THE WARS OF THE ENGLISH AND SPANISH SUCCESSIONS (1684-1713)
The impending conflict.--Before the close of the Stuart period, it was
evident that a great international struggle was at hand. Louis XIV of
France aspired to overshadow England, Austria, and Spain. The dependence
of the later Stuarts upon Louis temporarily delayed the outbreak of
hostilities, but when James II was driven from the English throne the
contest broke forth and continued intermittently until France was
humbled and England had become the foremost commercial and colonial
power.
THE PRELIMINARY STRUGGLE FOR THE NORTHERN FUR COUNTRY
Sphere of French influence.--When Frontenac returned to France in 1682,
the French were predominant in Acadia, in the St. Lawrence Valley, in
the region of the Great Lakes, and in the Illinois country, and were
extending their power into the lower valley of the Mississippi. In the
West Indies they had secured a foothold. The missionary and the
fur-trader had been the instruments of interior expansion, the Indian
the source of wealth. To keep control of the natives and to win new
tribes to church and trade was the settled policy of France. The Abenaki
of Maine were between Acadia and Massachusetts and were friends of the
French. To the south of Lake Ontario were the Iroquois, the friends of
the English. In the upper lake region the various Algonquin tribes had
long been subservient to the French. Their furs were brought to Three
Rivers, Montreal, or Quebec, or were traded to the _coureurs de bois_.
The English policy.--To wrest the fur monopoly of the north from the
French was one of the mainsprings of Stuart policy. The establishment of
the Hudson's Bay Company posts, an alliance with the Iroquois, and the
attempt to gain control of the Huron region, thus cutting off the French
from the upper lakes and the Illinois country, were the means adopted
to carry out the policy. To defeat it was the problem of the governors
of New France. A similar conflict was in process in the southwest.
La Barre and the Iroquois, 1684.--The successor of Frontenac was La
Barre. Upon arrival he found conditions deplorable. A disastrous fire
had devastated Quebec and the Iroquois were on the warpath against the
Illinois, Hurons, Ottawas, and other "children of the French." La Barre
at first temporized with the Iroquois, but their depredations continued,
fostered by Dongan, the governor of New York. La Barre finally realized
that his policy was alienating the interior tribes and he determined
upon war. He gathered a force of Indians and French and entered the
Iroquois country where he was met by a deputation of Iroquois chiefs.
After an extended conference, instead of a war of extermination, peace
was ignominiously agreed upon, in spite of the fact that the Iroquois
refused to desist from war on the Illinois. In the meantime Duluth and
other leaders had brought five hundred warriors to Niagara, who arrived
at the rendezvous only to learn that peace had been made. With sullen
hatred in their hearts, the disappointed warriors returned to their
haunts. French influence in the region of the lakes had suffered a
severe blow.
Denonville and Dongan.--The king had determined upon the recall of La
Barre, and Denonville, "a pious colonel of dragoons," assumed the
governorship. He at once entered into a correspondence with Dongan. Both
governors lacked resources to carry out an effective campaign; both
resorted to Jesuit influence to obtain control of the Iroquois; and both
determined to build a fort at Niagara. Denonville, in addition, planned
to erect forts at Toronto, on Lake Erie, and at Detroit, and Duluth
actually erected a stockade at the lower end of Lake Huron. Dongan in
1685 eleven canoes to the upper lakes where a successful trade was
carried on. The following year a larger flotilla was despatched,
followed by an expedition which was intended to make a treaty of trade
and alliance with the lake Indians.
French attack on the Iroquois.--Dongan, however, received despatches
from England which led him to believe that his policy might not meet
with the entire approval of his government. He accordingly wrote a
conciliatory letter to Denonville, accompanied by a present of oranges.
Denonville replied, "Monsieur, I thank you for your oranges. It is a
great pity that they were all rotten." His sarcasm was the more
effective when it is known that eight hundred French regulars were in
the colony, and that as many more were on the way. In the spring of 1687
Denonville was prepared to strike. Leaving eight hundred regulars to
protect the settlements, he gathered two thousand men at Ft. Frontenac.
