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Beaubassin

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45°50′56.86″N 64°15′39.31″W  /  45.8491278°N 64.2609194°W  / 45.8491278; -64.2609194 Beaubassin was an important Acadian village and trading centre on the Isthmus of Chignecto in what is now Nova Scotia , Canada. The area was a significant place in the geopolitical struggle between the British and French empires. It was established in the 1670s on an upland close to an extensive area of saltwater marsh . Settlers reclaimed the land to engage in cattle ranching and trade.

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55-496: The settlement had strong ties with Port Royal , and Jacques Bourgeois, a farmer, shipbuilder, and merchant at sold a part of his holdings there to settle in the Chignecto Basin , where he built a flour-mill and a saw-mill. Around the same time Michel Leneuf de la Vallière de Beaubassin set up a fur-trading post on the isthmus, while devoting part of his time to the fishing, farming, settlement, and soldiering. Following success in

110-537: A Royal Charter of all of Nova Scotia, which then included New Brunswick . During the Anglo-French War (1627–1629) , under Charles I of England , by 1629 the Kirkes took Quebec City and Lord Ochiltree (Sir James Stewart of Killeith) started a colony on Cape Breton Island at Baleine . On July 28, 1629, Sir William sent a ship, his son William Alexander (the younger) , and seventy Scottish settlers who established

165-655: A cathedral at Fort Beauséjour. The British occupancy of the Isthmus of Chignecto marked the beginning of the end of French power in Acadia. Less than five years later, British and New England troops used Fort Lawrence as their base to capture Fort Beausejour in June 1755, followed soon after by the Expulsion of the Acadians from the area. In 2004, Parks Canada acquired a significant portion of

220-638: A dozen houses and three barns full of grain. Port Royal was again made the Acadian capital in 1699. During Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), there was a New England blockade of Port Royal and then three attempts to lay siege to the capital. The last siege ultimately resulted in the British conquest of Acadia and Nova Scotia. Despite the blockade, Port Royal was occasionally used as a home port by French privateers and pirates such as Captain Crapo . In 1704, in retaliation for

275-474: A family prisoner. A woman from the family was sent to the fort to demand its surrender. The blockade lasted seventeen days; those in the fort awaited an attack. Church had moved on to conduct the real purpose of his expedition: the Raid on Grand Pré , Raid on Pisiguit , and Raid on Chignecto . He returned to Port Royal and then with a brief exchange of gunfire, returned to Boston. Two major British efforts to besiege

330-510: A number of LaHave settlers to Port-Royal. Under D'Aulnay, the Acadians built the first dykes in North America and cultivated the reclaimed salt marshes. During this time, Acadia was plunged into what some historians have described as a civil war; the two main centres were Port-Royal, where d'Aulnay was stationed, and Fort Sainte-Marie, where de la Tour was stationed. Charles de la Tour attacked Port-Royal with two armed ships. D'Aulnay's captain

385-564: A small expedition to Port-Royal . Poutrincourt converted Membertou and local Mi'kmaq to Catholicism , hoping to gain financial assistance from the French government. As a result, Jesuits became financial partners with Poutrincourt, although this caused division within the community. In May 1613, the Jesuits moved on to the Penobscot River valley. In July 1613 Acadia settlements were attacked by

440-505: Is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax) . Lawrence was born in Plymouth ( Devon ) on 14 December 1709. He followed his father, General Charles John Lawrence , who is said to have served in Flanders under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , into a military career. Charles Lawrence's earlier life is obscure. He was commissioned in the 11th Regiment of Foot and served in

495-534: Is buried under St. Paul's Church (Halifax) . According to his biographer, Dominique Graham, Referring to the monument raised to Lawrence’s memory in St Paul’s Church, Halifax, to indicate the late governor’s popularity, Belcher wrote, "In a grateful sense of his affection and services the last tribute that could be paid to his memory was unanimously voted by the General Assembly at their first meeting after

550-465: Is disputed in the French archives which indicate Hébert did not sail until 1606) and Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just decided to move the settlement to the north shore of the present-day Annapolis Basin , a sheltered bay on the south shore of the Bay of Fundy that had been recorded by Champlain earlier in the spring of 1605 during a coastal reconnaissance. Champlain noted in his journals that

