Captain Savalette was a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

ship's captain who, in 1607, reportedly had been fishing off

Canso, Nova Scotia Canso is a community in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, next to Chedabucto Bay. In January 2012, it ceased to be a separate town and as of July 2012 was amalgamated into the Municipality of the Di ...

since 1565. Based in

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Auñamendi Ency ...

, Savalette had learned of these fishing spots from his father, who had in turn heard of them from his father. When Savalette met

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

in 1607, he stated that he had crossed the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to this location every year for the past forty two years. Captain Savalette also encountered the French explorer

Marc Lescarbot Marc Lescarbot (c. 1570–1641) was a French author, poet and lawyer. He is best known for his '' Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'' (1609), based on his expedition to Acadia (1606–1607) and research into French exploration in North America. ...

. Savalette engaged in the so-called "dry" or sedentary fishery. Fish were caught close to shore and were dried on shore soon after being caught. A plaque was erected on the shore at

Tor Bay Tor Bay (sometimes written as Torbay) is a bay on the south-east coast of the county of Devon, England. Facing east into the English Channel, it is about wide from north to south. The settlements of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, which lie al ...

, commemorating Captain Savalette's voyages to this area. Tor Bay was previously known as Port Savalette. The Festival Savalette is held in the area each August. Captain Savalette was named a

Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the re ...

by the Canadian government in 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savalette Year of birth missing Year of death missing French-Basque people Sea captains Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Saint-Jean-de-Luz French sailors 17th century in Nova Scotia