The
Pélican was a French warship from the late 17th century. Built in
Bayonne, France, the original
Pélican was launched in 1693. A 500-ton ship fitted with 50 guns and commanded by Captain
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, she ran aground on the shores of
Hudson Bay a few days after an heroic battle in 1697, badly damaged by the encounter and by a fierce storm. In five short months the ship's place in history had been assured, as the victor in the greatest naval battle in the history of
New France.