plundered. The French soldiers there had been taken
away as prisoners. Villebon took control of Acadia – or at least he
decided that there was no one else available for the job, so it was
up to him. Described as “domineering but dissolute,” Villebon moved
the settlement to Jemseg, where the English tracked him down,
plundered his small community and took his men as prisoners.
Villebon went on to build good relations with the Native population
in New Brunswick and may have incited them to set off on raids of
New England. Although at least one peace treaty was signed between
the Natives of Maine and the New Englanders, Villebon used gifts of
brandy, tobacco and arms to help inspire French and Native attacks
on Maine and New Hampshire.
Villebon’s military ambitions were nothing but bad news for
the Acadians, the great majority of whom had remained home on the
farm, tending fields, fine-tuning their dykes and hoping for
further peace and tranquillity. William Phipps, now governor of
Massachusetts, ordered Benjamin Church and his soldiers to go to
Acadia and destroy everything they could find. This was presumably
easier than trying to track down Villebon or fight it out with
Natives who were now quite hostile to the New England cause. The
Chignecto community was not spared and Acadian villages elsewhere
were easy targets for revenge.
Handing Over the Keys
Soon after the turn of the century,
yet another power struggle in Europe erupted into a war. In 1702
the War of Spanish Succession had begun. By the end of that
conflict France would lose Acadia, Newfoundland and Hudson Bay.
King Louis XIV would be left holding onto Cape Breton, however, and
the right to dry fish along certain parts of Newfoundland
shores.
Meanwhile, hostilities continued to heat up between the
French and the New Englanders. The year 1704 saw a legendary raid
by 200 Indians and fifty Frenchmen who trekked more than 300 miles
on snowshoes through the wilderness to attack the people of
Deerfield, Massachusetts. The governor, in response, mounted a
major expedition to get back at the French, but apparently it was
again of little concern which French would be punished. Benjamin
Church, famous as a ruthless Indian fighter and a veteran at
savaging near-defenceless communities, sailed with 500 men to
Acadia, burned twenty houses at Chignecto, broke down the dykes,
and killed most of the cattle and sheep. His troops despoiled the
village at Minas as well. Many families were forced to flee into
the forests, where they endured a harsh winter of cold and hunger.
Acadians were again scapegoats and victims, but back in France
these raids on the small communities seemed of minuscule concern in
the larger picture.
The fate of Acadia was not a high priority in France. In
1706, Daniel D’Auger de Subercasé was appointed as the new governor
and he would be the last. The French were losing the war in Europe
and were not prepared to send much military aid to protect the
Acadians. In Port Royal, Subercasé found it necessary to get
supplies from French West Indian privateers and the nervous
merchants of Boston were soon aware that Port Royal was a haven for
this illegal activity. Boston merchant Samuel Vetch travelled to
London to persuade the Board of Trade that something must be done
about the Acadians and their privateer friends. He hoped to
persuade the British to take over all of Acadia, and Vetch himself
had high hopes of winning the job as governor of those unruly
lands.
The arguments concerning loss of revenue to the French
privateers did not fall on deaf ears in London. Capturing Port
Royal, it was argued, just might help solve the French problem in
America and offset low morale over English military losses in
Europe, while at the same time giving the Scottish nationalists a
new focus to distract their energies. The board approved the plan,
but the all-out attack by General Francis Nicholson did not happen
until 1710. Subercasé
away as prisoners. Villebon took control of Acadia – or at least he
decided that there was no one else available for the job, so it was
up to him. Described as “domineering but dissolute,” Villebon moved
the settlement to Jemseg, where the English tracked him down,
plundered his small community and took his men as prisoners.
Villebon went on to build good relations with the Native population
in New Brunswick and may have incited them to set off on raids of
New England. Although at least one peace treaty was signed between
the Natives of Maine and the New Englanders, Villebon used gifts of
brandy, tobacco and arms to help inspire French and Native attacks
on Maine and New Hampshire.
Villebon’s military ambitions were nothing but bad news for
the Acadians, the great majority of whom had remained home on the
farm, tending fields, fine-tuning their dykes and hoping for
further peace and tranquillity. William Phipps, now governor of
Massachusetts, ordered Benjamin Church and his soldiers to go to
Acadia and destroy everything they could find. This was presumably
easier than trying to track down Villebon or fight it out with
Natives who were now quite hostile to the New England cause. The
Chignecto community was not spared and Acadian villages elsewhere
were easy targets for revenge.
Handing Over the Keys
Soon after the turn of the century,
yet another power struggle in Europe erupted into a war. In 1702
the War of Spanish Succession had begun. By the end of that
conflict France would lose Acadia, Newfoundland and Hudson Bay.
King Louis XIV would be left holding onto Cape Breton, however, and
the right to dry fish along certain parts of Newfoundland
shores.
Meanwhile, hostilities continued to heat up between the
French and the New Englanders. The year 1704 saw a legendary raid
by 200 Indians and fifty Frenchmen who trekked more than 300 miles
on snowshoes through the wilderness to attack the people of
Deerfield, Massachusetts. The governor, in response, mounted a
major expedition to get back at the French, but apparently it was
again of little concern which French would be punished. Benjamin
Church, famous as a ruthless Indian fighter and a veteran at
savaging near-defenceless communities, sailed with 500 men to
Acadia, burned twenty houses at Chignecto, broke down the dykes,
and killed most of the cattle and sheep. His troops despoiled the
village at Minas as well. Many families were forced to flee into
the forests, where they endured a harsh winter of cold and hunger.
Acadians were again scapegoats and victims, but back in France
these raids on the small communities seemed of minuscule concern in
the larger picture.
The fate of Acadia was not a high priority in France. In
1706, Daniel D’Auger de Subercasé was appointed as the new governor
and he would be the last. The French were losing the war in Europe
and were not prepared to send much military aid to protect the
Acadians. In Port Royal, Subercasé found it necessary to get
supplies from French West Indian privateers and the nervous
merchants of Boston were soon aware that Port Royal was a haven for
this illegal activity. Boston merchant Samuel Vetch travelled to
London to persuade the Board of Trade that something must be done
about the Acadians and their privateer friends. He hoped to
persuade the British to take over all of Acadia, and Vetch himself
had high hopes of winning the job as governor of those unruly
lands.
The arguments concerning loss of revenue to the French
privateers did not fall on deaf ears in London. Capturing Port
Royal, it was argued, just might help solve the French problem in
America and offset low morale over English military losses in
Europe, while at the same time giving the Scottish nationalists a
new focus to distract their energies. The board approved the plan,
but the all-out attack by General Francis Nicholson did not happen
until 1710. Subercasé
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