Gaspé

Gaspé lies at the eastern end of the peninsula reaching into the Gulf of St Lawrence. Its sheltered bay and surrounding waters formed part of a wider Indigenous landscape in which the Mi'kmaq travelled and fished seasonally.

In 1534 Jacques Cartier anchored in Gaspé Bay, where he met people from Stadacona who had come to fish, and erected a cross in the name of the French king. From the sixteenth century European fishers visited the peninsula for its cod and sheltered shores. Over time, fishing stations linked Gaspé to Atlantic trade, while Indigenous communities continued to use the region's land and waters.