François du Pont Duvivier
Encyclopedia
Captain François Dupont Duvivier (fʁɑ̃swa dypɔ̃ dyvivje; 25 April 1705 – 28 May 1776) was an Acadia
n-born merchant and officer of the French
colonial troupes de la marine
.
, Acadia
, the eldest of the three sons of François du Pont Duvivier
and Marie Mius d'Entremont de Pobomkou on April 25, 1705. With the cession in 1713 of Acadia to the British the Duviviers were sent to the new colony of Île Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island
) where, through various business endeavours they became one of the wealthiest and most prestigious families. François upheld his family's strong military traditions, enlisting as a cadet in the French troupes de la marine
in 1716, and being commissioned an ensign three years later. By 1730 he had earned promotion to lieutenant and in 1737 he was made Captain in the Compagnies Franches garrison of Louisbourg
.
, the West Indies, and France, canny manipulation of the law, and the usage of his military rank as leverage he earned a reputation as a businessman of great acumen who was not afraid to use unscrupulous business practices to further his own ambitions. By 1745 his fortune was roughly estimated by a contemporary at the vast sum of 200,000 livres.
n theatre became known among Americans
as King George's War
(but is known more generally as the War of the Austrian Succession
), Duvivier was chosen to command a raiding party of 350 men in an attack
on the British settlement at Canso
. After the success of this raid the captain was charged with the task of raising an Acadian and Mi'kmaq army to capture Annapolis Royal (as Port Royal had been renamed), the only significant British stronghold in Nova Scotia. Having achieved less than expected success in gathering these forces, Duvivier arrived at Annapolis Royal with an army that was inadequate to the task of forcing a surrender. After laying siege to the settlement for nearly a month he received word that reinforcements and naval support from Louisbourg would not arrive, forcing him to break siege and return to Île Royale.
and prepared to join a relief expedition to Louisbourg. However, the fall of Louisbourg
to British colonists under the command of William Pepperrell
halted all plans for a relief expedition, compelling Duvivier to stay in France. In 1747 he resigned his captain's commission only to rejoin at half pay in 1749 in order to make a bid for the governorship of Île Royale, newly restored to the French in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
. Failing in this he remained in France, retiring from the military in 1753 with a pension of 1,200 livres. Records of Duvivier disappear for the next twenty years, but it can be presumed that he spent most of this time living on his estate at Le Vivier, near Chalais
in the commune of Sérignac
before dying on the 28th of May, 1776. The vast fortune he had accumulated in North America had dwindled to 25,000 livres, which was inherited by his sister-in-law.
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...
n-born merchant and officer of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonial troupes de la marine
Troupes de la marine
See also Troupes de Marine for later history of same Corps.The Troupes de la Marine , also known as independent companies of the navy and colonial regulars, were under the authority of the French Minister of Marine, who was also responsible for the French navy, overseas trade, and French...
.
Early life
François Dupont Duvivier was born in Port RoyalPort 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...
, 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...
, the eldest of the three sons of François du Pont Duvivier
François du Pont Duvivier
Captain François Dupont Duvivier was an Acadian-born merchant and officer of the French colonial troupes de la marine.- Early life :François Dupont Duvivier was born in Port Royal, Acadia, the eldest of the three sons of François du Pont Duvivier and Marie Mius d'Entremont de Pobomkou on April 25,...
and Marie Mius d'Entremont de Pobomkou on April 25, 1705. With the cession in 1713 of Acadia to the British the Duviviers were sent to the new colony of Île Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
) where, through various business endeavours they became one of the wealthiest and most prestigious families. François upheld his family's strong military traditions, enlisting as a cadet in the French troupes de la marine
Troupes de la marine
See also Troupes de Marine for later history of same Corps.The Troupes de la Marine , also known as independent companies of the navy and colonial regulars, were under the authority of the French Minister of Marine, who was also responsible for the French navy, overseas trade, and French...
in 1716, and being commissioned an ensign three years later. By 1730 he had earned promotion to lieutenant and in 1737 he was made Captain in the Compagnies Franches garrison of Louisbourg
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th century French fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia...
.
Business ventures
Duvivier proved himself an astute businessman in Louisbourg, rapidly accruing a vast fortune and becoming one of the wealthiest officers in the colony. Through a series of trading ventures with New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, the West Indies, and France, canny manipulation of the law, and the usage of his military rank as leverage he earned a reputation as a businessman of great acumen who was not afraid to use unscrupulous business practices to further his own ambitions. By 1745 his fortune was roughly estimated by a contemporary at the vast sum of 200,000 livres.
King George's War
At the outbreak of the hostilities between France and Great Britain whose North AmericaNorth 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...
n theatre became known among Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
(but is known more generally as the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
), Duvivier was chosen to command a raiding party of 350 men in an attack
Raid on Canso
The Raid on Canso was an attack by French forces from Louisbourg on the British outpost of Canso, Nova Scotia shortly after war declarations opened King George's War. The French raid was intended to boost morale, secure Louisbourg's supply lines with the surrounding Acadian settlements, and deprive...
on the British settlement at Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
. After the success of this raid the captain was charged with the task of raising an Acadian and Mi'kmaq army to capture Annapolis Royal (as Port Royal had been renamed), the only significant British stronghold in Nova Scotia. Having achieved less than expected success in gathering these forces, Duvivier arrived at Annapolis Royal with an army that was inadequate to the task of forcing a surrender. After laying siege to the settlement for nearly a month he received word that reinforcements and naval support from Louisbourg would not arrive, forcing him to break siege and return to Île Royale.
Later life
After the expedition to Annapolis Royal Duvivier returned to France where he carried the colony's dispatches to VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
and prepared to join a relief expedition to Louisbourg. However, the fall of Louisbourg
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
to British colonists under the command of William Pepperrell
William Pepperrell
Sir William Pepperrell, 1st Baronet was a merchant and soldier in Colonial Massachusetts. He is widely remembered for organizing, financing, and leading the 1745 expedition that captured the French garrison at Fortress Louisbourg during King George's War...
halted all plans for a relief expedition, compelling Duvivier to stay in France. In 1747 he resigned his captain's commission only to rejoin at half pay in 1749 in order to make a bid for the governorship of Île Royale, newly restored to the French in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
. Failing in this he remained in France, retiring from the military in 1753 with a pension of 1,200 livres. Records of Duvivier disappear for the next twenty years, but it can be presumed that he spent most of this time living on his estate at Le Vivier, near Chalais
Chalais, Charente
Chalais is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.-Population:...
in the commune of Sérignac
Sérignac
Sérignac may refer to the following places in France:* Sérignac, Lot, a commune in the Lot department* Sérignac, Tarn-et-Garonne, a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department...
before dying on the 28th of May, 1776. The vast fortune he had accumulated in North America had dwindled to 25,000 livres, which was inherited by his sister-in-law.