Rodrigue Property

Meet one of the men who sailed the merchant ships at anchor in the harbour.

Michel Rodrigue (1710-1777) learned seamanship from his father and he helped build a family trading business in their schooner Revanche. In the 1730s he sailed frequently up the Saint Lawrence with French and West Indian goods to trade for the Canadian grain, flour and dried vegetables Louisbourg needed. As he prospered Rodrigue hired captains to haul his freight around the Atlantic. He married a daughter of Joseph Lartigue and rented this house from his uphill neighbour, adding the storehouse where his merchandise is stocked.

Rodrigue and his wife, Marguerite, lived here with their five children, his siblings, and Catherine and Laurent, two enslaved people. Marguerite, a young Mi’kmaw girl, lived with the Rodrigues as an indentured servant.

As a leading citizen Rodrigue commanded a militia company in the 1745 siege, but after the fall of the town he moved his business to France. As he safeguarded his wealth in property investments around La Rochelle, his brothers came back to handle his Louisbourg trade.