The North American Colonies
Port Royal
We often speak of Samuel Champlain as if he was the leader of the settlement. Actually it was De Monts, Du Pont (both Huguenot) and De Beincourt and his father De Poutrincourt (Catholic) who were given the monopoly by Henry IV (who, you will recall had made peace between the Huguenot and Catholic factions when he came to power in 1592).
De Monts and Champlain arrived with 79 settlers in 1604 at St. Croix Island across the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. De Monts left them to over winter and returned to France for supplies.
Half the men died of scurvy. When De Monts returned it was decided that another site was needed and the company sailed as far down the coast as Cape Cod, but in the end they chose Port Royal.
With the help of the Mi’kmaq the second winter was much easier. The Sagamore who took the Frenchmen under his wing was Membertou who said that he had met Cartier as a young man.
In 1606 De Monts again arrived with supplies and more people including Marc Lescarbot who wrote the first play to be performed in North America – “the Theater of Neptune” (hence the name of the Neptune Theater in Halifax). In 1607 De Monts had his charter revoked and the colony was abandoned until the return of Poutrincourt and his son Biencourt in 1611. When they returned, they came from a much different France than the country they’d first left in 1604.
Jamestown
England’s serious colonization efforts began at almost the same time. The fate of both colonies would be interlinked by both competition and co-operation for hundreds of years to follow.
Elizabeth died without a successor in 1603. James I was king of Scotland and a cousin of Elizabeth. During the latter half of her reign a group of Protestants similar to the Huguenot were becoming more powerful and vocal in their calls for reform of the Anglican Church. There were the Puritans. James, though Anglican, was tolerant of Catholics and this did not please the Puritans.
He, like Henry IV in France, saw the potential of the fur trade and also the New World as a place to send troublemakers like the Puritans. He backed the “Virginia Company” and gave the company land grants in the New World. In 1607, in what is now Virginia, a colony of 160 settlers was settled at Jamestown. By 1624 the Jamestown settlement had 1200 people and had begun to grow an attractive export crop – tobacco.
Meanwhile the French colony struggled to establish itself and the political turmoil and interference at home did little to help the effort.
Acadia and New England
In 1610 the tolerant Henry IV was murdered and his un-tolerant Catholic wife Catherine acted as regent for young Louis XIII. Huguenot rights and gains were gradually eroded and only Catholics were allowed into the New World. This was the opposite of the English policy.
Poutrincourt and his son Beincourt, who were Catholic, were being supported by the merchants of the French coastal city of La Rochelle, who were all Huguenot. In 1611 Beincourt returned from France with something else besides trade goods and supplies. He was forced to come back with 2 Jesuit missionaries and the Catholic Charles and Claude La Tour (father and son respectively).
Like it or not the Colony and the Mi’kmaq were to become Catholic.
By this time the colony was known as Acadia and took Nova Scotia and Southern New Brunswick. The origin of the name is uncertain and there are two possibilities. The first is that it was a misspelling of the old word for paradise – Arcadia, or it comes from the Mi’kmaq word Ak-a-de which means ‘place of’.
The Huguenot merchants in La Rochelle do not like the new state of affairs. Poor old Poutrincourt was caught between the missionaries who didn’t like him or the way he ran things and the merchants who didn’t like the Jesuits. The Jesuits convinced the Crown to revoke his charter over all but Port Royal in 1613. Later that year a small force under Samuel Argall sailed up from Jamestown and burned Port Royal to the ground! This was the first of many raids and invasions from the area of New England which would contribute to the slow growth of the French colony.
Because of this action England felt it had a claim to Acadia.
Poutrincourt sailed back home to try to get his charter back leaving his son to carry on trade. When he got there the merchants had him imprisoned for debt. Biencourt (his son) and Charles la Tour by now had become partners in the fur trade and they established an outpost near Cape Sable. Biencourt died in 1623 and left his seigneury (grant) to Charles la Tour. How many people were around during this period is unclear, but it is known that a community (complete with a mill shipped from France) was located at Lequille near present day Annapolis Royal.
In 1621 James I granted Sir William Alexander colonization rights in Acadia. Sir William called the area Nova Scotia.
By the time Louis XIII became the king of France in 1624 he was essentially a puppet of Cardinal Richelieu who was vicious in his persecution of the Huguenot.
In 1625 James died and his son Charles I came to the throne. He was even more distasteful than his father to the Puritans and even more fled to the new world, including a group of 70 Scottish Presbyterians who settled in Port Royal in 1629.
A few years later Charles I renounced his claim to Nova Scotia and most of the Scottish colonists were sent home.
Charles la Tour’s father (Claude) when sailing back to France in 1630 was captured and brought to England. He ended up marrying a lady of the court.
The King (Charles I) changed his mind once more and decided he owned Nova Scotia again and sent Claude to claim it from his son Charles who in turn claimed it for France! Charles and Claude actually engaged in a small skirmish but in the end Claude gave the whole idea up and settled down. Charles I, who was very broke, essentially sold Acadia back to France in 1632.
