Canadian Bacon

English: Map of the location of major tribes involved in the Beaver Wars laid against a period map showing colonial settlments (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way back in December I left the English in New England,

the French in New France and the Iroquois in the land between

them, 7thdecadegirl.blogspot.com/2012/12/beaver-wars.html. 

It was the end of the 17th century and if they weren't exactly

singing "Happy Trails" to each other everybody was more

or less behaving themselves.

As a matter of fact in 1701 things were so jolly that the

three groups got all weepy and sorry and signed a

'cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die-if-I'm-lying' peace treaty.

 

But England and France can only feel the love for so long so

a year later they declared war on each other.

 

Again.

 

You know, I really think Canada would have had a better chance

if our two founding nations had been North and South Korea.

 

Anyway.

 

It was the usual thing. 

In 1704 the French destroyed the English settlement of Bonavista

and in 1707 the English marched up from Massachusetts

and destroyed Port Royal.

 

Lots of other nasty stuff happened but the main thing for us

to note is that when the war ended in 1713 and

everything wad divvied up by the Treaty of Utrecht,

England was handed Acadia.

 

And if the mention of Acadia falling into the hands of the Brits doesn't

just fry your historical bacon then... well,

you just aren't Canadian, eh?

 

French Kissed

French map of Acadia (now Nova Scotia) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 While the French were chasing our beavers, the English,

the Scots and even the Dutch were starting to cast lustful eyes at our fish.

And because it teemed with beavers and fish, everybody was

suddenly hot for the area we would now loosely identify as Nova Scotia.

Settled by the French in the early 1600s it was called Acadia. 

It actually became a Scottish settlement for awhile after 1621. 

And that excited the British no end and got them so puffed up

with testosterone that they sailed down the St. Lawrence in 1629

and captured Quebec City.

 

Stiff upper lips must have twitched three years later at the end

of the 30 years war when Quebec and Acadia were returned to France.

Fish, meanwhile, had become the Prince William/Kate Middleton

of the late 17th century.

Nobody could get enough of them.

And nobody wanted to share. 

With noses severely out of joint over fishing rights taken by the Acadians,

a military contingent from New England, marched north and took Acadia once

 

more for the English king in 1690.

But the British couldn't seem to win.

Acadia was returned to France again seven years later at the end of another

one of Europe's endless wars.

 

But by then it was the beginning of the 18th century.

(insert rousing chorus of Rule Britannia)

And the tide was about to turn.