|
|
1497
|
Norman, Breton and Basque fishermen begin visiting Newfoundland's Grand Banks.
|
|
1507 |
A Norman fisherman brings seven Indians with him when he returns to Rouen after fishing the Grand
Banks.
|
|
1509 |
Henry VIII becomes King of England.
|
|
1519 |
French, Portuguese and British fishing outposts are found on the shores of Newfoundland, the
Acadian peninsula, Cape Breton Island, and the St. Lawrence River.
|
|
1524 |
Italian explorer Giovanni Verrazano stops at a place on the Atlantic coast so lovely that he names it
Arcadia, for a place of beauty in ancient Greece.
|
|
1534
|
Jacques Cartier makes his first voyage to New France.
|
|
1547 |
Henry II becomes King of France; Edward VI becomes King of England.
|
|
1558 |
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.
|
|
1574 |
Henry III becomes King of France.
|
|
1578 |
Queen Elizabeth gives a charter to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, granting him the right to "inhabit
and possess all remote and heathen lands not in the actual possession of any Christian prince."
Gilbert is lost at sea, and his half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, inherits the claim.
|
|
1584 |
Raleigh lands in present-day North Carolina and names the land Virginia in honor of the "Virgin
Queen."
|
|
1585 |
Raleigh sends a colonizing expedition to Roanoke Island, Virginia. The settlement lasts less than
a year.
|
|
1588 |
A British fleet defeats the Spanish Armanda and opens the Atlantic to ships from other nations.
The French monarchy begins to grant fur trading monopolies to groups of merchants in
Acadia.
|
|
1589 |
Henry IV becomes King of France.
|
|
1598 |
Henry IV proclaims the Edit of Nantes, which established religious tolerance in France.
|
|
1603 |
Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts, is given exclusive fur trading rights in the region of
Acadia.
James I becomes King of England.
|
|
1604 |
On April 7, Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts, sails from France with Samuel Champlain and a tiny fleet
to establish a tiny settlement on Saint Croix Island in the Bay of Fundy.
|
|
1605 |
The Saint Croix habitation is moved to the Acadian peninsula and renamed Port Royal.
|
|
1606 |
Settlers at Port Royal present the first theater performance in North America, Le The tre de
Neptune, and Samuel Champlain founds the Ordre du Bon Temps (Order of Good Cheer),
in which settlers had to take turns providing game and fish for the table.
Queen Elizabeth grants royal charters to the Company of London and to the Virginia Company of
Plymouth.
The first expedition by the Plymouth Company is waylaid by the Spanish in the Caribbean.
|
|
1607 |
On May 24, de Monts receives the news that his fur trading monopoly in
Acadia has been
rescinded.
The London Company founds Jamestown, Virginia.
|
|
1608 |
Champlain establishes Quebec.
Pilgrims flee England to escape religious persecution; they end up in
the Netherlands.
|
|
1609 |
Henry Hudson sails up the river bearing his name in search for a
Northwest Passage to China.
Virginia is incorporated and many new settlers arrive.
The Spanish found Santa Fe, New Mexico.
|
|
1610 |
King Henry IV of France is assassinated.
Louis XIII becomes King of France.
Jean de Biencourt, Sieur de Poutrincourt, sails to France in hopes of
finding backing to revitalize the Acadian colony. |
|
1612 |
The Dutch settle what will become New York City.
|
|
1613 |
When disputes arise over ownership of the Acadian colonial rights, Antoinette de Pons, Marquise de
Guercheville, sends a ship to Port Royal to carry away anything that can be
transported.
Port Royal is left to fend for itself without any backing from France.
Samuel Argall attacks Dutch and French settlements in New England.
|
|
1617 |
Claude de La Tour sails to France to try to recruit colonists for the
Acadian colony. |
|
1619 |
The Pilgrims are granted a charter to settle Virginia.
Samuel Argall is sent from Virginia on another raid of the Acadian
settlements. |
|
1620
|
The Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower land at Plymouth Rock.