The First True Acadians
In 1632 a cousin of Cardinal Richelieu, Isaac De Razilly was given control of the colony and rebuilt the fort at Port Royal along with a school and planted vineyards. This was really the beginning of serious colonization in Acadia. The colonists he brought with him were from the French region of Saintonge and there they had learned the Dutch system of building dykes to reclaim farmland. Most of the French in Acadia before this time were trappers and traders rather than real colonists. Those that De Razilly brought with him were committed to building a home in the colony. When De Razilly died in 1635 part of Acadia was deeded to his lieutenant d’Aulnay and part to Charles La Tour.
These two engages in a civil war which ended in 1650 when d’Aulnay drowned in a canoe accident leaving La Tour in control.
The Acadians were vastly outnumbered by the English colonies to the South. By this time the New England colonies had over 20 000 people while Acadia had only around 400.
Charles I was deposed by the Puritans in a civil war which lasted from 1642-46. The leader of the Puritans was Cromwell who virtually ruled as dictator from 1649-58.
Ironically one of the reasons that the civil war occurred was because in finishing the work of building a great navy begun by Henry VIII, Charles imposed large taxes. Much of the navy he built ended up being used against him.
One of the results of this effort is the ship, “Sovereign of the Seas” which set the pattern for most large vessels to follow.
A ship generally means any three masted vessel with square sails on all masts. From this point, on until the Clipper ships of the late 1900s, most vessels vary mainly in size and rigging. The main variants on the ship pattern are the:
Barque – Same as the ship but with fore and aft sails on the mizzen.
Barquentine – Same as the ship but with fore and aft sails on the main and the mizzen.
Brig – Has two masts, a main and a mizzen. Both are set with square sails.
Brigantine – Has fore and aft on the main.
In 1654 the English once again raided Port Royal and Cromwell reclaimed Nova Scotia, however, Cromwell allowed Charles La Tour to continue as Governor. Many Acadians began to move up the Annapolis River after this most recent conquest of Port Royal in an effort to find more peaceful homes.
In France in 1661 Louis XIII’s son, Louis XIV (the sun king) came to power. He was an effective ruler with good advisors like Colbert who encouraged the support of the colonies as both a source of raw materials and a ready market for goods. Like his father, Louis XIV was anti-Huguenot.
After Cromwell’s death in 1658, Charles I’s son Charles II was restored to the English throne and pursued an unpopular policy of friendship with France. In 1670 he returned Acadia to the French.
A permanent garrison of 50 soldiers was established at Port Royal by the French.
A parish system was also established to serve the religious needs of the expanding communities.
Trade with the French West Indies began, and illegal trade with New England went on as well. In spite of the risk, prices were better in New England and the Acadians received more for their furs and produce.
Around this time a census was taken. By now there were settlements at Port Royal, Pubnico, Cap Neigre, Port Rochelais, Pentagouet and Musquodoboit. The English population in New England then was around 70 000. Acadia had around 450 and the rest of Canada had perhaps 2500. More families were brought in and by 1686 there were over 800 Acadians.
Many of these Acadians were to settle around the Minas Basin.
Acadian Settlement of the Area
In the 1680’s Acadians moved into the Wolfville/Grand Pre area (called Mines). By then the beaver population was getting low and the supply of pelts began to dwindle. The Mi’kmaq were becoming dependent on help from the French. From Grand Pre the Acadians spread to Falmouth around 1685. This new parish was known as St. Famille (now the name of a local winery) and from Falmouth they spread down the Avon River to Martock and up the St. Croix River with settlements eventually reaching all the way up the Noel Shore.
Acadian Settlement Patterns
The pattern of development when a settlement was begun or a family moved in, was that a small log house with a thatched roof would be built near a salt marsh and next to a stream. Then a small 3 foot dyke would be built of alternating layers of spruce branches and clay. A one way gate called an aboiteau was installed in the dyke which allowed runoff and rain water to drain away but kept the sea out. This reclaimed land would only be fit for hay for the first 3 years so the family would depend on livestock and game. After that they grew wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas, corn, flax and hemp. They fed the cattle on marsh grass from outside the dykes.
Later a larger house would be built with a dug root cellar for storage of garden crops like turnip and cabbage. Apple trees they’d brought with them would by now have begun to produce. Grown sons would build their own houses nearby. As time went on a third house would now be built away from the dyke with a stone foundation and a dug well. The orchard would be well developed and roads connecting the family would have been built. A successful well established family home would end up with European shade trees and flower gardens.
Nova Scotia after 1700
The End of Pure Monarchy in England
In England in 1685, Charles II’s brother James I came to power and in 1688 had his son baptised as a Catholic. This was the last straw for the English Parliament. They invited James’ Protestant daughter and her husband William, king of the Netherlands to rule, on the condition that they grant Parliament free speech, the right to dispose of the king, control the taxation and the power to pass laws. William agreed to the conditions and James fled England. This was the beginning of the cabinet system of parliamentary government. It also ended England’s good relationship with France as France remained a pure monarchy.
