Beaubassin
Encyclopedia
Beaubassin was the first settlement on the Isthmus of Chignecto
, Nova Scotia
, which was Acadian
. The area is now known as the Tantramar Marshes
. Beaubassin was settled in 1672, the second Acadian village to be established after Port Royal
. The village was one of the largest and most prosperous in Acadia
. Beaubassin-Fort Lawrence
is a National Historic Site of Canada. The Beaubassin area included Weskak (present day Westcock), Pre des Bourgs (Sackville), Pre des Richards (Middle Sackville
), La Butte, Le Coupe and Le Lac at the confluence of the Missiguash, Menouie and Eleysian Fields, Maccan (Makon), Nappan (Nepane) and Riviere Hebert. (See Map of Beaubassin)
During Father Le Loutre's War
, Beaubassin was destroyed as part of the Acadian Exodus
from mainland Nova Scotia. Its residents were resettled to the west side of the Missaquash River and the protection of Fort Beauséjour
.
Michael Leneuf de Beaubassin (1640–1705, the elder) was in the French Navy. In 1676, Beaubassin and Sieur Richard Denys as second in command, seized three English vessels from Boston that were taking on coal at Cape Breton. As a result of his success, Frontenac was given a grant to a large piece of land at the Isthmus of Chignecto which became known as the Beaubassin seigneury (1684).
By 1685, there were 22 houses in Beaubassin. In 1686, the area was constituted into a parish and Father Claude Trouvé, of Quebec, built Beaubassin's first church. The parish church was located on the site of the present day monument to Fort Lawrence
, and the railroad crosses the church cemetery.
During King William's War
French and Native raids on Maine, specifically on Pemaquid, Maine (present day Bristol, Maine
) earlier that year. In response, the English colonial militia leader Benjamin Church led a devastating raid on Beaubassin in 1696.
Church and four hundred men (50 to 150 of whom were Indians, likely Iroquois) arrived offshore of Beaubassin on September 20. They managed to get ashore and surprise the Acadian. Many fled while one confronted Church with papers showing they had signed an oath of allegiance in 1690 to the English king.
Church was unconvinced. He burned a number of buildings, killed inhabitants, looted their household goods, and slaugthered their livestock. Governor Villebon reported that "the English stayed at Beaubassin nine whole days without drawing any supplies from their vessels, and even those settlers to whom they had shown a pretence of mercy were left with empty houses and barns and nothing else except the clothes on their backs."
, Church returned to Acadia, raiding Beaubassin and other Acadian communities on the Bay of Fundy. The raid was in response to a French Raid on Deerfield earlier in 1704. Church also raided a French settlement near present-day Castine, Maine
, Grand Pre
, and Pisiguit
.
, De Ramezay arrived from Quebec and gathered forces at Beaubassin. He eventually retreated from the capital because the Duc d'Anville Expedition
failed to arrive. De Ramesay again stationed himself at Beaubassin. In response to the threat of the Duc d'Anville Expedition
, Massachusetts Governor William Shirley
sent Colonel Arthur Noble
and hundreds of New England soldiers to occupy Acadia
and remove De Ramezay. One of the most startling successes of De Ramezay's campaign was the attack on a superior force of Colonel Arthur Noble
's militia in the Battle of Grand Pre
.
during Father Le Loutre's War
on the ruins of Beaubassin, the French countered by establishing Fort Beauséjour
on the opposite side of side of the boundary on what is now called the Aulac Ridge.
As a result of the British threat, Le Loutre had Beaubassin burned. In total there were 42 Acadian buildings burned. Upon leaving Beaubassin defeated, Lawrence arrived at Piziquid and built Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
, having the Acadians destroy their church and replace it with the British fort. Lawrence eventually returned to the area of Beaubassin, to build Fort Lawrence
.
