History of the settlement of Upper Canada (Ontario,) with special reference to the Bay Quinté. William Canniff
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of the Provinces.
In the year 1698, on the 28th November, Count de Frontenac died, aged 77, much beloved by the Canadians, after having raised New France from a low condition to a high state of material advancement. But against him was too truly said that he encouraged the dreadful traffic of liquor among the Indians, in order that advantageous trading, in which the governor allowed himself to meddle, might be carried on.
On 26th May, 1703, M. de Calliére, who had been the successor of Frontenac, died, and the governor of Montreal, who was the Marquis de Vaudreuil, was nominated as successor.
This appointment, made at the instance of the colonists, was conferred with hesitancy, the reason being that his Countess was a native-born Canadian! Not only in that day but in later days, and under other circumstances, we have seen the belief obtaining that natives of Canada must, from the nature of their birth-place, lack those qualifications for distinguished positions with which those from home are supposed to be so eminently endowed.
The British Colonists by this time began to entertain desires to conquer Canada, and steps were taken to accomplish the taking of Quebec. Among those who took an active part, by raising provincial troops, and in visiting England to obtain assistance, was General Nicholson, whose descendants to this day live in the vicinity of the Bay Quinté, and in the Lower Provinces. In 1710 he visited England, in company with five Iroquois chiefs, who were presented to Queen Anne, and who received distinguished attention, being conveyed to the palace in royal coaches. It was following this that the Queen presented those interesting pieces of Communion plate to the five nations, part of which may be seen at Tyendinagua, and part at the Grand River. A futile attempt was made by Nicholson, with a fleet under Admiral Walker, in 1711, to take Quebec. The whole enterprise not only failed but was attended with great disaster. General Nicholson, with his army at Lake Champlain, had to give up his desire to capture Montreal and Quebec.
On March 30, 1713, was signed the treaty of Utrecht. In this treaty abridgement of French territory in America was effected. Acadia, Hudson’s Bay territory and Newfoundland were ceded to Britain. French power was on the decline both in America, and Europe. Vainly the French tried to regain what they had lost in Newfoundland and Acadia, by founding an establishment at Cape Breton, and in the foundation of the historic fort of Louisburg.
In 1714 Governor Vaudreuil went to France, where he remained until September, 1716. He then returned to Canada, and set about improving the state of affairs generally. Quebec, at the present day such an impregnable fortress, was not, in any respect, regularly fortified before the beginning of this century. To the natural strength of the place was first added artificial aid, in 1702. To this again were added, in 1712, other defences, and in 1720, by the approval of the home government, the fortification was systematically proceeded with. At this time the colony was divided into three distinct governments, those of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal; and the whole was subdivided into eighty-two parishes. The whole population was estimated at 25,000; whilst at the same time the British colonies had 60,000 males able to bear arms. The governor, aware of this, already began to fear a successful invasion of Canada.
M. de Vaudreuil died October 10, 1725, having been governor twenty-one years. He was succeeded by the Marquis de Beauharnois, who arrived at Quebec in 1726. The contest for the supremacy of the fur trade continued. The British seeing the advantage of the line of forts held by the French determined to erect a fort also, and selected the mouth of the Oswego for its site. As an offset to this aggression on the part of the British, against which the French vainly protested, the French fort at the mouth of the Niagara was erected, with defences; and orders were given that a stone fort should replace the one originally constructed of wood, at Cataraqui. In 1731, Fort Frederick was also erected, at Crown Point, on Lake Champlain. This year, Varrennes, Sieur de la Vérendrye, urged by the governor, set about to discover a route to the Pacific ocean; but he only reached the foot of the Rocky Mountains, being the first white man to discover them. About this time the fort at Toronto (Lake) is, for the first time, referred to. For more than a decade the strife for the peltry traffic continued to be waged, yet without any actual warfare. It was seen by all that peace could not continue, and New England and New France were all the time anticipating the conflict. In 1745 war broke out in Europe, and immediately extended to America. It will be remembered that the French were dispossessed of Acadia, but had subsequently erected a fort upon Cape Breton, Louisburg. From this naval stronghold they were able to send privateers and men-of-war. The English, in the meantime, seeing this evil, and that this was a protection to the only entrance to French territory, determined to possess it promptly, if it were possible. To carry out this project, which originated with Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, 4,000 militia, levied in Mass., New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut, under Colonel Pepperel, sailed from Boston in March. The attack upon this strong fort was so well planned and carried out, that full success was the result. Admiral Warren arrived with ships to give assistance, and captured a French ship of 64 guns, with 560 soldiers and supplies. Already the Anglo-Americans were beginning to display the energy (derived from an energetic race) which was to overturn British domination in the Atlantic States. But in the first place it was necessary that England should extinguish French power. The brilliant nature of the attack and taking of Fort Louisburg was recognized by the granting of baronetcies to Governor Shirley and Colonel Pepperel. This success hastened the determination to conquer Canada—a desire already existing in the hearts of the Anglo-Americans; and Governor Shirley applied to the British government for regulars and a fleet for that purpose. Meanwhile, a fleet, with several thousand troops, sailed from France, with a view of re-taking Cape Breton and Acadia; but tempest and disease destroyed the force, until it was no longer able to invade.
From the year 1745 border warfare continually blazed along the frontier. The French, with their savage allies, carried the scalping-knife and the torch into the British settlements, captured Fort Massachusetts and Fort Bridgman, and gained other victories, and the luckless settlers had to seek safety in the more largely-settled parts of the country.
Again came temporary peace to the colonists. In 1748, upon the 7th of October, the treaty was signed at Aix-la-Chapelles, by the terms of which Cape Breton reverted to the French. This treaty was, however, but a lull in the struggle in America, which was destined to end in conquest.
The French continued to strengthen their outposts. Detroit was garrisoned, and forts of stone were built at Green Bay, Toronto, and La Présentation. In 1756, Fort Duquesne, at Pittsburgh, was established. It was in this year that Washington first came before the public as an actor. He led a considerable force to the west, with the view of destroying Fort Duquesne, and encountered a small body of French. The man who subsequently became a hero by concurring events, as well as by his own energy, did not, on this occasion—if we may credit history—act a very honorable part. Informed of the camping ground of the enemy, he marched all night, to attack them in the morning. Junonville, the commander, when aware of the proximity of Washington, made known to him by a trumpeter that he had a letter to deliver, and when Junonville had begun to read his letter firing was suddenly re-commenced. The painters of Washington’s character have tried to cover this stain; but unbiassed recorders think he was by no means blameless. But Washington’s humiliation rapidly followed this unmanly procedure. The main force of the French, hearing of the massacre by Washington, advanced to revenge it; and, attacking him in his own chosen position, succeeded, after ten hours’ fighting with muskets alone, against cannon, in driving Washington from his position, and compelled him to make an inglorious retreat.
At the beginning of 1755, England sent out additional soldiers and means of war, and appointed General Braddock, who had distinguished himself as a soldier, to act as military chief.
At this time, “Dr. Franklin estimated the whole English provincials at a total of 1,200,000; whilst the whole number of people in Canada, Cape Breton, Louisiana, &c., was under 80,000 souls.”—(Garneau.) At the same time France was weak, by the presence of an indolent King, who allowed himself and kingdom to be governed by a courtesan, Madame de Pompadour. Religious dissensions and stagnation of trade, all contributed to place France in but a poor position to engage in war. Great Britain, on the contrary, was in all respects prosperous. At such a favorable time it was that the Anglo-Americans urged the mother country to carry on, with the utmost rigor, a war for the subjugation of Canada. Franklin,