Renewal of strife – “The War of the Spanish Succession”
In 1700 Louis XIV (the Sun King) convinced the Spanish ruler to declare one of Louise’s Grandsons heir to the Spanish throne. The prospect of France and Spain united caused the ‘War of the Spanish Succession’ between France and England. In 1710 a force of 1900 English comprised of colonials and troops once again captured Port Royal which was defended by 258 French. In 1713 the French were defeated in Europe and the Treaty of Utrecht was signed giving mainland Nova Scotia forever to the English while the French still held Cape Breton.
The population of Acadia was now over 2000.
Louisbourg and the Preparations for the Next Conflict
After the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, both sides readied themselves for the inevitable war to follow. In 1715 the Sun King died and for the next 8 years France was ruled by a regent (Philip Duc d’Orleans) until Louise XV came of age. By this time Acadia had changed hands so many times that no one really knew if it would remain English, including (if one looks at the effort put into colonial development by them) – the English. Colonel Philipps was made Governor and remained so until 1749. His capital was at Port Royal which the English had re-named Annapolis Royal. The French regent (Philip) ordered construction of the great fort at Louisbourg to protect the fishery and guard the St. Lawrence. It was completed in 1722 and became yet another source of trade and goods for the Acadians.
This was a prosperous time for the Acadians who traded with Louisbourg, the ever expanding Boston market and later, Halifax. Philip even offered free land without rent to any Acadians willing to move to Cape Breton. Out of a population of 2000 only 500 took the offer and many of them eventually moved back to the mainland.
The Mi’kmaq however, did not accept British rule and fought on until a separate treaty was signed in 1725 but until that time they attacked and partially destroyed Annapolis Royal and captured 36 trade vessels. In 1737 a priest from France named Le Loutre acting more like a guerrilla commander than a priest, began recruiting young Acadians and Mi’kmaq and based them at Shubenacadie.
The War of the Austrian Succession
In 1744 open warfare came again when England (under George II, but in reality run by parliament) supported the succession of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria. France under Louis XV opposed it. This conflict was called the ‘War of the Austrian Succession’.
In 1744 the aforementioned priest/soldier, Le Loutre besieged Annapolis. However, reinforcements from Boston thwarted him. Though there were Acadians in his force it was noted that despite his threats the majority of Acadians in the area refused to join him.
In 1745 a force of 4300 men was sent by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts to capture Louisbourg.
The D’Anville Invasion Fleet
In 1747 France sent over a great invasion fleet of more than 80 ships lead by the Duke D’Anville for the purpose of recapturing Louisbourg, Port Royal and possibly Boston.
They left France in the spring and right from the start had awful luck. They encountered storm after storm and a journey that should have lasted a month lasted three. By the time they finally arrived off Sable Island, disease was decimating the crew. Then a huge storm destroyed or disabled half the fleet. The remainder limped into Halifax harbour and anchored in the Bedford Basin hoping to regain health and affect repairs. But to no avail. Disease continued to claim lives. Without sufficient crew to man them, many ships were simply scuttled and left.
In October the poor remains of the fleet decided to try to salvage some of the mission and at least recapture Port Royal. They sailed down the coast as far as Cape Sable Island and another huge storm hit them again with terrible losses and finally the pitiable remainder of the fleet sailed back to France.
Meanwhile, Quebec had sent 680 men to assist the invasion fleet and waited for word in order to launch an attack on Annapolis. Three hundred men were sent towards Annapolis to scout and passed on their journey through Newport. When they arrived in Grand Pre they were informed by Acadians that some of the English troops from Annapolis under Captain Noble had been sent to set up a fort and were billeting Acadian homes. During the night the homes were surrounded and 70 British were killed before they surrendered.
War’s End
In 1748 a truce was signed ending the War if the Austrian Succession and all captured possessions were returned – including Louisbourg.
Again both sides used the peace to prepare for the next war. By this time there were 9000 Acadians in the Maritimes. The English population of North America was nearing a million.
Halifax and Beausejour
In 1749 Cornwallis founded Halifax as a counter measure to Louisbourg. He arrived with 3000 colonists. Between 1750 and 1753, 2500 more German and Swiss Protestants were brought over. They eventually settled on the South Shore but for a long while lived in a temporary tent city outside of Halifax on what is now called Dutch Village Road.
On the isthmus, Le Loutre built a fort called Beausejour and Cornwallis immediately sent an officer named Lawrence to build one within sight of it (called – Fort Lawrence). Cornwallis left in 1751 and was replaced by Peregine Hobson. He was replaced in 1753 by Major Lawrence who was in frequent contact with Governor Shirley of Massachusetts.
Both were concerned about the loyalties of the Acadians.