In addition Tonty and other post commanders had raised a considerable
force in the interior which captured the canoes sent by Dongan. The
combined forces of French and Indians, totaling nearly three thousand,
penetrated the country of the Senecas, defeated them, and burned their
villages. But instead of completing the conquest of the Iroquois
country, Denonville led his forces to Niagara where a fort was erected,
and then returned to Montreal. The expedition served merely to set the
Iroquois hive buzzing, and to increase the influence of the English.
Iroquois reprisals.--The Iroquois soon began a war of reprisal, raid
after raid being made on the French settlements. Denonville's courage
seemed to be paralyzed. He sent an agent to Albany to make an
arrangement with Dongan, who insisted that Forts Niagara and Frontenac
be abandoned. Denonville hesitated until the summer of 1688, when Big
Mouth, an Onondaga chief, appeared at Montreal. An understanding was
reached by which the governor agreed to abandon Niagara and restore
captives, no provision being made for protection of the interior tribes.
A Huron chief, the Rat, hearing of the treaty, determined that the war
should continue. Ascertaining that a party of Onondagas were on their
way to the French settlements to complete the peace arrangements, the
Rat and his followers ambushed them. The attack had the desired effect,
the Iroquois concluding that the treaty was a ruse. An ominous peace
prevailed until the French believed that danger had passed. Suddenly in
the summer of 1689 a force of fourteen hundred Iroquois attacked the
settlements. Instead of retaliating, the frightened governor ordered the
abandonment of Ft. Frontenac. This was his last important act, for he
was recalled and Count Frontenac was sent to save the colony.
[Illustration: The Intercolonial Wars.]
The Hudson Bay posts.--While these events had been taking place, in the
far north another conflict was waged. No attempt was made to impede the
English on Hudson Bay until 1682, when Radisson and Groseilliers, now
turned French, with two vessels took possession of the English post at
the mouth of the Nelson River, but the Frenchmen soon transferred their
allegiance once more to the English. La Barre was instructed to check
English encroachments and to propose that neither nation establish new
posts. In 1685 a Canadian company was formed to trade in the north.
Denonville considered this an excuse for attacking the English. In 1686
a hundred men commanded by De Troyes, one of his lieutenants being
Iberville, the future founder of Louisiana, were sent overland to make
the attack. Fort Hayes, Ft. Rupert, and Ft. Albany were captured, Fort
Nelson being the only post left in English hands. French ascendency for
the time being was established on Hudson Bay.
THE WAR OF THE ENGLISH SUCCESSION
William's accession precipitates war.--In spite of these conditions in
America, England and France at home had been at peace. It was of more
importance to Louis XIV to support a Catholic king of England than to
wage open war for the control of the Indian country. But with the
overthrow of James II the political situation in Europe was completely
changed. William of Orange ascended the throne of England, and Holland,
England, several of the German states, Austria, and Spain were welded
into a great coalition. Louis XIV championed the Stuart cause and the
War of the English Succession was on. In America the struggle is known
as King William's War; in Europe it is usually referred to as the War of
the Palatinate. In the course of it the Caribbean Sea was the scene of
constant conflict. The hostile zones on the mainland had been
established in the struggle for the fur trade--the lands of the Abenaki,
Iroquois, and upper lake tribes, and the Hudson Bay country.
_THE WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN_
Four years of war.--In 1689 the French inhabitants of St. Christopher
rose against the English inhabitants and expelled them from the island.
The French also broke up a Dutch station in Guiana. Early in 1690
England sent Commodore Wright to the West Indies. Convoying a large
fleet, his squadron reached Barbados on May 11. Being reinforced by
Barbadian troops he reoccupied St. Christopher, the reduction being
completed July 16. A few days later St. Eustatius surrendered to the
English. In 1690 Trinidad was also attacked by the French. In March,
1691, Wright attacked Guadeloupe but failed to take it or to capture the
French squadron under M. Ducasse. Commodore Ralph Wrenn took command of
the English fleet in January, 1692, and the following month fought an
indecisive battle near Jamaica with a superior French force. In that
year a great earthquake destroyed Port Royal, the English capital of
Jamaica. The refugees founded Kingston which eventually superseded Port
Royal as the seat of government.
