Dutch Occupation of Acadia
Encyclopedia
Jurriaen Aernoutsz
Jurriaen Aernoutsz was a Dutch colonial navy captain, who briefly captured a section of the French colony of Acadia in 1674 AD, establishing the brief Dutch Occupation of Acadia....
seized several settlements of 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...
, a part of the French colonial empire
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
in northeastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, in 1674. Areas briefly occupied included coastal towns along the shores of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, two forts, and a French military headquarters. Effective control of the territory was never fully established. The French regained control of the area in 1675, and the formal Dutch claim to Acadia (1676) was finally abandoned with the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678.
History
In 1672 the Franco-Dutch WarFranco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
began, and England allied itself with the French. England and the Netherlands came to terms early in 1674, several months before the July day when Captain Jurriaen Aernoutsz
Jurriaen Aernoutsz
Jurriaen Aernoutsz was a Dutch colonial navy captain, who briefly captured a section of the French colony of Acadia in 1674 AD, establishing the brief Dutch Occupation of Acadia....
sailed into New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
harbor. Previously he had been sailing the North Atlantic Ocean looking for English and French ships to attack.
In New York he met a trader named John Rhoades
John Rhoades
John Rhoades was a fur trader from New England, who was part of Jurriaen Aernoutsz's short-lived conquest of Acadia in 1674.A resident of Massachusetts, Rhoades met with Aernoutsz shortly after the latter's arrival in New York City, and used his familiarity with the region to convince Aernoutsz to...
, a Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
resident thoroughly familiar with the fur trade on the coasts of Maine and Acadia, who told him that the Dutch were no longer at war with the English, but that France had yet to come to terms. Rhoades went on to explain to Aernoutsz that the French colony in Acadia was barely defended and ripe for conquest. Aernoutsz took this suggestion to his a crew and they agreed unanimously. John Rhoades would be the crew's guide.
Aernoutsz immediately set sail for Fort Pentagouet in Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
(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...
). There were only 30 French soldiers in the fort and they were lightly armed. The Dutchmen took the fort easily. While they were there they also took the French Military Headquarters. Following this, they sailed to Jemseg
Jemseg, New Brunswick
Jemseg is a Canadian rural community in Queens County, New Brunswick. It is located on the east bank of the Jemseg River along its short run from Grand Lake to the Saint John River...
and captured another French fort there. At both places, Aernoutsz buried bottles at Fort Pentagouet with messages inside them proclaiming that "Acadie" was to be Dutch possession and henceforward known as Nova Hollandia ("New Holland"). The commander of the Forts, Jacques de Chambly, was taken prisoner by the Dutch at this time.
Aernoutsz sailed to Boston where he disposed of his plunder, even selling the cannon from Fort Pentagouet to the Massachusetts government. Some time in October 1674 he sailed for Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, but left his prisoners and a number of his company in Boston, including John Rhoades.
Aernoutsz’s efforts were soon negated by the action of Massachusetts. John Rhoades and the other men Aernoutsz had left in Boston, acting under Aernoutsz's orders to return to Acadia and maintain possession, began seizing New England vessels coming to trade with the Native Americans. Massachusetts apprehended Rhoades and his cohorts and tried them as pirates. Ultimately they were all released or banished from Massachusetts.
Aftermath
In September 1676 the Dutch West India Company made a belated effort to capitalize on Aernoutsz’s conquest by granting Rhoades a commission to reside and trade in Acadia and by appointing Cornelis van SteenwijckCornelius Van Steenwyk
Cornelius Steenwyck served two terms as Mayor of New York City, the first from 1668 to 1672 Cornelius Steenwyck (born Cornelis Jacobsz Steenwijck; March 16, 1626 – November 21, 1684) served two terms as Mayor of New York City, the first from 1668 to 1672 Cornelius Steenwyck (born Cornelis...
, a Dutch merchant in New York, governor of the "coasts and countries of Nova Scotia and Acadie."
Although the territory was claimed by the Dutch, they had no real power over the area. Later in 1676, the two forts were reoccupied by the French. The dispute over the colony was resolved by the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678, in which the Dutch withdrew their claim to the colony. The treaty, which did not mention the claim specifically, also ended the Franco-Dutch War
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
.