Basing his claim upon exploration by John Cabot in the 1400s, King James I declares that Massachusetts includes all of New France and the Acadian peninsula.
|
|
1621 |
The British crown gives title to "Nova Scotia" to Scotsman William Alexander, formally establishing
rival claims for the land the French call Acadia. |
|
1624 |
Cardinal Richelieu becomes the chief minister to King Louis XIII of
France. |
|
1625 |
Charles I becomes King of England. |
|
1628 |
The Kirke brothers, sailing for England, destroy several French posts in
North America. |
|
1629 |
The Massachusetts Bay Colony is formed in England with John Winthrop as governor.
William Alexander begins a Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia, names former Poutrincourt
ally Claude de La Tour as Baronet of Nova Scotia, and gives him a large
land grant there. La Tour tries to convince his son, Charles, who in in
command of the Acadian settlement, to join the English. Charles refuses. |
|
1630 |
Father and son, Claude and Charles de La Tour, take up arms against each other in
Acadia.
Puritans settle Salem, Massachusetts.
Boston is founded. |
|
1631 |
Sir Fernando Gorges begins settlement of the Maine and New Hampshire
areas for the English. |
|
1632
|
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye returns New France and Acadia
to French control.
Isaac de Razilly is named governor of Acadia. He travels to the colony with 300 people, livestock,
seeds, tools, arms, and everything needed to maintain a permanent agricultual
community. |
|
1633 |
Charles de La Tour attacks the English settlement at Machias, Maine, because he fears traders
there will poach profits from his operations at Jemseg on the Bay of Fundy.
|
|
1635 |
French traders from Acadia attempt to oust English traders from
the Penobscot Bay area.
|
|
1636 |
In April, the ship Saint-Jehan sailes from France bringing the first families to
Acadia.
Charles de Menou, Sieur d'Aulnay et de Charnisay, and Charles de La Tour begin fighting for
supremancy in Acadia. |
|
1641 |
Ministers in France cancel Charles de La Tour's trading concession and tell him to come to France
to explain his fight against d'Aulnay. La Tour refuses to go. |
|
1642 |
Civil war breaks out in England between the Puritans and the supporters
of King Charles I. |
|
1643 |
Louis XIV becomes King of France.
Charles de La Tour attacks the fort held by d'Aulnay at Port Royal.
|
|
1644 |
The French government declares Charles de La Tour an outlaw. |
|
1651 |
After d'Aulnay's death, fights erupt again over ownership of rights in
Acadia.
England tries to block Dutch trade with North America.
|
|
1653 |
Oliver Cromwell takes power in England. |
|
1654 |
An English force from Boston heads for Acadia with instructions
from Cromwell to clear the French from the place. The British capture
Port Royal and some other Acadian settlements.
|
|
1660 |
The monarchy is restored, as Charles II becomes King of England. |
|
1664 |
England and the Netherlands renew an old war. Part of the dispute is
over the English king's gift to the British Duke of York of all Dutch
holdings in North America. France allies with the Dutch. |
|
1667 |
The Treaty of Breda ends fighting between Dutch and English. Acadia
is restored to French hands.
|
|
1671 |
The first census is taken in Acadia.
|
|
1672 |
The French and Dutch begin fighting in Europe. This time, the English ally with France. For a
brief time, the Dutch claim title to Acadia.
Acadian settlements begin at Beaubassin. |
|
1682 |
Acadians begin to settle the Grand Pré
region.
|
|
1685 |
James II becomes King of England.
|
|
1689 |
William and Mary become King and Queen of England.
|
|
1690 |
King William's War begins in North America as the French and their
Indian allies stage attacks on bordering British colonies.
British retaliate with an expedition against Port Royal, which is forced
to surrender.
|
|
1691 |
New Englanders elect Edward Tyng of Maine as their governor of Acadia.