Martinique, Santo Domingo, and Jamaica.--In 1693 nine vessels reinforced
the West Indian fleet and the combined forces, backed by Barbadian
troops, attacked Martinique, but failed to take it. In September of the
following year a squadron attacked Leogane, a French town in Santo
Domingo, but was repulsed. A French expedition from Santo Domingo also
desolated the southeastern coast of Jamaica but at Carlisle Bay was
beaten off by the colonial militia. In March, 1695, an English and
Spanish fleet attacked the French settlements in Santo Domingo and
succeeded in forcing the abandonment of Cape Francois and Port de Paix.
Cartagena and Petit Gouave.--In April, 1697, a great English fleet under
Vice-Admiral John Neville rendezvoused at Barbados to forestall a
rumored enterprise of the enemy. M. de Pointas had been sent with large
reinforcements to assist M. Ducasse. The combined French fleet attacked
Cartagena, took much booty, and eluded Neville. The English commander
visited Cartagena, which he found had again been despoiled by
buccaneers. He then despatched Captain Mees with nine vessels to burn
Petit Gouave, a mission which he accomplished.
_THE WAR OF THE CANADIAN FRONTIERS_
The Maine frontier.--Andros had sent an expedition against the Abenaki
and had fortified the frontier, his most northern fort being at
Pemaquid, but with his fall the garrison had been reduced. During the
summer of 1689 the Indians destroyed Pemaquid and killed most of the
settlers in that region. Casco (Portland) was then attacked but was
relieved by a counter expedition.
The French attack.--In August Frontenac was sent to assume the
governorship of Canada. In New France he found despair and desolation.
He decided to send out three expeditions, one from Montreal into the
upper Hudson Valley, the others from Three Rivers and Quebec to raid the
New England frontier. The three expeditions started about February 1,
1690. The Montreal party surprised Schenectady, where sixty persons were
massacred. A party from Albany started in pursuit and succeeded in
killing about twenty of the retreating French and Indians. The Three
Rivers expedition attacked Salmon Falls, where thirty persons were
killed and about fifty made prisoners. A relief party from Portsmouth
caught up with the raiders at Wooster River, but after a spirited fight
the French and Indians escaped. Being reinforced by Indians they joined
the party from Quebec. The united force of four or five hundred men in
May attacked the fort and blockhouses on Casco Bay, killing or capturing
the garrison, massacring or carrying into captivity most of the
inhabitants, and burning the settlements.
Frontenac's Indian policy.--Frontenac also sent an expedition of one
hundred men to Michilimackinac to keep control of the upper lake
Indians. On the way an Iroquois war party was defeated at Sand Point on
the Ottawa River. The French victory and news of the successful raids on
the English frontier had far-reaching effects, for they kept the Hurons
and Ottawas in subjection.
The English defence.--The attack upon the English colonies was
well-timed, for confusion prevailed in New England and New York. Andros
had been overthrown and Leisler's rebellion was in full swing. Little
help could be expected from England, for James II, with French and Irish
aid, was battling to regain his throne. In May, 1690, the New England
colonies sent delegates to a congress at New York to determine on a
military policy. A two-fold attack was planned; a land expedition
against Montreal and a naval expedition against Quebec.
The Montreal fiasco.--The expedition against Montreal was placed under
Fitz-John Winthrop of Connecticut, who led his men as far as the
southern end of Lake Champlain. Here smallpox broke out, disagreements
with the Indians ensued, and provisions ran short. Winthrop soon
discovered that a descent on Montreal was impossible, and he
ingloriously led most of his men back to Albany. Captain John Schuyler,
however, with a small detachment proceeded northward and raided the
village of Laprairie near Montreal.