Acadian Roads and Trade
By 1750 there was a road from Grand Pre which crossed the Gaspereau River at Melanson (as it does today) and over the mountain to Upper Falmouth. There the road split with the one part going down to Chester and on to Halifax. The other branch went from Falmouth to the crossing on the St. Croix River at Sweets Corner and from there eventually connected to Louisbourg. The route of the road isn’t known but it certainly must have branched off to the settlement at Avondale (Newport). There is evidence for Acadian settlement at Burntcoat, Noel and Maitland and the road may have passed that way. It then crossed the Shubenacadie River to Clifton (it probably branched off to Old Barns – so named because of Acadian barns which escaped being burned) and from there crossed the isthmus to Tatamagouche. On Tatamagouche Bay ships from Louisbourg picked up Acadian produce which was exchanged by the Acadians for goods and hard cash.
Acadian Deportation
For the Acadians between 1713 and 1749 little changed. The rents they formerly paid to the seigneury were now paid to the British.
They were asked to take an oath of allegiance which they did, but added the proviso that they not be asked to fight their former countrymen. This was deemed acceptable.
The uncertainty over the fate of the colony did nothing to attract immigrants from England and most of Nova Scotia remained French outside Annapolis Royal.
In June of 1755 Fort Beausejour was captured and about 200 Acadians were found inside. This made the government in Halifax very nervous.
That same month the Acadians of this area had their guns seized by Captain Murray of Fort Edward.
In July Acadian delegates from all parts of the province were summoned to Halifax and asked to take an unqualified oath or be deported. They refused but offered the same oath of neutrality they’d given in the past. The delegates were imprisoned and new ones were summoned.
On July 23 the news reached Halifax that a large British force under Major Bradock had been defeated. This caused a panic.
On July 25 the new delegates arrived.
On the 28th they met with Lawrence and the council – again they refused the oath.
On July 31 Lawrence issued the order for deportation
At Fort Edward the orders were the same as for elsewhere (Annapolis, Fort Cumberland and Grand Pre). They were to seize the men, boys and the boats so the women wouldn’t try to escape. The deportees were only allowed what they could carry. Livestock was seized and houses burned in order to discourage anyone from coming back and allowing no shelter for those who escaped.
At Cumberland 86 did escape by tunneling out.
In Grand Pre the church was used as a prison.
Many Acadians around Annapolis had enough warning to escape the countryside and hide with the Mi’kmaq.
Transport was arranged to come from Boston through the firm of Apthorpe and Hancock (although some ships came from Halifax). Captain Murray was in charge of Fort Edward and on Friday September 5 183 men and women were rounded up. Murray wrote that he was struck by their patience. At the end of October Murray shipped 1100 away from the wharf that used to lie at the end of King Street in Windsor. This letter from Lawrence to London lists the vessels and numbers shipped from Windsor.
The deportations continued until 1764 throughout the Maritimes. The land around Fort Edward had been granted to military officers and government officials. It has been suggested that in essence the Windsor grants were nothing short of members of the government awarding themselves and their friends country estates which ended up being worked by a semi-slave labour force of Acadian prisoners.
Acadian ‘prisoners of war’ were used to help repair dykes and provided other forms of labour until 1762. That was the year when a small fleet of French ships captured St. John’s Newfoundland and sent Halifax into another panic. The prisoners from Fort Edward and other forts were marched to Halifax for the second expulsion. In August, transports took them to Boston. However they were refused entry and in September were sent back to Halifax.
In 1768 all Acadians were given amnesty in exchange for an unqualified oath and many returned. With the exception of Pubnico, none resettled in areas near their former homes. Many ended up settling in Clare past Digby. By 1800 their numbers had reached those of pre-expulsion.
The period during which the Acadian prisoners were incarcerated at Fort Edward and how they lived and were treated is a little known and intriguing piece of local and Canadian history.
The Seven Years War – The End of the French and English Struggle
In 1756 the Austrian situation started another war. Called the ‘Seven Years War’ it as really an extension of the War of Austrian Succession and gave France and England another excuse to fight it out for North America.
One of the young officers who came over with Admiral Boscawen’s fleet was named Cook. Later Captain Cook became the European discoverer of Austria. During his time in North America, he was a talented young Hydrographer (chart maker) and his charts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland made while he was stationed in Halifax were in use until recent times.
In 1758 Boscawen’s fleet took Louisbourg for the second and last time and levelled it. In 1759 Quebec was taken and in 1760 New France surrendered to the English.
The end of the Seven Years War came in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, part of which gave Canada to England forever.
Bibliography
“Sea, Salt and Sweat”, Department of Fisheries
“The French Period in Nova Scotia”, John Erskine
“Chambers Biographical Dictionary”
“Chambers Dictionary of World History”
“Halifax, Warden of the North”, Raddall
“History of the Canadian Peoples”, Conrad, Finkel, and Jaenen
“The United States”, Jordan, Litwack, Hofstadter, Miller, Aaron
“The Acadians”, Griffith
“The Explorers of North America”, J.B. Brebner
“A Short History of Western Civilization”, Harrison, Sullivan and Sherman
“A Pocket History of the United States”, Nevens and Commager
“The Acadian Deportation”, Griffiths
“The History of the Ship” Richard Woodman
We often speak of Samuel Champlain as if he was the leader of the settlement. Actually it was De Monts, Du Pont (both Huguenot) and De Beincourt and his father De Poutrincourt (Catholic) who were given the monopoly by Henry IV (who, you will recall had made peace between the Huguenot and Catholic factions when he came to power in 1592).