605-571: Is thought that Beaubassin was home to 50 families, 32 acres of apple orchards, 1,000 head of cattle, and 800 hogs. There was also a trading post which traded with Louisbourg (in present-day Cape Breton) via Baie Verte and the Northumberland Strait , and New England , via the Bay of Fundy . By 1750, the population was about 2,800. Other villages in the immediate area included Weskak (now Westcock ), Pré-des-Bourgs ( Sackville ), Pré-des-Richards ( Middle Sackville ), and Aulac . About half of

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660-464: The Annapolis Basin is today the site of the replica reconstruction of the original Habitation at Port-Royal. Charles Lawrence (British Army officer) Brigadier-General Charles Lawrence (14 December 1709 – 19 October 1760) was a British military officer who, as lieutenant governor and subsequently governor of Nova Scotia , is perhaps best known for overseeing the Expulsion of

715-522: The Battle of Fort Beauséjour on 16 June 1755. He wrote the deportation order, and orchestrated the various campaigns of the Expulsion of the Acadians , beginning with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) . After the native Raid on Lunenburg (1756) , he placed a bounty on male native scalps. Lawrence commissioned several armed patrol vessels to patrol the Nova Scotia coast as part of a provincial marine, including

770-522: The LaHave River which served as the Acadian capital before the re-establishment of Port-Royal. In 1633, protecting the boundary of Acadia, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, who at this time was the French commander of Acadia, made a descent upon Machias, Maine from his seat at Port-Royal, killing two of its six defenders, and carrying the others away along with their supplies. In 1635, Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay de Charnisay moved

825-463: The New England colonies encroaching on the Acadian border in southern Maine. The Battle of Port Royal (1690) began on May 9. Sir William Phips of New England arrived with 736 men in seven English ships. Acadian Governor de Meneval fought for two days and then capitulated. The garrison was imprisoned in the church and Governor de Meneval was confined to his house. The New Englanders levelled what

880-464: The Northumberland Strait and lay at the heart of a vast trading network encompassing Île Royale , Nova Scotia and New England . The first fruit trees were brought from Port Royal by an Irishman , Roger Kuessey (Caissy or Quessey), who established himself on a highland now known as the Butte à Roger. In 1685 the site was inspected by intendant Jacques de Meulles who reported that the grasslands around

935-527: The Raid on Deerfield , Major Benjamin Church created a blockade of Port-Royal. Church was instructed not to attack the capital because the action was not authorized from London. Before daylight, on July 2, two English warships and seven smaller vessels entered the Port Royal basin. They captured the guard station opposite Goat Island as well as four Acadians. Landing at Pointe aux Chesnes on the north shore, they took

990-468: The Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) and Miscou Island , with Port-Royal as the capital. After d'Aulnay died (1650), La Tour re-established himself in Acadia. In 1654, Colonel Robert Sedgwick led a force made up of one hundred New England volunteers and two hundred professional soldiers sent to New England by Oliver Cromwell , the first professional English soldiers sent to North America. Prior to

1045-518: The West Indies from 1733 until 1737. He then served in the War Office . He was made lieutenant in 1731 and then captain in 1745. He was wounded while serving with the 54th Foot in the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745. During Father Le Loutre's War , in 1749 he transferred again, to the 40th Foot . He participated in the Battle at Chignecto (1749) and then built Fort Lawrence on the south bank of

1100-434: The Acadian way of life. Modern buildings have impacted the archaeological resources, but much of the land is still agricultural or marshland. Cellar depressions demarcate the buildings that once made up the settlement. Port-Royal (Acadia) Port Royal (1605–1713) was a historic settlement based around the upper Annapolis Basin in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the predecessor of the modern town of Annapolis Royal . It

1155-578: The Acadians and settling the New England Planters in Nova Scotia . He was born in Plymouth , England , and died in Halifax , Nova Scotia . According to historian Elizabeth Griffiths, Lawrence was seen as a "competent", "efficient" officer with a "service record that had earned him fairly rapid promotion, a person of considerable administrative talent who was trusted by both Cornwallis and Hopson." He

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1210-647: The Acadians and Indians unsuccessfully attempted to lay siege to the capital. After the transfer of Port Royal to Great Britain due to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the British changed the name from Port Royal to Annapolis Royal . The Acadia settlement of Port-Royal was the first permanent European settlement north of St. Augustine, Florida . (Two years later, the English made their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia .) Approximately seventy-five years after Port-Royal