The capture of Port Royal.--While New England delegates were at New York
a preliminary expedition was sent against Acadia, Sir William Phips, a
New Englander who had achieved great renown and wealth by locating a
Spanish treasure ship which had been wrecked off the Bahamas, was placed
in command of seven vessels. On May 11, 1690, the fleet appeared before
Port Royal, which surrendered without a shot being fired. One of the
vessels under Captain Alden captured a French post on the Penobscot and
seized several settlements on the southern shore of Nova Scotia.
The expedition against Quebec.--In the meantime Massachusetts was
preparing for her great attempt on Quebec Thirty vessels were gathered,
but the fleet was short of ammunition, due to the fact that the French
had gained temporary control of the sea by defeating the English and
Dutch fleets at Beachy Head. The fleet commanded by Phips sailed from
Boston on August 9, 1690, but it was not until October 16 that it came
in sight of Quebec. The slow progress prevented a surprise and gave
Frontenac time to complete his defences. When Phips demanded that Quebec
surrender, he received a haughty refusal. Phips then attempted to
capture the town, but the plan was poorly executed, ammunition ran
short, and reinforcements poured into the city so rapidly that the
defenders soon outnumbered the English. A council of war was held, and
it was decided to abandon the undertaking. A week of intermittent
fighting had brought nothing but failure, which was made the more trying
by the loss of several vessels on the return voyage.
Frontenac's policy in 1691.--After the attack on Quebec, the war
developed into a desultory frontier conflict in which the French were
usually on the offensive. The Iroquois continued to raid the French
settlements, but they were soon severely chastised, when forty or fifty
warriors were surrounded at Repentigny, near Montreal, and killed or
captured. This event and the timely arrival of several French vessels
impressed an Ottawa deputation which had come to Quebec, and the French
power among the interior tribes was greatly strengthened.
Schuyler's expedition.--The English influence among the Iroquois was
waning; to reassert it an expedition under Peter Schuyler was sent from
Albany. It traversed Lake Champlain and the Richelieu and proceeded
toward Laprairie de la Madeleine where it was attacked by a superior
force. After stubborn fighting, Schuyler made an orderly retreat.
Acadia and the Abenaki.--In Acadia Phips had made the blunder of leaving
no garrison; the French accordingly reoccupied it. Deeming the location
of Port Royal too exposed, M. de Villebon, the lieutenant-governor of
Acadia, moved his headquarters to Naxouat on the St. John's River, from
which vantage point he was able to direct attacks on New England. In
February, 1692, a band of Abenaki wiped out the settlement at York, and
later unsuccessfully attacked Wells. Minor raids were also made on the
towns of central Massachusetts. To protect the frontier Phips ordered
the rebuilding of Fort Pemaquid and the erection of a fort at the falls
of the Saco. Scarcely were they completed, when Iberville, in command of
two French vessels, attacked Pemaquid but failed to capture it.
The Iroquois frontier.--The Iroquois continued to infest the region
between the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, but during 1692 and 1693
they were severely punished, and ceased to be an important factor in the
war. Frontenac then determined to reopen the fur trade. He accordingly
sent a detachment to Michilimackinac asking that furs be sent to
Montreal. In August, 1693, a flotilla of two hundred canoes arrived and
shortly afterward Tonty, with a large body of _coureurs de bois_ came to
discuss matters. Tonty soon returned to the Illinois country well
equipped to strengthen his hold on the natives. The fortifications at
Quebec were also remodeled. In 1695 Fort Frontenac was reestablished and
the following year an expedition of over two thousand men was sent
against the Onondagas and Oneidas. They abandoned their villages and the
French destroyed their crops. Though no battle was fought the expedition
served its end, for the Iroquois were duly impressed by the power of the
French.
The New England frontier.--In 1693 an English fleet from the West Indies
arrived at Boston and the idea of an expedition against Quebec was
revived, but there was so much sickness among the men that the plan was
abandoned. During 1693 and 1694 both English and French sought to
control the Abenaki, but in spite of a treaty made by Phips, the French
succeeded in holding their allies. In July, 1694, the Indians attacked
Durham, massacring over a hundred of the inhabitants, and a few days
later killed about forty people at Groton. Two years later Iberville
again appeared before Pemaquid and this time succeeded in capturing it.