De Monts and Champlain arrived with 79 settlers in 1604 at St. Croix Island across the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick. De Monts left them to over winter and returned to France for supplies.
Half the men died of scurvy. When De Monts returned it was decided that another site was needed and the company sailed as far down the coast as Cape Cod, but in the end they chose Port Royal.
With the help of the Mi’kmaq the second winter was much easier. The Sagamore who took the Frenchmen under his wing was Membertou who said that he had met Cartier as a young man.
In 1606 De Monts again arrived with supplies and more people including Marc Lescarbot who wrote the first play to be performed in North America – “the Theater of Neptune” (hence the name of the Neptune Theater in Halifax). In 1607 De Monts had his charter revoked and the colony was abandoned until the return of Poutrincourt and his son Biencourt in 1611. When they returned, they came from a much different France than the country they’d first left in 1604.
Jamestown
England’s serious colonization efforts began at almost the same time. The fate of both colonies would be interlinked by both competition and co-operation for hundreds of years to follow.
Elizabeth died without a successor in 1603. James I was king of Scotland and a cousin of Elizabeth. During the latter half of her reign a group of Protestants similar to the Huguenot were becoming more powerful and vocal in their calls for reform of the Anglican Church. There were the Puritans. James, though Anglican, was tolerant of Catholics and this did not please the Puritans.
He, like Henry IV in France, saw the potential of the fur trade and also the New World as a place to send troublemakers like the Puritans. He backed the “Virginia Company” and gave the company land grants in the New World. In 1607, in what is now Virginia, a colony of 160 settlers was settled at Jamestown. By 1624 the Jamestown settlement had 1200 people and had begun to grow an attractive export crop – tobacco.
Meanwhile the French colony struggled to establish itself and the political turmoil and interference at home did little to help the effort.
Acadia and New England
In 1610 the tolerant Henry IV was murdered and his un-tolerant Catholic wife Catherine acted as regent for young Louis XIII. Huguenot rights and gains were gradually eroded and only Catholics were allowed into the New World. This was the opposite of the English policy.
Poutrincourt and his son Beincourt, who were Catholic, were being supported by the merchants of the French coastal city of La Rochelle, who were all Huguenot. In 1611 Beincourt returned from France with something else besides trade goods and supplies. He was forced to come back with 2 Jesuit missionaries and the Catholic Charles and Claude La Tour (father and son respectively).
Like it or not the Colony and the Mi’kmaq were to become Catholic.
By this time the colony was known as Acadia and took Nova Scotia and Southern New Brunswick. The origin of the name is uncertain and there are two possibilities. The first is that it was a misspelling of the old word for paradise – Arcadia, or it comes from the Mi’kmaq word Ak-a-de which means ‘place of’.
The Huguenot merchants in La Rochelle do not like the new state of affairs. Poor old Poutrincourt was caught between the missionaries who didn’t like him or the way he ran things and the merchants who didn’t like the Jesuits. The Jesuits convinced the Crown to revoke his charter over all but Port Royal in 1613. Later that year a small force under Samuel Argall sailed up from Jamestown and burned Port Royal to the ground! This was the first of many raids and invasions from the area of New England which would contribute to the slow growth of the French colony.
Because of this action England felt it had a claim to Acadia.
Poutrincourt sailed back home to try to get his charter back leaving his son to carry on trade. When he got there the merchants had him imprisoned for debt. Biencourt (his son) and Charles la Tour by now had become partners in the fur trade and they established an outpost near Cape Sable. Biencourt died in 1623 and left his seigneury (grant) to Charles la Tour. How many people were around during this period is unclear, but it is known that a community (complete with a mill shipped from France) was located at Lequille near present day Annapolis Royal.
In 1621 James I granted Sir William Alexander colonization rights in Acadia. Sir William called the area Nova Scotia.
By the time Louis XIII became the king of France in 1624 he was essentially a puppet of Cardinal Richelieu who was vicious in his persecution of the Huguenot.
In 1625 James died and his son Charles I came to the throne. He was even more distasteful than his father to the Puritans and even more fled to the new world, including a group of 70 Scottish Presbyterians who settled in Port Royal in 1629.
A few years later Charles I renounced his claim to Nova Scotia and most of the Scottish colonists were sent home.
Charles la Tour’s father (Claude) when sailing back to France in 1630 was captured and brought to England. He ended up marrying a lady of the court.
The King (Charles I) changed his mind once more and decided he owned Nova Scotia again and sent Claude to claim it from his son Charles who in turn claimed it for France! Charles and Claude actually engaged in a small skirmish but in the end Claude gave the whole idea up and settled down. Charles I, who was very broke, essentially sold Acadia back to France in 1632.
