The Beginning: Sainte-Croix Island and Port-Royal
The Acadian adventure in North America started in June 1604 when Pierre Dugua De Mons established a first French trading post in Acadie.
Having been granted the fur trade monopoly in the New World by King Henri IV of France, de Mons organised an expedition composed of a hundred men, including mapmaker and geographer Samuel de Champlain.
They chose Sainte-Croix Island in what is now southwestern New Brunswick to build a Habitation.
During the first winter, scurvy caused many deaths, so much so that only about half of the 80 settlers survived, hence, when spring came the settlers moved to Port-Royal, in what is today northwestern Nova Scotia.
Even though the establishment in Port-Royal was destroyed in 1613 by an English attack, it remained a key French establishment throughout the 17th century and still marks the beginning of the permanent French presence in North America.
The Acadian adventure in North America started in June 1604 when Pierre Dugua De Mons established a first French trading post in Acadie.
Having been granted the fur trade monopoly in the New World by King Henri IV of France, de Mons organised an expedition composed of a hundred men, including mapmaker and geographer Samuel de Champlain.
They chose Sainte-Croix Island in what is now southwestern New Brunswick to build a Habitation.
During the first winter, scurvy caused many deaths, so much so that only about half of the 80 settlers survived, hence, when spring came the settlers moved to Port-Royal, in what is today northwestern Nova Scotia.
Even though the establishment in Port-Royal was destroyed in 1613 by an English attack, it remained a key French establishment throughout the 17th century and still marks the beginning of the permanent French presence in North America.
