When cod was king in colonial times, Cheticamp was at heart of industry
A Cape Breton University professor was surprised to discover historical parallels between the island’s core industries when she did a study on the Cheticamp codfishery based on research she did at the university’s Beaton Institute.
Dr. Erna MacLeod, from Catalone and a communications professor at CBU, shared the results of her research with the Old Sydney Society in a presentation on April 25 at the Centre for Heritage and Science in Sydney, called “A Glimpse of Cheticamp’s Codfishery in Letters of Charles RobinCollas and Company.”
Established in 1765 on Isle Madame by Charles Robin as the second-oldest company in Canadian history — only the Hudson’s Bay Company is older — the Robin Collas Company operated a number of fishing stations in Cape Breton and the Gaspé region of Quebec.
The Robins were Frenchspeaking, Protestant merchants from the Jersey Islands whose bilingual background and political connections with England eased the way for them to set up operations in areas of the New World with British colonial officials and resident francophone populations.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Robin Collas Company created one of the largest global trade networks in the world, exporting dried cod to Europe, the Caribbean, New England and South America.
Through the course of her research, which dealt mostly with company letters from a 10-year period, MacLeod learned that the Robin Collas Company, much like the coal and steel corporations that came after it, dominated the local economy of the Cape Breton communities it operated in, profoundly shaping cultural and economic lives.
“From these letters, you get a sense of the company’s relationship with workers and the community,” she said. “You get a sense of the company’s power in the community as they negotiate with the fishers while trying to keep the company’s power in a changing world.
“In the late 19th century, part of what is happening in these letters is the leadup to the co-operative movement in Cheticamp. In 1915, the first fisheries co-op was formed in Cheticamp. This was after the period I looked at, but you could see it coming in earlier letters.”
The Robin Collas Company’s relations with its workers from its earliest days was similar to how Cape Breton’s coal and steel industries dealt with its workers in a later era.
One of the most important things we learn is that people understand their situation, act within that situation, and often that leads to change.
Dr. Erna MacLeod, communications professor at CBU
“(The Robin Collas Company) had fishers to fish for the company, particularly in the early years,” said MacLeod. “They didn’t pay them in cash. Instead, they would outfit them at the start of the ( fishing) season and settle accounts at the end of the season.
“They were even paid with provisions from the company store, but at the end of the 19th century, they started to go to a cash system. Things were changing.”
Even in colonial times, said MacLeod, the Robin company was criticized for its labour practices, said MacLeod.
“People would become indebted to the company and there was no way out. It was a powerful company that held power over the communities in which it operated. And that’s why its story resonates with the rest of Cape Breton.”
MacLeod found the letters to be endlessly fascinating in how they opened a window on the everyday concerns of company officials and Cheticamp residents of that nearly forgotten era.
“Through these letters, you begin to understand some of the day-to-day things going on — you start to put the pieces together.”
The importance of weather and seasonal changes permeate every letter, she said, with inclement weather a source of anxiety and pleasant weather noted with a celebratory tone.
“You realize that weather is not an annoyance to them, as it might be to us, because it’s a matter of life and death. There is constant commentary on weather (in the letters).”
Other topics that give the reader a sense of time and place are the many references to travel and transport.
“There’s lots of discussion of sailing ships, steam ships and rail,” said MacLeod.
The company operated as a family enterprise until 1886, when it was incorporated. It became the Robin Jones & Whitman Co. in 1910, still in the fish business but eventually becoming a full retail operation. The Robin Store in Cheticamp closed its doors for good in 2005.
Though the history is nearly forgotten, MacLeod thinks the story of the Robin Collas Company still has something to tell Cape Bretoners today.
“The fishery is still a huge part of Cape Breton history,” she said. “I live in the Louisbourg area and fishing is still part of the culture, which is what led to my interest.
“Some of the things I learned were the people’s resilience, their ability to act. Again and again, we see accounts of fishers protesting prices at Robin’s store. We learn about power and dominant power and how it shapes communities. And we learn about constraints on this power.
“One of the most important things we learn is that people understand their situation, act within that situation, and often that leads to change.”
Like most interesting research topics, the letters raise as many questions as they answer, said MacLeod.
“The letters, they tell a lot. But one of the most interesting things about them is the questions they raise, which is part of what makes them fascinating. Part of what is intriguing about being involved in these letters is reading the stories, which leads to additional research to answer these questions.”