He then sailed to Newfoundland, captured and burned St. Johns, and
plundered the settlements on the coast. The English retaliated by
burning the French settlement at Beaubassin but were repulsed at
Naxouat. In March, 1697, Haverhill was raided by the Indians, and in
February, 1698, after the treaty of peace, they attacked Andover. In the
last year of the war an attack upon Boston and New York by land and sea
was determined upon and a fleet set sail from France, but the treaty of
peace ended hostilities.
_ACTIVITIES ON HUDSON BAY; PEACE_
Operations of Iberville.--When the war opened, the French were in
control of the posts about James Bay, while Fort Nelson, commanding the
great interior water-ways, was in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1689 Fort Albany was captured by the English. The following year
Iberville recaptured it, but in 1692 it again passed out of French
hands. In 1694 the French government determined to assist the Compagnie
du Nord; Iberville, being sent to the bay with two frigates, captured
Fort Nelson. Two years later it was retaken by the English. In 1697
Iberville penetrated the bay, this time with five vessels. Becoming
separated from the rest of the fleet, Iberville encountered three armed
vessels of the Hudson's Bay Company. After a thrilling naval battle the
English were worsted, and the French once more took possession of Fort
Nelson. At the end of the war the only important post left in English
hands was Fort Albany.
The Peace of Ryswick.--In 1697 the war was brought to an end by the
peace of Ryswick, by which Louis XIV acknowledged William III as king
of England. The results of the fighting in America were ignored, the
powers agreeing to restore to each other all places taken in the war.
The ownership of the Abenaki and Iroquois lands, and of the Hudson Bay
country was left unsettled.
THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
French expansion.--The peace of Ryswick was only a truce. France took
advantage of the peace to begin to establish her power in the
Mississippi Valley and to strengthen her hold upon the Northwest. In
1699 Biloxi was founded on the Gulf and in succeeding years France
brought under control most of the tribes of the lower Mississippi
Valley. In 1701 the French occupied Detroit to cut off the English from
one of the routes to the fur country, and strengthened their hold on the
Illinois country.[1]
The Spanish Succession.--Upon the death of Philip IV in 1665 the
incompetent Charles II came to the throne of Spain. Court intrigues
stimulated by France and Austria, and utter lack of statesmanship at a
time when France was reaching out in every direction, brought Spain to
the lowest point in her history. Fearing that she would pass under
French control, thereby destroying the balance of power in Europe,
William III of England sought to check French power by the so-called
Second Treaty of Partition, by which the Austrian Archduke Charles was
to inherit the crown of Spain upon the death of Charles II, Spanish
possessions in Italy were to go to the Dauphin of France, and Spanish
and Austrian possessions were never to be united. To this arrangement
France, Austria, and England agreed, but the treaty proved to be but a
scrap of paper. In 1700 Charles II died and his will designated Philip
of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, as his heir.
England determines upon war.--War was not at once declared, for the
English people were slow to recognize the danger. But when French troops
occupied the border fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands, when French
edicts excluded British manufactures, when the English and Dutch trade,
especially the slave trade, was hampered in the Spanish colonies, and
when Louis XIV acknowledged the son of James II as king of England,
English statesmen were convinced that war was necessary. When Anne
ascended the throne in 1702, war was a foregone conclusion.
War zones in America.--The war areas were even more extensive in America
than in the War of the English Succession. In the South, the West
Indies, and the Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana frontiers, and in the
North, the New England border, Acadia, Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay were
the scenes of conflict.
[1] For details see Chapter XV.