At Pisiguit there was little resistance to building Fort Edward. However, at Beaubassin Charles Lawrence faced resistance to building Fort Lawrence
. Along with initially burning the village, upon Lawrence's return, Mi'kmaq and Acadians were dug in at Beaubassin trying to defend the remains of the village. Again Le Loutre was joined by Acadian militia leader Joseph Broussard
. They were eventually overwhelmed by force and the New Englanders proceeded to erect Fort Lawrence
at Beaubassin.
Le Loutre saved the bell from Notre Dame d'Assumption Church in Beaubassin and put it into the cathedral he had built beside Fort Beausejour
(1753–55).
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.
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, which was Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
. The area is now known as the Tantramar Marshes
Tantramar Marshes
The Tantramar Marshes is a National Wildlife Area on the southern part of the Isthmus of Chignecto, which joins Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and the Canadian mainland. It is the site of the historic Battle of Fort Beauséjour, the final chapter in the long battle for Acadia by the British and French...
. Beaubassin was settled in 1672, the second Acadian village to be established after Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
. The village was one of the largest and most prosperous in Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
. Beaubassin-Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
is a National Historic Site of Canada. The Beaubassin area included Weskak (present day Westcock), Pre des Bourgs (Sackville), Pre des Richards (Middle Sackville
Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia
Middle Sackville is a suburban community located in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.Middle Sackville is located immediately north of Lower Sackville and south of Upper Sackville...
), La Butte, Le Coupe and Le Lac at the confluence of the Missiguash, Menouie and Eleysian Fields, Maccan (Makon), Nappan (Nepane) and Riviere Hebert. (See Map of Beaubassin)
During Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
, Beaubassin was destroyed as part of the Acadian Exodus
Acadian Exodus
The Acadian Exodus happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories...
from mainland Nova Scotia. Its residents were resettled to the west side of the Missaquash River and the protection of Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
.
Origins
Acadians, led by a surgeon called Jacob Bourgeois, founded the village of Beaubassin in 1672.Michael Leneuf de Beaubassin (1640–1705, the elder) was in the French Navy. In 1676, Beaubassin and Sieur Richard Denys as second in command, seized three English vessels from Boston that were taking on coal at Cape Breton. As a result of his success, Frontenac was given a grant to a large piece of land at the Isthmus of Chignecto which became known as the Beaubassin seigneury (1684).
By 1685, there were 22 houses in Beaubassin. In 1686, the area was constituted into a parish and Father Claude Trouvé, of Quebec, built Beaubassin's first church. The parish church was located on the site of the present day monument to Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
, and the railroad crosses the church cemetery.
Raid in 1696
King William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
French and Native raids on Maine, specifically on Pemaquid, Maine (present day Bristol, Maine
Bristol, Maine
Bristol is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,644 at the 2000 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S. National...
) earlier that year. In response, the English colonial militia leader Benjamin Church led a devastating raid on Beaubassin in 1696.
Church and four hundred men (50 to 150 of whom were Indians, likely Iroquois) arrived offshore of Beaubassin on September 20. They managed to get ashore and surprise the Acadian. Many fled while one confronted Church with papers showing they had signed an oath of allegiance in 1690 to the English king.
Church was unconvinced. He burned a number of buildings, killed inhabitants, looted their household goods, and slaugthered their livestock. Governor Villebon reported that "the English stayed at Beaubassin nine whole days without drawing any supplies from their vessels, and even those settlers to whom they had shown a pretence of mercy were left with empty houses and barns and nothing else except the clothes on their backs."
Raid in 1704
In Queen Anne's WarQueen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, Church returned to Acadia, raiding Beaubassin and other Acadian communities on the Bay of Fundy. The raid was in response to a French Raid on Deerfield earlier in 1704. Church also raided a French settlement near present-day Castine, Maine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
, Grand Pre
Raid on Grand Pre
The Raid on Grand Pré was the major action of a raiding expedition conducted by New England militia Colonel Benjamin Church against French Acadia in June 1704, during Queen Anne's War...