The First True Acadians
In 1632 a cousin of Cardinal Richelieu, Isaac De Razilly was given control of the colony and rebuilt the fort at Port Royal along with a school and planted vineyards. This was really the beginning of serious colonization in Acadia. The colonists he brought with him were from the French region of Saintonge and there they had learned the Dutch system of building dykes to reclaim farmland. Most of the French in Acadia before this time were trappers and traders rather than real colonists. Those that De Razilly brought with him were committed to building a home in the colony. When De Razilly died in 1635 part of Acadia was deeded to his lieutenant d’Aulnay and part to Charles La Tour.
These two engages in a civil war which ended in 1650 when d’Aulnay drowned in a canoe accident leaving La Tour in control.
The Acadians were vastly outnumbered by the English colonies to the South. By this time the New England colonies had over 20 000 people while Acadia had only around 400.
Charles I was deposed by the Puritans in a civil war which lasted from 1642-46. The leader of the Puritans was Cromwell who virtually ruled as dictator from 1649-58.
Ironically one of the reasons that the civil war occurred was because in finishing the work of building a great navy begun by Henry VIII, Charles imposed large taxes. Much of the navy he built ended up being used against him.
One of the results of this effort is the ship, “Sovereign of the Seas” which set the pattern for most large vessels to follow.
A ship generally means any three masted vessel with square sails on all masts. From this point, on until the Clipper ships of the late 1900s, most vessels vary mainly in size and rigging. The main variants on the ship pattern are the:
Barque – Same as the ship but with fore and aft sails on the mizzen.
Barquentine – Same as the ship but with fore and aft sails on the main and the mizzen.
Brig – Has two masts, a main and a mizzen. Both are set with square sails.
Brigantine – Has fore and aft on the main.
In 1654 the English once again raided Port Royal and Cromwell reclaimed Nova Scotia, however, Cromwell allowed Charles La Tour to continue as Governor. Many Acadians began to move up the Annapolis River after this most recent conquest of Port Royal in an effort to find more peaceful homes.
In France in 1661 Louis XIII’s son, Louis XIV (the sun king) came to power. He was an effective ruler with good advisors like Colbert who encouraged the support of the colonies as both a source of raw materials and a ready market for goods. Like his father, Louis XIV was anti-Huguenot.
After Cromwell’s death in 1658, Charles I’s son Charles II was restored to the English throne and pursued an unpopular policy of friendship with France. In 1670 he returned Acadia to the French.
A permanent garrison of 50 soldiers was established at Port Royal by the French.
A parish system was also established to serve the religious needs of the expanding communities.
Trade with the French West Indies began, and illegal trade with New England went on as well. In spite of the risk, prices were better in New England and the Acadians received more for their furs and produce.
Around this time a census was taken. By now there were settlements at Port Royal, Pubnico, Cap Neigre, Port Rochelais, Pentagouet and Musquodoboit. The English population in New England then was around 70 000. Acadia had around 450 and the rest of Canada had perhaps 2500. More families were brought in and by 1686 there were over 800 Acadians.
Many of these Acadians were to settle around the Minas Basin.
Acadian Settlement of the Area
In the 1680’s Acadians moved into the Wolfville/Grand Pre area (called Mines). By then the beaver population was getting low and the supply of pelts began to dwindle. The Mi’kmaq were becoming dependent on help from the French. From Grand Pre the Acadians spread to Falmouth around 1685. This new parish was known as St. Famille (now the name of a local winery) and from Falmouth they spread down the Avon River to Martock and up the St. Croix River with settlements eventually reaching all the way up the Noel Shore.
Acadian Settlement Patterns
The pattern of development when a settlement was begun or a family moved in, was that a small log house with a thatched roof would be built near a salt marsh and next to a stream. Then a small 3 foot dyke would be built of alternating layers of spruce branches and clay. A one way gate called an aboiteau was installed in the dyke which allowed runoff and rain water to drain away but kept the sea out. This reclaimed land would only be fit for hay for the first 3 years so the family would depend on livestock and game. After that they grew wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas, corn, flax and hemp. They fed the cattle on marsh grass from outside the dykes.
Later a larger house would be built with a dug root cellar for storage of garden crops like turnip and cabbage. Apple trees they’d brought with them would by now have begun to produce. Grown sons would build their own houses nearby. As time went on a third house would now be built away from the dyke with a stone foundation and a dug well. The orchard would be well developed and roads connecting the family would have been built. A successful well established family home would end up with European shade trees and flower gardens.
Nova Scotia after 1700
The End of Pure Monarchy in England
In England in 1685, Charles II’s brother James I came to power and in 1688 had his son baptised as a Catholic. This was the last straw for the English Parliament. They invited James’ Protestant daughter and her husband William, king of the Netherlands to rule, on the condition that they grant Parliament free speech, the right to dispose of the king, control the taxation and the power to pass laws. William agreed to the conditions and James fled England. This was the beginning of the cabinet system of parliamentary government. It also ended England’s good relationship with France as France remained a pure monarchy.