1265-471: The British arrived, the French and their allies burned the town to prevent its use by the enemy. Forty-five buildings were burned. The Acadian population abandoned the village and sought refuge on the other side of the Missaguash River on Point Beauséjour. Major Lawrence and his troops later built Fort Lawrence near the site. The bell was saved from Notre Dame d'Assumption Church and eventually put it into

1320-428: The British retreated. On September 24, 1710, the British returned with 36 ships and 2000 men, and again laid siege to the capital in what would be the final Conquest of Acadia. Subercase and the French held out until October 2 when the approximately 300 defenders of the fort surrendered, ending French rule in Acadia. The following year, after the Acadian and Indian success at the nearby Battle of Bloody Creek (1711) ,

1375-622: The English, led by the Admiral of Virginia Samuel Argall . The invasion began with the Saint-Saveur mission ( Mount Desert Island , Maine) and then St. Croix Island. In October 1613, Argall surprised the settlers at Port-Royal and sacked every building. The battle destroyed the Habitation but it did not fully destroy the colony. Argall returned in November that same year and finally burned the Habitation to

1430-667: The Missaguash River in the fall of 1750, and was promoted lieutenant-colonel the same year. In 1753, he directed the settlement of the Foreign Protestants at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia , and suppressed the settlers' rebellion there. Lawrence mobilized rangers to prevent the Acadian Exodus as well as fight the Mi'kmaq. During the French and Indian War , in conjunction with Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts , he helped raise forces for

1485-570: The Order of Good Cheer ) as a social club ostensibly to promote better nutrition and to get settlers through the winter of 1606–07. Supper every few days became a feast with a festive air supplemented by performances and alcohol and was primarily attended by the prominent men of the colony and their Mi'kmaq neighbours while the Mi'kmaq women, children, and poorer settlers looked on and were offered scraps. Marc Lescarbot 's The Theatre of Neptune in New France ,

1540-593: The attack, and seven of his men were wounded and three killed. La Tour did not attack the fort, which was defended by twenty soldiers. La Tour burned the mill, killed the livestock and seized furs, gunpowder and other supplies. D'Aulnay ultimately won the war against La Tour with the 1645 siege of Fort Sainte-Marie. After the siege, La Tour went to live in Quebec . After defeating La Tour, d'Aulnay administered posts at LaHave, Nova Scotia ; Pentagouet ( Castine, Maine ); Canso, Nova Scotia ; Cap Sable ( Port La Tour, Nova Scotia );

1595-531: The battle to capture Port-Royal, Sedgwick captured and plundered present day Castine, Maine and Fort Sainte-Marie at New Brunswick. Sedgwick also took Charles de la Tour prisoner. The defenders of Port-Royal numbered only about 130. After resisting the English landings and defending the fort during a short siege, the outnumbered Acadians surrendered after negotiating terms that allowed French inhabitants who wished to remain to keep their property and religion. Soldiers and officials were given transport to France while

1650-535: The bay was of impressive size; he believed it would be an adequate anchorage for several hundred ships of the French Royal Fleet , if ever necessary. As such, he named the basin "Port Royal", the Royal Port; this was, for many years, the name of both the body of water and of the subsequent French settlements in that region. Poutrincourt asked King Henri IV to become the owner of the seigneurie that encompassed

1705-534: The capital at Port-Royal. They finally defeated the French in 1710 following the Siege of Port-Royal . Over the following fifty years, the French and their allies made six unsuccessful military attempts to regain the capital. Including a raid by Americans in the American Revolution , Port-Royal (at present-day Annapolis Royal ) faced a total of thirteen attacks, more than any other place in North America. Port-Royal

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1760-610: The confluence of the Annapolis River and Allains Creek. "Port Royal" principally refers to the Annapolis Basin and was named by cartographer Samuel de Champlain in 1604, writing, "we entered a harbour which is two leagues in length and one in breadth, which I have named 'Port Royal'." In the censuses of Acadia from 1671 to 1707, all inhabitants living around the Annapolis Basin were listed under "Port Royal," with no sub-distinctions. The first official document where "Port Royal"

1815-615: The control of Canada in the mid 1700s. Acadia comprised most of what is now the Maritimes , as well as parts of Québec , and northern  Maine . With the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht , the part of Acadia today known as peninsular Nova Scotia became another British colony on the eastern seaboard. The area now known as New Brunswick remained under French control, as did what are now known as Prince Edward Island (then known as Île Saint-Jean) and Cape Breton Island (then known as  Île Royale ). Due to disagreements in interpretation of

