The area was a traditional summer hunting and fishing ground for the Mi’kmaq and Haudenosaunee people.
The first official European record was by Jacques Cartier on July 14, 1534 when he sailed along the shoreline of Forillon and cast anchor in Gaspé Bay ahead of an advancing storm. He was likely proceeded by Basque, French (Normandy), Portuguese and Spanish fleets who sailed here to fish for cod. Very few stayed all year, however; probably only about 300.
During the French and Indian War, the British set fire to houses, fishing boats and gear and destroyed over a 100 tons of fish. Quebec was conquered by the British in 1759. Later British soldiers began settling in the Gaspé-Forillon region, aware of the economic opportunities offered by the peninsula as well as its strategic importance.
Over time, the region welcomed in immigrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, New England and, above all, Jersey and Guernsey, the Channel Islands located between England and France, and attached politically to the United Kingdom.
Besides fish, whales were also exploited. A big whaling station was established on the peninsula in the 1800s. Huge slabs of whale blubber were piled up and then melted in huge pots to extract the oil.
Historically, this resource-rich area of Quebec was also exploited for its supply of wood. People living off the coast in the village of L’Anse-au-Griffon, on the park’s northwest side, were involved in the early lumber industry here. Sawmills turned out planks, beams, cedar shingles, barrel staves, and even timbers to build wharves and bridges.
The Bon-Ami trail was used by villagers in Cap-De-Rosiers to cross over the peninsula to Grand Grave to get supplies, even in winter, using ox drawn carts. This was a difficult climb, especially in winter conditions.