Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Charlottetown is a Canadian city and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, with a population of 15,396 as of 1991. The first European settlers were the French, who founded the city in 1720, naming it Port la Joie. Most of their descendants, the Acadians, were expelled by the British in 1755 for refusing to take an oath to be loyal to England.

Charlottetown was laid out by the British in 1768 and named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III of the United Kingdom. Its growth was slow until the middle of the 19th century, when it became noted for the sailing vessels it built for fishing and lumber transport. The Charlottetown Conference[?] of the 1864 was the first step toward Canadian confederation.

In the city is the University of Prince Edward Island.

On May 31, 1997, the Confederation Bridge opened. The longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world, the bridge linked Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island[?] and Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick[?]. Eight miles long, and rising to almost 200 feet in height above the water, a specially designed shield was built on the pier shaft to break up the ice the ice that covers the strait for 5 months of the year.

See also: Canada, Canadian provinces and territories, Canadian cities