, and Pisiguit
Pisiguit
In the Minas Basin of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, the settlement of Grand-Pré grew eastward towards the Pisiquid River. This settlement became known as Pisiguit or . Pisiguit came from the Mi'kmaq term Pesaquid, meaning "Junction of Waters". It became so large that it was viewed as...
.
De Ramezay Expedition (1747)
In preparation for the attack on the Acadian capital of Annapolis Royal, Nova ScotiaAnnapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
, De Ramezay arrived from Quebec and gathered forces at Beaubassin. He eventually retreated from the capital because the Duc d'Anville Expedition
Duc d'Anville Expedition
The Duc d'Anville Expedition was sent from France to recapture peninsular Acadia . The expedition was the largest military force ever to set sail for the New World prior to the American Revolution. The effort to take the Nova Scotian capital, Annapolis Royal was also supported on land by a force...
failed to arrive. De Ramesay again stationed himself at Beaubassin. In response to the threat of the Duc d'Anville Expedition
Duc d'Anville Expedition
The Duc d'Anville Expedition was sent from France to recapture peninsular Acadia . The expedition was the largest military force ever to set sail for the New World prior to the American Revolution. The effort to take the Nova Scotian capital, Annapolis Royal was also supported on land by a force...
, Massachusetts Governor William Shirley
William Shirley
William Shirley was a British colonial administrator who served twice as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and as Governor of the Bahamas in the 1760s...
sent Colonel Arthur Noble
Arthur Noble
Arthur Noble was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the colonial militia of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay. He is best known for his role in military actions in Nova Scotia during King George's War...
and hundreds of New England soldiers to occupy Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and remove De Ramezay. One of the most startling successes of De Ramezay's campaign was the attack on a superior force of Colonel Arthur Noble
Arthur Noble
Arthur Noble was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the colonial militia of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay. He is best known for his role in military actions in Nova Scotia during King George's War...
's militia in the Battle of Grand Pre
Battle of Grand Pré
The Battle of Grand Pré, also known as the Battle of Minas, was a battle in King George's War that took place between British and French forces near present-day Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia in the winter of 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession...
.
Father Le Loutre's War
Beaubassin was located near what became the de facto dividing line between French Acadia and the British province of Nova Scotia. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, in which France ceded Acadia to Britain, did not specify boundaries, and France claimed that only the peninsular portion of Acadia had been ceded. As a result, when the British established Fort LawrenceFort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
during Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
on the ruins of Beaubassin, the French countered by establishing Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
on the opposite side of side of the boundary on what is now called the Aulac Ridge.
As a result of the British threat, Le Loutre had Beaubassin burned. In total there were 42 Acadian buildings burned. Upon leaving Beaubassin defeated, Lawrence arrived at Piziquid and built Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
, having the Acadians destroy their church and replace it with the British fort. Lawrence eventually returned to the area of Beaubassin, to build Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
.
At Pisiguit there was little resistance to building Fort Edward. However, at Beaubassin Charles Lawrence faced resistance to building Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
. Along with initially burning the village, upon Lawrence's return, Mi'kmaq and Acadians were dug in at Beaubassin trying to defend the remains of the village. Again Le Loutre was joined by Acadian militia leader Joseph Broussard
Joseph Broussard
Joseph Gaurhept Broussard , also known as Beausoleil, was a leader of the Acadian people in Acadia; later Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Broussard organized a resistance movement against the forced Expulsion of the Acadians...
. They were eventually overwhelmed by force and the New Englanders proceeded to erect Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
at Beaubassin.
Le Loutre saved the bell from Notre Dame d'Assumption Church in Beaubassin and put it into the cathedral he had built beside Fort Beausejour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
(1753–55).
There is a stone marker near the Nova Scotia visitor centre off the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
in Amherst, Nova Scotia
Amherst, Nova Scotia
Amherst is a Canadian town in northwestern Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.Located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, Amherst is strategically situated on the eastern boundary of the Tantramar Marshes 3 kilometres east of the interprovincial border with New...
commemorating the village's existence.