The French PeriodThe French Period

1500-1763

The Beginning

On June 29th 1534 Jacques Cartier arrived on the Island.

He explored for two days from Malpeque to Tignish. Cartier commented on the lack of good harbors.

Cartier stated that it was the most beautiful land possible to see but never named the Island.

The Beginning The settlement of the

island along with other French possessions was left to private individuals.

The private sector however was looking to make a quick profit on their investment. For this reason many of the French settlement attempts would fail.

The Beginning

In 1604 Ile St. Jean (most likely named by Samuel de Champlain) was included in a land grant to Sieur des Monts.

He was to develop a fishery and settle pioneers but spent most of his time on mainland Acadia and ignored the island.

The Beginning In 1653 the island was

granted to Nicholas Denys. He would visit the island and write a book describing the land and the Micmac who inhabited it.

He would not, however, establish a permanent settlement and the island would be transferred to another individual named Sieur Francois Doublet.

Acadia Acadia was founded in

1604 by Samuel de Champlain and consisted of the whole of the Maritimes.

The capital was at Port Royale and from 1604 to 1670 immigrants flooded into the area establishing successful farms along the rivers and inlets.

Acadia The French and English

had long been at war in Europe and those wars were now spreading to the New World.

In 1713 France lost the War of Spanish Succession and according to the treaty of Utrecht, would lose mainland Acadia and Newfoundland but would keep Ile Royale, Ile St. Jean, and Quebec.

Louisbourg In 1713, to protect their

remaining possessions the French would build the super fortress, Louisbourg on Ile Royale.

Built on what is now Cape Breton Island it would guard the mouth of the St. Lawrence which served as the gateway to New France (Quebec.)

The Acadians After 1713 and the loss of

mainland Acadia the Acadians were encouraged by the French government to move to Isle Royale or Isle St. Jean.

Compte de St.Pierre convinced some Acadians to move to Isle St. Jean in 1719 with the plan of using the Island to supply food to Louisbourg.

Ile St. Jean

Settlement on the Island

Michel-Hache Gallant arrived on the Island in 1719 from Amherst to be the first permanent settler on Isle St. Jean.

Michel-Hache Gallant is the ancestor to all of the Gallants on the Island today.

St. Pierre

In August of 1720 St. Pierre would arrive on the Island with 250 settlers from France and settled at Port la Joye ( present day Charlottetown Harbour).

The first things they did were clear land, build a few rough houses and create a place for a cemetery.

Early Settlement

People would spread to St. Pierre, Tracadie, Malpeque, Savage Harbor, Trois Riviers, Pisquid, and South Lake.

In 1725 St. Pierre would get his grant revoked for not meeting the conditions of his lease. He was replaced by a French Governor named DePensens who brought a garrison of 30 French soldiers to protect the Island from invasion.

Life For Early French Settlers

Isle St. Jean was covered with dense old forest. It would be 3-5 years before enough land could be cleared to grow crops.

The settlers came unprepared for the hardships of pioneer life. Many had never cleared land and did not even have axes or saws with them.

Stumps were almost impossible to remove from the ground and would be planted around during cropping season.

Life For Early French Settlers

The early Islanders grew wheat,peas and oats and raised oxen, cows, pigs, sheep and chickens.

They ate; pea soup, bread, porridge, salted beef, pork, mutton, poultry, maple syrup, garden vegetables, fish, and wild game.

Questions

1. __________ Date Jacques Cartier landed on the island.2. __________ The island was given in a land grant to

this man in 1604.3. __________ He was to do these two things according

to his lease.4. __________5. __________ In 1653 the Island was granted to this

man.6. __________ Acadia was founded by this man.7. __________ The capital of Acadia.

Questions

8. __________ War that ended in 1713.9. __________ Treaty that ended the war.10. __________ Land kept by the French in the

Maritimes.11. __________12. __________ Fortress built by the French.13. __________ Convinced Acadians to settle on the

Island in 1719.14. __________ First permanent settler on the island.15. __________ The island’s first capital.

Questions

16. __________ Seven places settled on the island by the French.

17. __________18. __________19. __________20. __________21. __________22. __________23. __________ In 1725 this man would become

Governor of the island.

Questions

24. __________ It took this long to clear a piece of land.

25. __________ These were almost impossible to remove from the ground.

26. __________ Three things early islanders ate.

27. __________28. __________

Jean-Pierre Roma

Jean-Pierre Roma and three partners formed the “Company of the East” and were granted the eastern part of the Island.