Renewal of strife – “The War of the Spanish Succession”
In 1700 Louis XIV (the Sun King) convinced the Spanish ruler to declare one of Louise’s Grandsons heir to the Spanish throne. The prospect of France and Spain united caused the ‘War of the Spanish Succession’ between France and England. In 1710 a force of 1900 English comprised of colonials and troops once again captured Port Royal which was defended by 258 French. In 1713 the French were defeated in Europe and the Treaty of Utrecht was signed giving mainland Nova Scotia forever to the English while the French still held Cape Breton.
The population of Acadia was now over 2000.
Louisbourg and the Preparations for the Next Conflict
After the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, both sides readied themselves for the inevitable war to follow. In 1715 the Sun King died and for the next 8 years France was ruled by a regent (Philip Duc d’Orleans) until Louise XV came of age. By this time Acadia had changed hands so many times that no one really knew if it would remain English, including (if one looks at the effort put into colonial development by them) – the English. Colonel Philipps was made Governor and remained so until 1749. His capital was at Port Royal which the English had re-named Annapolis Royal. The French regent (Philip) ordered construction of the great fort at Louisbourg to protect the fishery and guard the St. Lawrence. It was completed in 1722 and became yet another source of trade and goods for the Acadians.
This was a prosperous time for the Acadians who traded with Louisbourg, the ever expanding Boston market and later, Halifax. Philip even offered free land without rent to any Acadians willing to move to Cape Breton. Out of a population of 2000 only 500 took the offer and many of them eventually moved back to the mainland.
The Mi’kmaq however, did not accept British rule and fought on until a separate treaty was signed in 1725 but until that time they attacked and partially destroyed Annapolis Royal and captured 36 trade vessels. In 1737 a priest from France named Le Loutre acting more like a guerrilla commander than a priest, began recruiting young Acadians and Mi’kmaq and based them at Shubenacadie.
The War of the Austrian Succession
In 1744 open warfare came again when England (under George II, but in reality run by parliament) supported the succession of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria. France under Louis XV opposed it. This conflict was called the ‘War of the Austrian Succession’.
In 1744 the aforementioned priest/soldier, Le Loutre besieged Annapolis. However, reinforcements from Boston thwarted him. Though there were Acadians in his force it was noted that despite his threats the majority of Acadians in the area refused to join him.
In 1745 a force of 4300 men was sent by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts to capture Louisbourg.
The D’Anville Invasion Fleet
In 1747 France sent over a great invasion fleet of more than 80 ships lead by the Duke D’Anville for the purpose of recapturing Louisbourg, Port Royal and possibly Boston.
They left France in the spring and right from the start had awful luck. They encountered storm after storm and a journey that should have lasted a month lasted three. By the time they finally arrived off Sable Island, disease was decimating the crew. Then a huge storm destroyed or disabled half the fleet. The remainder limped into Halifax harbour and anchored in the Bedford Basin hoping to regain health and affect repairs. But to no avail. Disease continued to claim lives. Without sufficient crew to man them, many ships were simply scuttled and left.
In October the poor remains of the fleet decided to try to salvage some of the mission and at least recapture Port Royal. They sailed down the coast as far as Cape Sable Island and another huge storm hit them again with terrible losses and finally the pitiable remainder of the fleet sailed back to France.
Meanwhile, Quebec had sent 680 men to assist the invasion fleet and waited for word in order to launch an attack on Annapolis. Three hundred men were sent towards Annapolis to scout and passed on their journey through Newport. When they arrived in Grand Pre they were informed by Acadians that some of the English troops from Annapolis under Captain Noble had been sent to set up a fort and were billeting Acadian homes. During the night the homes were surrounded and 70 British were killed before they surrendered.
War’s End
In 1748 a truce was signed ending the War if the Austrian Succession and all captured possessions were returned – including Louisbourg.
Again both sides used the peace to prepare for the next war. By this time there were 9000 Acadians in the Maritimes. The English population of North America was nearing a million.
Halifax and Beausejour
In 1749 Cornwallis founded Halifax as a counter measure to Louisbourg. He arrived with 3000 colonists. Between 1750 and 1753, 2500 more German and Swiss Protestants were brought over. They eventually settled on the South Shore but for a long while lived in a temporary tent city outside of Halifax on what is now called Dutch Village Road.
On the isthmus, Le Loutre built a fort called Beausejour and Cornwallis immediately sent an officer named Lawrence to build one within sight of it (called – Fort Lawrence). Cornwallis left in 1751 and was replaced by Peregine Hobson. He was replaced in 1753 by Major Lawrence who was in frequent contact with Governor Shirley of Massachusetts.
Both were concerned about the loyalties of the Acadians.