1870-433: The first incarnation of "New Scotland" which they named Charles Fort , at present-day Annapolis Royal on the site of the future Fort Anne (see Charles Fort - National Site ). During this time there were few French inhabitants in the colony. This set of British triumphs, leaving Cape Sable (present-day Port La Tour, Nova Scotia ) as the only major French holding in North America, was not destined to last. In 1632, under

1925-486: The first work of theater written and performed in North America, was performed on November 14, 1606. In 1607, Dugua had his fur trade monopoly revoked by the Government of France, forcing most of the settlers to return to France that fall, although some remained with the natives. The Habitation was left in the care of Membertou and the local Mi'kmaq until 1610 when Sieur de Poutrincourt, another French nobleman, returned with

1980-399: The ground while settlers were away nearby. Poutrincourt returned from France in spring 1614 to find Port-Royal in ruins, settlers living with the Mi'kmaq, and Biencourt and his men remaining in the area of Port-Royal. A mill upstream at present day Lequille, Nova Scotia remained, along with settlers who went into hiding during the battle. Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour was one of

2035-638: The lands on which Beaubassin once stood and the site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2005. The site includes the separately designated Fort Lawrence National Historic Site . There is a stone marker near the Nova Scotia visitor centre off the Trans-Canada Highway in Amherst, Nova Scotia commemorating the village's existence. The pastured fields of the former Beaubassin village contain extensive archaeological resources including glass and ceramic artifacts and charred buildings that attest to

2090-457: The latter activity, in 1676 governor Frontenac granted him 100 square leagues land which became the Beaubassin seigneury . He established himself on an upland known as Île de la Vallière, later Tonge's Island. The settlement prospered on the fertile Tantramar Marshes and surrounding high ground, suitable for farming. The isthmus was also the site of a portage between the Bay of Fundy and

2145-492: The majority of Port-Royal residents remained unharmed. However, in violation of the surrender terms, Sedgwick's men rampaged through the Port-Royal monastery, smashing windows, doors, paneling and even the floor boards before burning the monastery and the newly constructed Port Royal church. The English occupied Acadia for the next 16 years with a small garrison, leaving the Acadian residents mostly undisturbed. In 1667, Port-Royal

2200-541: The men who stayed behind. La Tour eventually left Port-Royal and settled by 1620, at Cape Negro - Cape Sable although some settlers remained. Poutrincourt assigned his holdings to his son and returned to France. The settlement of Port-Royal was re-established on the south bank of the river 8 km (5.0 mi) upstream. Poutrincourt's son bequeathed the settlement to Charles de la Tour upon his own death in 1623. In 1621 King James VI and I as King of Scotland granted to Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling

2255-432: The population were refugees from mainland Nova Scotia. The settlement was subject to attacks from New England starting with the 1696 Raid on Chignecto during Queen Anne's War , led by Benjamin Church . In 1704 he returned and attacked the Beaubassin region again. Beaubassin was located at a site of strategic military importance. The peace and prosperity of Beaubassin was ended by rivalry between Britain and France for

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2310-481: The settlement was sufficient to fatten thousands of head of cattle, that there were 22 habitations, of which most had a dozen or more cattle and as many each of pigs and sheep, but that not much land was cultivated. In 1686, Beaubassin was made a parish when Abbot Claude Trouvé built a church. The settlement eventually extended up to Mill Creek , Petitcodiac , Memramcook , and the Shepody Rivers. By 1715, it

2365-570: The settlement. Nestled against the North Mountain range , they set about constructing a log stockade fortification. With assistance from members of the Mi'kmaq Nation and a local chief named Membertou , coupled with the more temperate climate of the fertile Annapolis Valley , the settlement, also known as "the habitation" prospered. Mindful of the disastrous winter of 1604–05 at the Île-Saint-Croix settlement, Champlain established l'Ordre de Bon Temps (

2420-455: The ten-gun brigantine Montague in 1759. As governor of Nova Scotia, Lawrence saw the settlement of the Acadian lands by New England Planters . In 1757, Lawrence was further promoted to the title of brigadier general and commanded one of the three divisions at the successful siege of the French fortress at Louisbourg on Île Royale ( Cape Breton Island ) in 1758. He is said to have died of pneumonia in 1760 in Halifax , Nova Scotia and