Roma was given the task of settling 80 people the first year and 30 every year after or his company would lose the grant.

Jean-Pierre Roma

In 1732 Roma arrived on the Island with 300 people. Within a year he cleared 40 acres of land, built 9 houses, leveled the shoreline, built 2 piers, planted vegetable gardens, and cut roads through the woods to Port la Joye.

Roma had 5 fishing and merchant boats that he used for trading to Quebec and the Caribbean

Jean-Pierre Roma Roma’s partners were becoming

impatient with the lack of profits and blamed Roma.

They claimed he crushed settlement enthusiasm with his tough work ethic…which was probably true.

Roma believed in working so hard that he passed a law that work was to continue on Sunday the priests of the settlement objected so he fired them…

Jean-Pierre

Roma would not just have to deal with whining priests and partners but also mice, fires and sinking ships and an inability to attract more settlers.

The final blow would come when the English would invade in 1745 and burn the settlement to the ground.

The Oath of Loyalty

After the English captured Acadia in 1713 they wondered where the Acadians loyalty would lie the next time war broke out between France and England.

In 1744 the War of Austrian Succession broke out and England and France were once again at war.

In 1745 a group of New England militia captured Louisbourg much to the surprise of the French and the English.

The Oath of Loyalty

In 1748 the War of Austrian Succession would end and according to the treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle, Ile St Jean and Ile Royale would be handed back to France.

The English would decide to establish a presence in Acadia permanently by establishing a fortress on Chebucto Bay.

The Oath of Loyalty

In 1749 General Cornwallis would begin the construction of Halifax and life for the Acadians would become increasingly difficult.

From 1749-1754 the English would pressure the Acadians to take an oath of loyalty swearing the allegiance to the English Crown.

The Acadians would have a difficult time signing this as they were also accepting a monarch who was also the head of the church (Anglican).

The Acadians who did not sign were deported in 1755. A total of 6,000 from mainland Acadia.

The Deportation

In 1755 the English knew war was on the horizon and worried about Acadian loyalty.

An incident involving Acadians at Fort Beausejour made the English believe the Acadians could not be trusted.

In October of 1755 The British began loading Acadians aboard ships leaving for Louisiana, and France. A total of 6,000 Acadians were deported from mainland Acadia.

The Deportation

The Seven Year War began in 1756 and the population on the Island escalated from 3,000 to 4,500 and by 1758 it reached 4,700.

In August of 1758 Lord Rollo arrived on the Island after the fall of Louisbourg with orders to deport the entire population of the Island.

3,000 Acadians were deported out of 5,000 as some families hid in the woods.

Two ships the Violet and the Duke William sunk on their voyage to France and most of the Acadians on the other ships died from disease aboard their ships.

Deportation Readings1. __________ The commander of the

British forces that captured Louisbourg in 1758.

2. __________ He was ordered to deport the residents of Ile St. Jean.

3. __________ New fort to be built on Ile St. Jean.

4. __________ The construction of the new fort was directed by this man.

Deportation Readings5. __________ The commander of the

French garrison on Ile St. Jean.

6. __________ Two ships that sank with Acadians from Ile St. Jean.

7. __________ The number of Acadian settlers originally thought to be on the Island.

8. __________ The actual number of settlers on the Island.

Deportation Readings9. What happened to the buildings on Ile St.

Jean at the time of the Deportation?

10.Are the deportations in the Maritimes the first of their kind? What evidence is there to support your answer?

11.What happened to the French military personnel that were stationed on Ile. St. Jean? Why was their fate different than the settlers?

“The Saga of Alexis Doiron”

1. What to the Acadians call the deportation?

2. Where was Alexis Doiron born?

3. Who was the first in his family to arrive in North America?

4. Who owned Acadia at the time of Alexis’ birth?

5. What fort was built in Alexis hometown?

6. Why did Alexis and his family leave his home? Where did they go?

7. How many people live in Grand Anse in 1752? How do we know this?

8. Who did Alexis marry in 1753?

9. What happened in 1752 that caused headaches for local administrators?

10.Whose responsibility was it for sending relief to Ile St. Jean?

11.Where did the deportees from mainland Acadia go?

12.Where did the deportees from Ile St. Jean end up going?

13.What does the author mean when he states “a great many of the deportees were carried off by disease”?

14.What happened to the 300 Acadians who were deported aboard the Duke William?

15.Where did the French Government send the Doiron family? Why?

16.What happened at their new community?

17.How did the Doiron family return to Ile St. Jean? What was the name of the ship?

