Canada Under Attack Read Free Page A

soldiers to take up fishing and then demanded a share of their profits. The Canadians and the Natives made things difficult for De Brouillan, refusing to follow anyone but D’Iberville, who, annoyed and frustrated by the conflict with De Brouillan, was threatening to return to France. 2 As a compromise, and likely to keep the two conflicting parties separated, France settled on a two-pronged attack led separately by both men. It was agreed that the governor would invade St. John’s by sea and D’Iberville would take the more difficult land route to attack Ferryland. On November 1, D’Iberville and his men began to walk across frozen Placentia Bay. Nine days later, two of which were spent without provisions, they reached Ferryland. The journey was an arduous one; the Abbé Jean Baudoin recorded that, “We have walked nine days, sometimes in woods so thick that you could hardly get through, sometimes in a mossy country by rivers and lakes, often enough up to your belt in water.” 3
    D’Iberville arrived at Ferryland to find that De Brouillan had already been there. His ships had set up a continual bombardment until the settlers begged for a truce,
    [S]even sail of French ships of war and two fire ships landed about seven hundred men in Ferryland and attacked us on every side and after what resistance we could make against them (they being too many in number and too strong for us) we were forced to submit. And, for as much as we, your Majesty’s most obedient and faithful subjects and petitioners, refused to take an oath of fidelity to the French king and take up arms against your most gracious Majesty, the said enemy dealt very hardly with us, and burnt all our houses, household goods, fish, oil, train vats, stages, boats, nets, and all our fishing craft to the value of twelve thousand pounds sterling [£12,000] and above and sent us away with our wives, children and servants, which are in number about 150 persons, who (through the mercy of God) are all safe arrived in this kingdom, although by reason of our said great loss reduced to great poverty and not able to subsist with our families without relief. 4
    By the time D’Iberville arrived, the village was virtually abandoned; all of the able-bodied men had gone to Bay Bulls to rebuild a fort there in anticipation of the French invasion. All who remained were those unable to travel: women, children, and old men, and they were all terrified. They believed that D’Iberville’s men were capable of all kinds of savagery and they expected the worst. One woman reportedly threw herself into the sea when she saw the French approach. 5 The English settlers had every reason to be terrified. Over the next few months D’Iberville’s conquest of the English coast would rival that of some of the world’s most infamous and savage conquerors.
    De Brouillan and his ships had already left to shell communities farther up the coast. Within days of arriving at Ferryland, D’Iberville and his men set out on the three hour march to Bay Bulls. The settlement offered scant resistance but a few days later D’Iberville’s troops were ambushed by a small group of settlers just outside of Petty Harbour. Although they were poorly armed and lacked military leadership or training, the settlers held the French off for more than an hour. Before it was over, the English had lost nearly half of their men. After securing the prisoners, D’Iberville continued his march overland to Petty Harbour. After a brief skirmish, it too fell to the French. While these battles raged, a steady stream of terrified refugees had poured into St. John’s, the English capital. Although lightly armed and without adequate provisions, they refused to surrender. D’Iberville was unperturbed and decided to provide the citizens with a little more incentive to give up the battle. “Seeing the inhabitants were about to defend themselves,” wrote