He flees Port Royal when the Acadians tell him they will stand aside
when the Indians attack and kill him.
|
|
1697 |
King William's War ends. the Treaty of Ryswick restores Acadia
to French control.
|
|
1702 |
Queen Anne assumes the British throne. |
|
1704 |
In May, during Queen Anne's War, British from New England again attack
Acadian settlements but Port Royal holds out against the first assaults.
|
|
1707 |
New Englanders attack Port Royal again. The Acadians resist
successfully.
|
|
1710 |
The Acadians are finally starved into submission at Port Royal. British
commanders change the name of the settlement to Annapolis Royal to honor
Queen Anne. On October 16, the banner of France is raised for the last
time at the Port Royal fort.
|
|
1713 |
The Nova Scotia peninsula, part of the original Acadia, is ceded
from France to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht. This time it will
stay in British hands.
|
|
1714 |
Queen Anne dies, and King George takes the throne in England. His new
governor requires that the Acadians take an oath of allegiance to the
British crown. They refuse. |
|
1715 |
Louis XV becomes King of France.
|
|
1717 |
Colonel Richard Phillips becomes governor of Acadia. He will remain
governor for 32 years. One of his first actions is to try to get the
Acadians to take an oath of allegiance. They refuse. |
|
1718 |
A British study shows they need the Acadians to farm the lands and feed
the men in British forts in Acadia. |
|
1724 |
A French priest is killed and scalped during a British raid on an Abenaki Indian village on the
coast of Maine. Micmac Indians and some Frenchmen retaliate. The English
burn Acadian homes and villages in retaliation of the retaliation. |
|
1726 |
Major Lawrence Armstrong becomes provincial administrator in Acadia. He
tries to get the Acadians to take an unconditional oath of allegiance.
They refuse. |
|
1739 |
The Acadians finally take an oath, but only upon the condition that they
will not be required to bear arms against either the French or the
British. They claim themselves to be "French Neutrals."
|
|
1745 |
The French fortress at Louisbourg falls to the British. |
|
1746 |
Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts writes to the Board of Trade
in London: "the (French) will soon find a way to wrest Acadia from us if
we do not remove the most dangerous French inhabitants and replace them
with English families."
|
|
1749 |
Edward Cornwallis replaces Richard Phillips as governor of Acadia. He
tries to get the Acadians to take an unconditional oath of allegiance.
They refuse.
Acadians begin fleeing in large numbers to New Brunswick, Prince Edward
Island and other French-held areas.
|
|
1752 |
Captian Peregrine Hopson replaces Cornwallis as Acadia's governor.
|
|
1754 |
Charles Lawrence replaces Hopson as governor of Acadia. He demands that
the "French Neutrals" take an unconditional oath of allegiance to the
British crown.
In September, Lawrence prohibits the Acadians from shipping grain out of
the province. |
|
1755 |
In June, British troops are ordered to seize the arms and boats of the
Acadians. Acadians who protest the action are sent to jail.
In July, Acadian leaders tell Lawrence they will leave the area before
they take an unconditional oath.
On July 28, Lawrence presents the idea of expelling the Acadians to his
chief advisors.
On July 31, Lawrence sends orders to his commanders at the principal
places in Acadia that the (Acadians) "shall be removed out of the
country as soon as possible."
On August 9, The Acadians of the Chignecto Isthmus are told to meet at Fort
Cumberland. They are suspicious and don't go. The meeting is reset for
the next day and the Acadians are told its purpose is innocuous. All 400
who attend the meeting are arrested.
On September 5, Acadian men of the Grand Pré
area are told to meet at
their church. The 418 who gather are arrested.
The first transport ships arrive at Grand Pre on September 10 and the
British began loading the Acadians aboard almost immediately.
The first of the deportation ships sails for Delaware on October 13. |
|
1758 |
The government of Nova Scotia tries to entice New Englanders to settle
on former Acadian lands. |
|
1759 |
In April, a committee from Connecticut looks over the best Acadian
lands. |
|
1760 |
On May 21, a fleet of 22 ships sets sail from Connecticut bringing setters from New England to
old Acadia.
|
|
1762 |
The British try to deport Acadians who had not been caught during the
first round-ups. Massachusetts refuses to accept the deportees. |
|
1764 |
The British deportation order for Acadia is canceled. Acadians are given the right to own
land once more in Nova Scotia. |
