'homeland.' It draws out the sources of this loyalty and underscores the challenges of balancing local and national identities in a territory that, despite its small size and far-flung position, did not remain unaffected by world events.