Читать книгу A Canadian History for Boys and Girls - Emily Poynton Weaver - Страница 11
ОглавлениеBoundary Quarrels.
While the Iroquois were trying to ruin the French colony on the St. Lawrence, exciting events were taking place in Acadia. When the English gave up that country, by the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, no boundary line was agreed upon, and the French and English colonists quarrelled bitterly. Twice within a very short time the English traders were robbed and driven from Penobscot, and the second time the French kept the English fort.
De Razilly.
In 1632, Isaac de Razilly, who had been sent out by the Hundred Associates, took possession of Port Royal. A few of the Scotch settlers remained in the country, and soon became almost as French as the French themselves. De Razilly brought with him a number of skilled workmen and labourers. He worked hard for the good of Acadia, but did not live long.
Strife for Power.
After his death two men at once began a violent struggle for the chief power. One was Charles de la Tour, who has already been mentioned. The other was D’Aulnay Charnisay, a relation of de Razilly’s. Both were fur-traders and lieutenants of the king, and each held a grant of land under the government of the other. D’Aulnay, who had most influence at court, obtained an order for La Tour to go to France, but he refused to obey. At last war broke out between them. D’Aulnay almost ruined himself by borrowing large sums of money to fit out vessels for the destruction of his enemy, and La Tour obtained help from Boston.
Lady La Tour.
La Tour’s wife, a brave Huguenot lady, made a perilous journey to France to get assistance for her husband. On her return voyage D’Aulnay boarded the vessel, but she hid in the hold and he did not find her. A short time later, during the absence of her husband, he attacked Fort la Tour. For several days Lady la Tour held out against him. At last he induced her to open the gates by promising that her men should go free. But he basely broke his word. He ordered all to be killed except one, whom he obliged to hang the rest, while Lady la Tour stood by, with a rope about her neck, forced to watch the cruel deed. Three weeks later she died in prison. D’Aulnay robbed the fort of all it contained, and La Tour gave up the struggle and went to Quebec.
D’Aulnay sole Governor.
D’Aulnay now ruled Acadia as if he were its king. He would have no rivals, so he drove out of the country a fur-trader named Denys, who had once been his friend. Nevertheless, he did some good things for Acadia. He built several mills and small vessels, and, by making dykes or banks of tree-trunks and earth along the marshes to keep out the water, he won two large farms from the sea. He did not long enjoy his power, however, for in 1650, about three years after he took Fort la Tour, he was drowned in the river at Port Royal.
La Tour soon afterwards became governor of Acadia in his stead, and married the widow of his rival. Denys also returned. But they were not long left in peace.
Le Borgne.
In 1654 a man named Le Borgne, to whom D’Aulnay had owed large sums of money, claimed the whole of Acadia. He brought with him several armed vessels, and was threatening to use force, when an English fleet suddenly appeared on the scene and obliged both La Tour and Le Borgne to surrender.
The English Fleet.
England, when at war with Holland, had sent this fleet to aid the people of New England in an attack on the neighbouring Dutch colony, afterwards known as New York. But peace was declared before the attack could be made. Wishing to fight some one, the colonists then proposed to attack the French instead of the Dutch. France and England were at peace, but perhaps an excuse was found for the invasion in the old quarrel over the boundaries. The whole of Acadia was soon in the hands of the English.
La Tour’s Last Days.
Having again lost his property, La Tour bethought himself of the title and lands that had been offered to him by the English in his father’s lifetime, and, in spite of his former refusal of these favours, he now requested that they might be given to him. Accordingly a portion of Acadia, larger than Great Britain, was given to him and two English gentlemen. One of these, Sir Thomas Temple, spent large sums of money on improving his lands; but La Tour soon sold his rights, and from that time till his death lived quietly at St. John.
Acadia Restored to France.
For twelve years Acadia was under English rule; but during this time nothing remarkable happened, and in 1667 the country was restored to France by the Treaty of Breda.
Prince Edward Island.
Four years earlier, the Company of the Hundred Associates had granted Prince Edward Island, then called Isle St. Jean, to a captain in the navy. He started a few fishing stations, but did little or nothing for the regular settlement of the island.
Newfoundland.
Many years earlier, the larger island of Newfoundland had enjoyed a short period of prosperity under the wise rule of Sir David Kirke. By this time, however, a number of wealthy merchants, who made much money from the fisheries, had begun to think that Newfoundland would be spoiled as a fishing station if colonists were allowed to go there, so they did everything in their power to keep it wild and unsettled. Meanwhile the little French settlement at Placentia was growing stronger every day.