2475-577: The terms of the Treaty of Saint Germain-en-Laye, the colonists were ordered to abandon the fort to the French, who soon renamed it Port-Royal, the same name as their previous colony. The official handover did not take place until late in 1632 and this gave Captain Andrew Forrester, commander of the then Scottish community the opportunity to cross the Bay of Fundy with twenty-five armed men and raid Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour's Fort Sainte-Marie-de-Grâce on

2530-470: The town in 1707 met with failure. The first siege during the war happened on June 17 and lasted eleven days. Colonel John March , the most senior officer in all of Massachusetts was sent to defeat the capital. Acadian governor Daniel d'Auger de Subercase successfully defended the capital. Colonel Francis Wainwright led the second siege on August 20. It lasted eleven days. Subercase and his troops killed sixteen New Englanders and lost three soldiers. Again

2585-518: The treaty provisions delineating Acadia's boundaries, the ownership of New Brunswick was disputed. An informal dividing line was established on the Isthmus of Chignecto at the Missiguash River , near the site of Beaubassin. In May 1750, the British dispatched Major Charles Lawrence , along with 800 troops, to seize control of the Isthmus of Chignecto and construct a fort near the French post of Point Beauséjour, future site of Fort Beauséjour . As

2640-508: Was begun of the new fort. The residents of Port-Royal were imprisoned in the church and administered an oath of allegiance to the English King. Phips left, but warships from New York City arrived in June which resulted in more destruction. The seamen burned and looted the settlement, including the parish church. In response to assisting Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste , English frigates attacked Port-Royal. The New Englanders burned almost

2695-591: Was called a "ville" (i.e. town) appears to be in article 12 of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, where it describes, "la ville de Port-Royal, maintenant appelée Annapolis Royale." French nobleman Pierre Du Gua de Mons made a first attempt at settlement of Acadia during the disastrous winter of 1604–1605 in Île-Saint-Croix , Saint Croix Island in the St. Croix River on the boundary between present-day Maine and New Brunswick . De Mons, Samuel de Champlain , Louis Hébert (this

2750-435: Was founded, Acadians spread out from the capital to found the other major Acadian settlements established before the Expulsion of the Acadians : Grand-Pré , Chignecto , Cobequid and Pisiguit . In the 150 years prior to the founding of Halifax in 1749, Port-Royal/Annapolis Royal was the capital of Acadia and later Nova Scotia for most decades. During that time the British made six attempts to conquer Acadia by attacking

2805-448: Was killed, while La Tour and his men were forced to surrender. In response to the attack, D'Aulay sailed out of Port-Royal to establish a blockade of La Tour's Fort Sainte-Marie. In 1643, La Tour tried to capture Port-Royal again. La Tour arrived at Saint John from Boston with a fleet of five armed vessels and 270 men and broke the blockade. La Tour then chased d'Aulnay's vessels back across the Bay of Fundy to Port-Royal. D'Aulnay resisted

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2860-431: Was returned to France with the Treaty of Breda (1667) . In a census taken in 1671 there were 361 Acadians in the Port-Royal area. During King Philip's War , Jacques de Chambly was Governor of Acadia. Another census in the late 1680s shows 450 Acadians in the entire area of Port-Royal. During King William's War , Port-Royal served as a safe harbor for French cruisers and supply point for Wabanaki Confederacy to attack

2915-417: Was the capital of the New France colony of Acadia . Over 108 years control would pass between France, Scotland, England and Great Britain until it was formally ceded to Great Britain in 1713 due to the Treaty of Utrecht . From 1605 to 1613 the settlement was centred around the habitation on the north side of the Annapolis Basin, while from 1629 onwards it was centred around Fort Anne on the south side, at

2970-404: Was the first successful attempt by Europeans to establish a permanent settlement in what is today known as Canada. Port Royal was a key step in the development of New France and was the first permanent base of operations of the explorer Samuel de Champlain , who would later found Quebec in 1608, and the farmer Louis Hébert , who would resettle at Quebec in 1617. For most of its existence, it

3025-469: Was the site of a number of North American firsts: the first resident surgeon; first continuing church services; first social club (named the "Order of Good Cheer"); creation of the first library; first French theatrical performance (titled Neptune ); first apothecary ; and first weekly Bible class. The author of Neptune , Marc Lescarbot , wrote a popular history of his time in New France, entitled Histoire de la Nouvelle-France (1609). The north shore of

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