Menageesenog

Menageesenog, the “islands beaten by the surf,” are an archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They form part of the Mi'kmaq homeland, and their shores were visited seasonally for fishing and hunting, especially for walrus. The islands later became a refuge for Acadians driven from their homes during the wars between Britain and France. By 1765 a fishing enterprise on the islands employed Acadian and French Canadian workers, using boats and equipment to turn animal fat into oil. Several of the Acadians had fled Saint John's Island during the deportations of 1758. Their families became part of the island communities that grew around the gulf's fisheries.