18.Where did they settle and why?

19.Where did Alexis Doiron end up living out the rest of his life?

20.What was his occupation?

Questions1. _________ He would be given a grant to the

eastern end of the Island in 1732.2. _________ Name of the company he belonged to.3. _________ He arrived with this many settlers.4. _________ Three problems this settlement dealt

with.5. _________6. _________7. _________ The name of the settlement.

Questions8. ___________ The Acadians were asked to take this to

show their loyalty.9. ___________ In 1749 many Acadians would flee to

these two areas.10. ___________11. ___________ Governor of the Island in 1749.12. ___________ Number of settlers arriving on the Island

in 1750.13. ___________ Year the deportations began.14. ___________ Number of Acadians deported from the

mainland.

Questions15. __________ The man responsible for the deportation

on the Island.16. __________ War that lasted from 1756-1763.17. __________ The Governor of the Island in 1756.18. __________ Year the British captured Louisbourg

for the final time.19. __________ Two ships involved in the Island

deportations.20. __________21. __________ Ile St. Jean became this in 1763.

Questions

What was the main purpose of Roma’s settlement? Why did it fail?

Why did the British feel they needed to deport the Acadians?

How did the Oath of Loyalty affect the Island? Why was Louisbourg a key factor in the British

conquest of North America? How did some Acadians escape deportation?

Review1. __________ June 29th 1534 this man saw the Island.2. __________ In 1604 the Island was included in a

grant to this man.3. __________ He was to do these two things with the

Island.4. __________5. __________ In 1653 he would be granted the Island

and would write a book about its inhabitants.6. __________ In 1719 he would be granted the Island.

Review7. _________ Name of the French descendants living in the

Maritimes.8. _________ This war lasted from 1701-1713.9. _________ Treaty ending the war.10. _________ France lost this piece of land as a result of

the end of the war.11. _________ Three pieces of land kept by the French.12. _________13. _________14. _________ Fortress built by the French to protect their

possessions.

Review15. _________ First permanent settler on the

Island.16. _________ Area where 250 colonists settled in

1720.17. _________ Governor of the Island in 1725.18. _________ It took this long to clear land for

farming.19. _________ Major obstacle in using land for

farming after it was cleared.20. _________ This man was granted the Island in

1732.21. _________ He was a partner in this company.

Review

22. __________ Bloodiest battle in Island history.

23. __________ The Acadians were under pressure to sign this by the British.

24. __________ War that lasted from 1744-48.

25. __________ Treaty ending the war.

26. __________ English fortress built on Chebucto Bay.

27. __________ British General who arrived in 1749 promising to make life miserable for the Acadians.

28. __________ French name of the Island.

Review

29. __________ Date of the deportation of the Acadians from the mainland.

30. __________ This many Acadians were deported from the mainland.

31. __________ General who captured Fort Beausejour.

32. __________ War that lasted from 1756-1763.33. __________ Two places Acadians were deported

to.34. __________

Review

35. __________ Year the British captured Louisbourg for the final time.

36. __________ Man responsible for the deportations on the Island.

37. __________ This many people were deported from the Island.

38. __________ Two ships involved in the deportation that sank.

39. __________40. __________ Many Islanders hid here to avoid

deportation.

Review

41. Why was Louisbourg so strategically important?

42. What was the significance of the English building Halifax?

43. Why did the English feel the Acadians could not be trusted?

44. Why did the Acadians consider themselves neutral?

45. What main problem did the Acadians have with the Oath of Loyalty?

Review

46. What was the main problem with the French settlement plans?

47. Why didn’t Cartier start a settlement when he arrived?

48. Why did Roma push his settlers so hard? Why might they have not responded so well to his work ethic?

49. Why did wars that began in Europe effect life in the Maritimes?

50. Why did the French government leave settlement up to private companies?

Review

That is it.

Answers

Settling 80 people the first year and 30 every year after. This failed because a) partners were becoming impatient with the lack of profit, b) crushed settlement enthusiasm with tough work ethic, c) passed a law that work was to continue on Sunday, priest objected and were fired, d) Mice, e) fires, f) sinking ships, & g) inability to attract more settlers.

The Acadians had always been neutral until the Battle at Fort Beausejour, when they fought against the English. The English didn’t know where the Acadian’s loyalty lay.

Acadians would not swear to the Oath of Loyalty, therefore they moved to the Island and the population here rose.

It was the French’s main fort and it was located on the mouth of the St. Lawrence

The Acadians fled into the woods and hid. Some Acadians went to Quebec.