Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
History
Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784
Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
New Brunswick -- History; Saint John River Valley (Me. and N.B.)
There lived at Quebec in the latter part of the seventeenth century
one Charles le Moyne, seigneur de Longueil, who is called by
Charlevoix the Baron de Becancourt; he was of Norman extraction, but
his sons were natives of New France. As was the custom with the French
noblesse each son adopted a surname derived from some portion of the
ancient family estate. At least five of Becancourt's sons were
prominent in the affairs of Acadia; they are known in history as
Menneval, Portneuf, Villebon, d'Iberville and des Isles.
In 1687 Menneval replaced Perrot as governor of Acadia, and as the
conduct of Perrot had given rise to grave dissatisfaction his
successor received elaborate instructions concerning his duties. He
was to rebuild the defences of Acadia, to resist the encroachments of
the English, to suppress the lawless trade of the Coureurs de bois, to
deal kindly and honestly with the savages, taking care to promote
their conversion to the Christian faith, and to restore to the crown
all seigniories and granted lands that had not been occupied or
improved.
The year that followed Menneval's appointment was notable for the
outbreak of the most dreadful Indian war in the annals of Acadia. All
the tribes east of the Merrimac took part in it, including the
Maliseets and Micmacs. This war is known in history as King William's
war, from the name of the English monarch in whose reign it occurred.
It lasted with little intermission for ten years, and during its
progress the settlers of eastern New England suffered the most fearful
outrages at the hands of the infuriated savages. Every settlement in
Maine save Wells, York, Kittery and the Isle of Shoals was over run,
and a thousand white people killed or taken prisoners.
As in the case of other wars which the Indians have waged with the
whites, the latter were responsible for its origin. About twelve years
before it broke out, Major Waldron treacherously seized a band of
Indians at Dover in New Hampshire and sent them to Boston, where
several of them were hanged for alleged complicity in Philip's war[5]
and others sold into slavery. This despicable act the Indians never
forgot nor forgave.
[5] This war broke out in 1675 and was confined chiefly to the
tribes of Massachusetts. It was of short duration; the Indian
Sagamore Philip was slain.
The immediate cause of King William's war, however, was the ill
considered act of Governor Andros of pillaging the trading post of
Baron de St. Castin, at Penobscot. St. Castin had formerly served in
the Carignan Salieres regiment under Frontenac, but for twenty years
had lived in this region, where he had married a daughter of the
Maliseet chieftain Madockawando and was highly esteemed by the
savages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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