_THE WAR IN THE WEST INDIES_
An indecisive struggle.--When William III became convinced that the war
was inevitable, he proposed to strike at Spanish commerce. In
furtherance of this policy a squadron was sent in 1701 to the West
Indies under Vice-Admiral John Benbow. In July, 1702, Benbow destroyed
or captured several vessels near Port-au-Prince, and supported by troops
under Major-General Hamilton, he occupied St. Christopher. The fleet in
August encountered that of Ducasse off Santa Marta to the northeast of
Cartagena and in a running fight which lasted several days the English
were worsted. In 1703 General Codrington attacked Guadeloupe but a
French reinforcement forced the English to retire. The same year a
combined French and Spanish force drove the English inhabitants from New
Providence and destroyed Fort Nassau, but it was soon reoccupied by the
English Vice-Admiral John Graydon who had been placed in command of the
West Indian fleet. Before his arrival several privateers had been
destroyed near the island of Santo Domingo and descents had been made on
St. Christopher and Guadeloupe. Graydon accomplished nothing and soon
sailed to Newfoundland, where his operations were also fruitless.
1705-1708.--During 1705 several prizes were taken and in 1706 the French
made a descent on St. Christopher. Their attack on the fort failed, but
they burned and plundered several plantations. Hearing that an English
fleet was expected, the French repaired to Nevis, which they occupied.
The English fleet under Commodore Kerr attacked Petit Gouave but failed
to capture it. In 1708 Commodore Charles Wager won an important
engagement when he attacked a Spanish fleet near. Cartagena. New
Providence was a second time attacked by the French and Spanish, which
led to the English abandonment of the island.
1711-1712.--In 1710 the Spaniards attacked the salt rakers on Turk's
Island but were driven off. In 1711 Commodore James Littleton attempted
to find the French fleet, which he located in the harbor of Cartagena.
Finding it too strong to attack, he loafed in the neighborhood, picking
up an occasional prize. Ducasse, who was convoying a fleet of Spanish
galleons, succeeded in getting them out of the harbor without being
observed and got them safely to Havana. A French squadron which made an
attempt against Antigua was driven into St. Pierre by the English fleet,
and a similar expedition against Montserrat was foiled. The following
year the French nearly ruined Berbice, a Dutch settlement in Guiana.
_THE WAR ON THE FLORIDA BORDER_
The southern border.--On the mainland the South Carolina settlements
formed the southern English frontier. The Spaniards occupied St.
Augustine, contiguous territory up the Georgia coast, Pensacola, and
intermediate points. To the west on the Gulf coast were the recently
established French settlements. In the interior lived the Apalachees,
Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. To control the trade of the
Indians and use them as allies was the policy of English, Spanish, and
French alike. The first blow fell on the Apalachee. In 1702 a force of
Apalachicolas, allies of the English, destroyed the mission of Santa Fe
in the Apalachee district, and a Spanish force was met at the Flint
River by Englishmen and Creek allies, and driven back.
Siege of St. Augustine.--The next attack of the English was directed
against St. Augustine. Hearing of their plans, Governor Zuniga sent to
Havana for reinforcements, abandoned the town of St. Augustine, and
provisioned the castle. The Carolina force of about twelve hundred
militia and Indians rendezvoused at Port Royal in September, 1702.
Colonel Robert Daniel, conducting the land forces, destroyed the mission
settlements on St. Mark's Island, captured the villages of St. Johns and
St. Marys, and plundered St. Augustine. Governor Moore conducted the
fleet, and the combined forces besieged the castle. Governor Zuniga
bravely withstood the siege for fifty days, and when Spanish vessels
arrived, Moore destroyed his ships, burned St. Augustine, and retreated
to Carolina.
Destruction of the Apalachee Missions.--Moore was superseded as governor
by Sir Nathaniel Johnson, who immediately strengthened the
fortifications at and near Charleston. Moore, desiring to build up his
waning reputation, persuaded Johnson to send him against the Apalachee.
Setting out with a force of fifty Carolinians and a thousand Creek
allies, in January, 1704, he captured the Apalachee town of Ayubale,
burned the mission, and then defeated a force of Spaniards and
Apalachee. The Indian villages were next destroyed; of thirteen
Apalachee towns, each with its mission, only one was spared. When Moore
withdrew he carried off fourteen hundred Apalachee prisoners and slaves.
Spanish expedition against Charleston.--In 1706 the French and Spaniards
at Havana organized an expedition to attack Carolina. In August a
frigate and four sloops, after taking on men and supplies at St.
