Port-Royal (Acadia)

This article is about the historic settlement named Port-Royal from 1605 to 1713. For its successor and history after 1713, see Annapolis Royal. For the fortified habitation and National Historic Site, see Port-Royal National Historic Site. For the present-day rural community around that site, see Port Royal, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia.

Port-Royal
Port-Royal (1702)
Location	On the south bank of the Annapolis River at its discharge point into Annapolis Basin.
Coordinates	44°44′30.0″N 65°30′55.0″W
Area	1 hectare (2.5 acres)
Built	1629–1710
Governing body	Parks Canada
Location of Port-Royal in Nova Scotia
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Port-Royal National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	May 25, 1923

Port-Royal (1605–1713) was a historic settlement based around the upper Annapolis Basin

In 1629, William Alexander (the younger) established a Scottish colony at the site and named it Charles Fort.

Upon the handing back of Acadia to the French by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632) the settlement was occupied by the French and renamed Port-Royal. For most of the period until the Siege of Port Royal by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1710, the village was the capital of Acadia. Port-Royal was the primary Acadian settlement until Acadians migrated out of the community to Pisiguit, Cobequid, Grand Pre, and Beaubassin (Isthmus of Chignecto) in the 1680s.

Original settlement of Port Royal (1605–13)

Typical 17th-century uniform at Port-Royal

Port-Royal was founded by the French nobleman Pierre Du Gua de Monts, who spent a disastrous winter in Île-Saint-Croix. He was accompanied by Samuel de Champlain, Louis Hébert (this is disputed in the French archives which indicate Hébert did not sail until 1606) and Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just. They decided to move their 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 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 the settlement.

Nestled against the North Mountain range, they set about constructing a log stockade fortification called a "habitation." 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 prospered.

Mindful of the disastrous winter of 1604–05 at the Île-Saint-Croix settlement, Champlain established l'Ordre de Bon Temps (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", the first work of theater written and performed in North America, was performed on November 14, 1606. It was arguably the catalyst for the Order of Good Cheer.

In 1607, Dugua had his fur trade monopoly revoked by the Government of France, forcing settlers to return to France that fall. 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 a small expedition to Port-Royal. Poutrincourt converted Membertou and local Mi'kmaq to Catholicism, hoping to gain financial assistance from the 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 and in July, the settlement was attacked by Samuel Argall of Virginia. Argall returned in November that same year and burned the Habitation to the ground while settlers were away nearby. Poutrincourt returned from France in spring 1614 to find Port-Royal in ruins and settlers living with the Mi'kmaq. Poutrincourt then gave his holdings to his son and returned to France. Poutrincourt's son bequeathed the settlement to Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour upon his own death in 1623.

Port Royal and Annapolis Basin, 1609

Port-Royal from Samuel de Champlain's diagram, c. 1612.

Port-Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710. Initially Port-Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin in the present-day community of Port Royal (note the Anglophone spelling), which is the site of the replica reconstruction of the original Habitation at Port-Royal. After its destruction by raiders from Virginia in 1613, Port-Royal was re-established on the south bank of the river 8 km (5.0 mi) upstream. The British renamed Port-Royal at this new location as Annapolis Royal following their conquest of Acadia in 1710.

Port-Royal was founded by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons and Samuel de Champlain in 1605. The settlement 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 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 the capital at Port-Royal (present day Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. 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.

Portrait of Captain Samuel Argall

Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts built the Habitation at Port-Royal in 1605 as a replacement for his initial attempt at colonizing Saint Croix Island in the Saint Croix River on the boundary between present-day Maine and New Brunswick. The trading monopoly of de Monts was cancelled in 1607, and most of the French settlers returned to France, although some remained with the natives. Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just led a second expedition to Port-Royal in 1610.

Port-Royal 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).

Battle of Port Royal (1613)

Almost ten years later, the Admiral of Virginia Samuel Argall led an English invasion force from Virginia to attack Acadia. He 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 wipe out the colony. Biencourt and his men remained in the area of Port-Royal (present day Port Royal, Nova Scotia). A mill upstream at present day Lequille, Nova Scotia remained, along with settlers who went into hiding during the battle. Charles La Tour was one of the men who stayed behind. They eventually left Port-Royal and settled by 1620, at Cape Negro- Cape Sable. (At this time, future Governor Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour migrated from Port-Royal to establish himself at both Cap de Sable (present-day Port La Tour, Nova Scotia) and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Scottish colony (1629 - 1632)

William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling

In 1621 King James I of England granted to Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling 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 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 1631, under 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 at Saint John, New Brunswick.

