Port Royal was the capital of the
French colony of
Acadia almost since the French first began settling the area in 1604. It consequently became a focal point for conflict between
English and French colonists in the next century. It was destroyed in 1613 by English raiders led by
Samuel Argall, but eventually rebuilt. In 1690 it was
captured by forces from the
Province of Massachusetts Bay, although it was restored to France by the
Treaty of Ryswick.
Early expeditions With the outbreak of the
War of the Spanish Succession in 1702, colonists on both sides again prepared for conflict. Acadia's governor,
Jacques-François de Monbeton de Brouillan, had, in anticipation of war, already begun construction of a stone and earth fort in 1701, which was largely completed by 1704. Following a French
raid on Deerfield on the Massachusetts frontier in February 1704, the English in
Boston organized a raid against Acadia the following May. Led by
Benjamin Church, they
raided Grand Pré and other Acadian communities. English and French accounts differ on whether Church's expedition mounted an attack on Port Royal. Church's account indicates that they anchored in the harbour and considered making an attack, but ultimately decided against the idea; French accounts claim that a minor attack was made. When
Daniel d'Auger de Subercase became governor of Acadia in 1706, he went on the offensive, encouraging aboriginal raids against English targets in New England. He also encouraged
privateering from Port Royal against English colonial shipping. The privateers were highly effective; the English fishing fleet on the
Grand Banks was reduced by 80 percent between 1702 and 1707, and some English coastal communities were raided. English merchants in Boston had long traded with Port Royal, and some of this activity had continued illegally after the war began. However, the business was being hurt by the war, and some merchants began making vocal calls for action, and public outrage rose over the failure of the Massachusetts defenses to stop the French and aboriginal raids. Massachusetts Bay Governor
Joseph Dudley had made repeated requests to London for support without any success, and finally decided to act independently to fend off accusations of complicity in the illegal trade. In spring of 1707, he authorized an expedition against Port Royal. This expedition made
two separate attempts to take Port Royal; for a variety of reasons, both attempts failed despite the expedition's significant numerical superiority.
British expedition organized In the following years, France failed to send any significant support, while the British mobilized larger and better-organized forces for the conflict in North America.
Samuel Vetch, a Scots businessman with colonial ties, went to London in 1708 and lobbied Queen Anne for military support to conquer all of New France. She authorized a "great enterprise" to conquer all of Acadia and Canada in 1709 that was aborted when the promised military support failed to materialize. Vetch and
Francis Nicholson, an Englishman who had previously served as colonial governor of Maryland and Virginia, returned to England in its aftermath, and again appealed to the queen for support. They were accompanied by four aboriginal chiefs, who caused a sensation in London. Nicholson and Vetch successfully argued on behalf of colonial interests for British military support against Port Royal. Nicholson arrived in Boston on 15 July 1710, bearing a commission from the queen as "General and Commander-in-Chief of all and sundry the Forces, to be employed in the expedition design'd for the reducing of Port Royal in Nova Scotia". In addition to 400 marines brought over from England, four New England provinces raised militia regiments: Massachusetts Bay provided 900, Rhode Island 180, Connecticut 300, and New Hampshire 100. Some of the provincial troops were drilled in the arts of
siege warfare by
Paul Mascarene, a
Huguenot officer in the British Army. When the fleet sailed on 29 September, it consisted of 36 transports, two
bomb galleys, and five warships. Two ships,
HMS Falmouth and
HMS Dragon, were sent from England, while
HMS Feversham and
HMS Lowestoft were sent from New York to join with
HMS Chester, which was already stationed at Boston. Nicholson sent HMS
Chester ahead of the fleet to blockade the
Digby Gut, which controlled naval access to Port Royal.
Port Royal defences Port Royal was defended by about 300 troops, many of whom were poorly trained recruits from France.
Subercase had taken steps to improve the local defences since the 1707 sieges, building a new bomb-proof powder magazine and barracks in 1708, and clearing woods from the river banks to deny attackers cover. He completed the construction of another vessel to assist in naval defence, and engaged privateers with great success against New England fishing and shipping. From prisoners taken by the privateers he learned that plans were continually being made in 1708 and 1709 for new attempts on Port Royal. ==Siege==