Augustine, sailed to Charleston and demanded its surrender. A small
landing party was repulsed; six Carolina vessels sallied out, and after
an engagement the enemy withdrew.
Indian policy of the French.--To use the Indian allies to prevent the
spread of English settlement was a fundamental of French policy.
Iberville, the founder of Louisiana, planned to obtain control of the
great interior rivers by establishing forts, and to weld the Indians
into an alliance with the French by treaties and by trade. He even
contemplated moving some of the tribes to points of greater commercial
vantage. He also believed that he could obtain the aid of several
thousand warriors in attacking Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina.
Realizing the danger, the English traders were active among the tribes.
In 1708, probably at the instigation of the English, the Cherokees,
Arikas, Catawbas, and Alabamas formed an alliance. Four thousand
warriors descended on the French settlements, but lack of leadership
destroyed the effectiveness of the attack and but little damage was
done.
The Tuscarora War.--In 1711 the Tuscaroras, a North Carolina tribe, went
on the warpath and massacred about two hundred settlers. Virginia and
South Carolina sent aid, and in 1712 the Indians were defeated. The
Tuscaroras continued their depredations and in 1713 they were almost
annihilated. The remnant made their way to New York and were
incorporated with the Iroquois as a sixth nation.
_THE WAR ON THE CANADIAN BORDER_
Newfoundland and the New England frontier.--To deprive the French of the
profitable Newfoundland fisheries was the first endeavor of England in
the north. Captain John Leake arrived at St. Johns in August, 1702. He
cruised off Placentia Bay, making several small prizes and destroying
fishing craft. Before the end of October he had captured twenty-nine
sail, burned two vessels, and destroyed St. Peter's Fort. The New
England frontier was harried by the French and Abenaki. In 1699
Massachusetts had made a treaty at Casco Bay with the Maine Indians, but
the Jesuits soon brought them back to French allegiance. In 1703 a
second peace treaty was made with them, but within two months they were
on the warpath, almost wiping out the Maine settlements. In 1704 the
French and Indians surprised Deerfield in the Connecticut Valley,
killing about fifty and carrying off more than one hundred captives.
Almost every frontier settlement was attacked. Even Reading, Sudbury,
and Haverhill, within a short distance of Boston, were raided. To add to
the distress French privateers did serious damage to commerce and
fisheries.
Acadia.--The New Englanders retaliated with small counter raids, but
succeeded in inflicting little damage. It was finally determined to
strike at Acadia. An expedition was placed under Benjamin Church, a
veteran of King Philip's War. French settlements on the Bay of Fundy
were ravaged, but he failed to attack Port Royal. In 1707 an expedition,
recruited by Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, was again
sent against Port Royal, but the stubborn defense discouraged the
attacking force and the siege was abandoned. English vessels under
Captain John Underwood raided the Newfoundland coast, destroying many
settlements and fishing craft.
Plan to conquer Canada.--The conquest of Canada was urged by many of the
colonial leaders, the most active of whom was Colonel Samuel Vetch, a
Scotchman who had formerly seen service in the English army. In 1709 his
plan was endorsed by the British government, and preparations were made
to send a large force against Quebec by sea and a land expedition
against Montreal. But after great efforts had been made by the New
England colonies and New York, the British regulars were diverted to
Portugal, and the conquest of Canada had to be abandoned.
Conquest of Acadia.--The following year a force of four thousand
colonials, commanded by Francis Nicholson, aided by British men-of-war
and a regiment of marines, attacked and captured Port Royal. Acadia
became the British province of Nova Scotia, and the name of its capital
was changed to Annapolis Royal. The following year the English again
raided the French fishing stations in Newfoundland.