In 1633, protecting the boundary of Acadia, Charles de la Tour, 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 with their merchandise. The French then established Fort Ste. Marie de Grâce was the capital on the LaHave River before re-establishing Port-Royal.

French colony (1632 - 1654)

In 1635, Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay de Charnisay moved settlers from present-day LaHave, Nova Scotia to Port-Royal (present day Annapolis Royal), and the Acadian people began to establish their roots. 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 (present day Annapolis Royal), where d'Aulnay was stationed, and present-day Saint John, New Brunswick, where Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour was stationed.

Acadian Civil War

Main article: Acadian Civil War

Battle of Port Royal (1640)

Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour arrived from present day Saint John, New Brunswick and attacked Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal) with two armed ships. D'Aulnay's captain 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 at present day Saint John, New Brunswick.

Battle of Port Royal (1643)

Siege of St. John (1645) – d'Aulnay defeats La Tour in Acadia

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 (Annapolis Royal). D'Aulnay resisted 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 present-day Saint John, New Brunswick. After the siege, La Tour went to live in Quebec. After defeating La Tour at Saint John, from the capital Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal), d'Aulnay administered posts at LaHave, Nova Scotia; Pentagouet (Castine, Maine); Canso, Nova Scotia; Cap Sable (Port La Tour, Nova Scotia); the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) and Miscou Island.

After d'Aulnay died (1650), La Tour re-established himself in Acadia.

English colony (1654 - 1667)

Battle of Port Royal (1654)

In 1654, Colonel Robert Sedgwick led a force to capture Port-Royal 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 the Battle, Sedgwick captured and plundered present day Castine, Maine and La Tour's fort at present day Saint John, New Brunswick. Sedgwick also took 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 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.

French colony (1667 - 1713)

In 1667, Port-Royal (present day Annapolis Royal) 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.

King William's War

Battle of Port Royal (1690)

Main article: Battle of Port Royal (1690)

During King William's War, Port-Royal (present day Annapolis Royal) served as a safe harbor for French cruisers and supply point for Wabanaki Confederacy to attack 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. 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 was begun of the new fort. The residents of Port-Royal were imprisoned in the church and administered an oath of allegiance to the 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.

Raid on Port Royal (1693)

In response to assisting Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste, English frigates attacked Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal). The New Englanders burned almost a dozen houses and three barns full of grain. Port Royal was again made the capital in 1699.

Queen Anne's War

During Queen Anne's War, 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.

Blockade of Port Royal (1704)

In 1704, in retaliation for 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 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.

Siege of Port Royal (June 1707)

Main article: Siege of Port Royal (1707)

Daniel d'Auger de Subercase

Two major British efforts to besiege 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.

Siege of Port Royal (August 1707)

Main article: Siege of Port Royal (1707)

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 the British retreated.

Siege of Port Royal (1710)

Main article: Siege of Port Royal (1710)

Evacuation Of Port Royal 1710 by CW Jefferys

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), the Acadians and Indians unsuccessfully attempted to lay siege to the capital.

British colony (After 1713)

Main article: Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

After the conquest of Acadia with the Siege of Port Royal in 1710, the British changed the name from Port Royal to Annapolis Royal.

The French, Mi'kmaq and Acadians made four attempts to retake the capital of Acadia during King George's War. Many of the Acadian inhabitants at Port Royal remained in the town after it became Annapolis Royal. However, during the French and Indian War, the British deported the Acadian residents at Annapolis Royal to British and French territories in the Expulsion of the Acadians, beginning in 1755, because they wanted to remove a military threat the Acadians posed and cut off vital supply lines the Acadians provided to the French Fortress of Louisbourg.

It's important to note the Acadian's did not view themselves as allies to the French, and posed no real threat to the English. This expulsion was largely the result of English paranoia, and some have said, the longing to obtain the rich lands the Acadians possessed. The expulsion resulted in the death of half the entire population of those displaced, and is seen by many as a genocide.

Demographics

Population of Port-Royal/ Annapolis Royal

Year	Number of inhabitants	Year	Number of inhabitants
1630	300	1671	363
1686	592	1693	499
1698	575	1701	456
1703	504	1707	570
1714	900	1730	900
1737	1,406	1748	1,750

See also

• Military history of Nova Scotia
• Grand-Pré
• Pisiguit
• Cobequid
• Beaubassin
• Port-Royal National Historic Site