Acadian Roads and Trade
By 1750 there was a road from Grand Pre which crossed the Gaspereau River at Melanson (as it does today) and over the mountain to Upper Falmouth. There the road split with the one part going down to Chester and on to Halifax. The other branch went from Falmouth to the crossing on the St. Croix River at Sweets Corner and from there eventually connected to Louisbourg. The route of the road isn’t known but it certainly must have branched off to the settlement at Avondale (Newport). There is evidence for Acadian settlement at Burntcoat, Noel and Maitland and the road may have passed that way. It then crossed the Shubenacadie River to Clifton (it probably branched off to Old Barns – so named because of Acadian barns which escaped being burned) and from there crossed the isthmus to Tatamagouche. On Tatamagouche Bay ships from Louisbourg picked up Acadian produce which was exchanged by the Acadians for goods and hard cash.
Acadian Deportation
For the Acadians between 1713 and 1749 little changed. The rents they formerly paid to the seigneury were now paid to the British.
They were asked to take an oath of allegiance which they did, but added the proviso that they not be asked to fight their former countrymen. This was deemed acceptable.
The uncertainty over the fate of the colony did nothing to attract immigrants from England and most of Nova Scotia remained French outside Annapolis Royal.
In June of 1755 Fort Beausejour was captured and about 200 Acadians were found inside. This made the government in Halifax very nervous.
That same month the Acadians of this area had their guns seized by Captain Murray of Fort Edward.
In July Acadian delegates from all parts of the province were summoned to Halifax and asked to take an unqualified oath or be deported. They refused but offered the same oath of neutrality they’d given in the past. The delegates were imprisoned and new ones were summoned.
On July 23 the news reached Halifax that a large British force under Major Bradock had been defeated. This caused a panic.
On July 25 the new delegates arrived.
On the 28th they met with Lawrence and the council – again they refused the oath.
On July 31 Lawrence issued the order for deportation
At Fort Edward the orders were the same as for elsewhere (Annapolis, Fort Cumberland and Grand Pre). They were to seize the men, boys and the boats so the women wouldn’t try to escape. The deportees were only allowed what they could carry. Livestock was seized and houses burned in order to discourage anyone from coming back and allowing no shelter for those who escaped.
At Cumberland 86 did escape by tunneling out.
In Grand Pre the church was used as a prison.
Many Acadians around Annapolis had enough warning to escape the countryside and hide with the Mi’kmaq.
Transport was arranged to come from Boston through the firm of Apthorpe and Hancock (although some ships came from Halifax). Captain Murray was in charge of Fort Edward and on Friday September 5 183 men and women were rounded up. Murray wrote that he was struck by their patience. At the end of October Murray shipped 1100 away from the wharf that used to lie at the end of King Street in Windsor. This letter from Lawrence to London lists the vessels and numbers shipped from Windsor.
The deportations continued until 1764 throughout the Maritimes. The land around Fort Edward had been granted to military officers and government officials. It has been suggested that in essence the Windsor grants were nothing short of members of the government awarding themselves and their friends country estates which ended up being worked by a semi-slave labour force of Acadian prisoners.
Acadian ‘prisoners of war’ were used to help repair dykes and provided other forms of labour until 1762. That was the year when a small fleet of French ships captured St. John’s Newfoundland and sent Halifax into another panic. The prisoners from Fort Edward and other forts were marched to Halifax for the second expulsion. In August, transports took them to Boston. However they were refused entry and in September were sent back to Halifax.
In 1768 all Acadians were given amnesty in exchange for an unqualified oath and many returned. With the exception of Pubnico, none resettled in areas near their former homes. Many ended up settling in Clare past Digby. By 1800 their numbers had reached those of pre-expulsion.
The period during which the Acadian prisoners were incarcerated at Fort Edward and how they lived and were treated is a little known and intriguing piece of local and Canadian history.
The Seven Years War – The End of the French and English Struggle
In 1756 the Austrian situation started another war. Called the ‘Seven Years War’ it as really an extension of the War of Austrian Succession and gave France and England another excuse to fight it out for North America.
One of the young officers who came over with Admiral Boscawen’s fleet was named Cook. Later Captain Cook became the European discoverer of Austria. During his time in North America, he was a talented young Hydrographer (chart maker) and his charts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland made while he was stationed in Halifax were in use until recent times.
In 1758 Boscawen’s fleet took Louisbourg for the second and last time and levelled it. In 1759 Quebec was taken and in 1760 New France surrendered to the English.
The end of the Seven Years War came in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, part of which gave Canada to England forever.
Bibliography
“Sea, Salt and Sweat”, Department of Fisheries
“The French Period in Nova Scotia”, John Erskine
“Chambers Biographical Dictionary”
“Chambers Dictionary of World History”
“Halifax, Warden of the North”, Raddall
“History of the Canadian Peoples”, Conrad, Finkel, and Jaenen
“The United States”, Jordan, Litwack, Hofstadter, Miller, Aaron
“The Acadians”, Griffith
“The Explorers of North America”, J.B. Brebner
“A Short History of Western Civilization”, Harrison, Sullivan and Sherman
“A Pocket History of the United States”, Nevens and Commager
“The Acadian Deportation”, Griffiths
“The History of the Ship” Richard Woodman