Failure of Walker's expedition.--In 1710 a Tory ministry came into
power, its chief members being the Earl of Oxford and Viscount
Bolingbroke. They were opposed to carrying on the war in Europe,
believing that England's best policy lay in colonial undertakings. The
conquest of Canada became the great object. As before, the attack was to
be by land and sea. Under Nicholson the land force, composed mainly of
colonials and eight hundred Iroquois, prepared to attack Montreal. The
expedition against Quebec was entrusted to Admiral Sir Bovenden Walker
and General Sir John Hill; a court favorite. Seven of Marlborough's best
regiments, veterans of Oudenarde and Ramillies, were placed on
transports which were convoyed by a large fleet of war vessels. The
great force gathered at Boston, where it was reinforced by fifteen
hundred colonials. In August, 1711, the fleet entered the St. Lawrence,
but there it met disaster. Sailing too close to the northern shore, ten
vessels were wrecked on the reefs and shoals of the Egg Islands. Stunned
by the calamity, the faint-hearted commander gave up the enterprise.
News of the disaster reached Nicholson at Lake Champlain. His force was
not strong enough to accomplish the conquest alone, and the attack on
Montreal was abandoned.
_THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY_
The Hudson's Bay Company had been sadly crippled at the end of the War
of the English Succession. Its shares fell in value and most of the
original owners sold their holdings. The only post which the company
held was Fort Albany, and in 1704 this was unsuccessfully attacked by a
party of French and Indians. The same year an English frigate captured
the principal ship of the Compagnie du Nord, causing great hardship in
the French forts. The Hudson's Bay Company during the war frequently
petitioned the Board of Trade for assistance, but, as they received
none, they appealed directly to the queen. When the final treaty was
made, the Hudson Bay country was taken into account.
_THE PEACE OF UTRECHT_
At the end of the war a series of agreements was drawn up by the various
powers. The treaties involving America dealt both with territory and
commerce. England obtained a recognition of her claims in the Hudson Bay
country and the possession of Newfoundland and Acadia. The claim of the
English to the Iroquois country was also admitted, and they were given
St. Christopher. Commercially the agreements dealt with the fisheries
and Spanish trade. The French were excluded from fishing on the Acadian
coast, but were allowed to keep Cape Breton Island and were given
certain fishing privileges on the Newfoundland coasts. An agreement with
Spain, known as the Asiento or contract, gave the English the exclusive
right for thirty years of bringing negroes into the Spanish possessions.
The English were also allowed to send an annual merchant ship of five
hundred tons burden to trade with Spanish ports.
READINGS
THE STRUGGLE FOR THE FUR COUNTRY
Bryce, George, _The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company_,
1-46; Kingsford, William, _The History of Canada_, II, 36-107; Laut,
Agnes, _The Conquest of the Great Northwest_, I, 97-255; Le Sueur, W.D.,
_Count Frontenac_, 170-228; Lorin, Henri, _Le Comte de Frontenac_,
275-352; Parkman, Francis, _Count Frontenac and New France under Louis
XIV_, 72-183; Thwaites, R.G., ed., _The Jesuit Relations_, LXII-LXIV.
THE WAR OF THE ENGLISH SUCCESSION
Bryce, George, _The Remarkable History of the Hudson's Bay Company_,
47-55; Clowes, W.L., _The Royal Navy_, II, 462-472, 492-495; Kingsford,
William, _The History of Canada_, II, 198-386; Laut, A.C., _The Conquest
of the Great Northwest_, I, 228-255; Le Sueur, W.D., _Count Frontenac_,
229-362; Lorin, Henri, _Le Comte de Frontenac_, 353-488; Manan, A.T.,
_The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783_, pp. 173-198;
Parkman, Francis, _Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV_,
184-427; Willson, Beckles, _The Great Company_, 182-197.
WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
Clowes, W.L., _The Royal Navy_, II, chs. 23-24; Greene, E.B.,
_Provincial America_, 136-165; Kingsford, William, _The History of
Canada_, III; Crady, Edward, _The History of Carolina under the
Proprietary Government, 1670-1719_, pp. 364-548; Parkman, Francis, _A
Half-Century of Conflict_, I, 1-297; Shea, J.G., _Catholic Church in
Colonial Days_, 454-479; Hamilton, P.J., _Colonization of the South_,
ch. 15.