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Saint John
KNOWLEDGE OF Saint John
Predated by the Maritime Archaeic Indian civilization, the area of the northwestern coastal regions of the Bay of Fundy came to be inhabited by the Passamaquoddy Nation several thousand years ago, while the Saint John River valley north of the bay became the domain of the Maliseet Nation.
The mouth of the Saint John River was first discovered by Europeans in 1604 during a reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy undertaken by French cartographer Samuel de Champlain. Champlain was assisting an expedition chartered by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, which resulted in a French settlement 100 kilometres west at Île-Ste-Croix and was subsequently moved across the bay to Port-Royal the following year. The day upon which Champlain sighted the mighty river emptying into Baie François (as the Bay of Fundy was then called) was St. John The Baptist's Day, thus the name for the river (Fleuve Ste-Jean, or St. John River).
A permanent French presence wasn't established at the site until several decades later as the French colony of Acadia was developing. The area of Acadia along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy was largely inhospitable to early French settlers who followed Champlain and de Monts' lead by opting for the Annapolis Valley on the bay's southern shores, however the strategic location at the mouth of the St. John River came to be fortified by Charles LaTour in 1631. The river valley saw limited French commerce as several Acadian communities were established upriver, most notably at Point-Ste-Anne (present-day Fredericton). The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 saw control of the area of Acadia south of the Bay of Fundy (present-day peninsular Nova Scotia) pass from France to Britain, while the area north of the bay, including the St. John River valley and Fort LaTour, remained in a much-smaller Acadia which included Île-Ste-Jean (present-day Prince Edward Island) and Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island).
During the Seven Years War, British troops seized Fort LaTour and the surrounding area in 1758 and renamed the fortification Fort Frederick. The same war which saw Britain seize control of Acadia and New France, merged the remaining portions of Acadia under the existing colony of Nova Scotia. Several decades later, Fort Frederick was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War and Fort Howe was built nearby at the insistence of newly-arriving Loyalist refugees. The large numbers of Loyalists in the area of Nova Scotia north of the Bay of Fundy saw success in 1784 by petitioning the Crown to divide the colony of Nova Scotia, creating the new colony of New Brunswick.
The Loyalist-dominated communities of Parrtown and Carleton with a combined population of 14,000 developed around Fort Howe and both towns were amalgamated by Royal charter to become the City of Saint John the following year in 1785, making it the first incorporated city in British North America (present-day Canada). A reconstruction of Fort Howe sits on the original location overseeing the river and harbour entrance from a hill top.
During the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Saint John's location made it a probable target for American attacks, thus several military forts were constructed, namely Fort Dufferin and one of Canada's sixteen Martello Towers.
The mouth of the Saint John River was first discovered by Europeans in 1604 during a reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy undertaken by French cartographer Samuel de Champlain. Champlain was assisting an expedition chartered by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, which resulted in a French settlement 100 kilometres west at Île-Ste-Croix and was subsequently moved across the bay to Port-Royal the following year. The day upon which Champlain sighted the mighty river emptying into Baie François (as the Bay of Fundy was then called) was St. John The Baptist's Day, thus the name for the river (Fleuve Ste-Jean, or St. John River).
A permanent French presence wasn't established at the site until several decades later as the French colony of Acadia was developing. The area of Acadia along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy was largely inhospitable to early French settlers who followed Champlain and de Monts' lead by opting for the Annapolis Valley on the bay's southern shores, however the strategic location at the mouth of the St. John River came to be fortified by Charles LaTour in 1631. The river valley saw limited French commerce as several Acadian communities were established upriver, most notably at Point-Ste-Anne (present-day Fredericton). The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 saw control of the area of Acadia south of the Bay of Fundy (present-day peninsular Nova Scotia) pass from France to Britain, while the area north of the bay, including the St. John River valley and Fort LaTour, remained in a much-smaller Acadia which included Île-Ste-Jean (present-day Prince Edward Island) and Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island).
During the Seven Years War, British troops seized Fort LaTour and the surrounding area in 1758 and renamed the fortification Fort Frederick. The same war which saw Britain seize control of Acadia and New France, merged the remaining portions of Acadia under the existing colony of Nova Scotia. Several decades later, Fort Frederick was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War and Fort Howe was built nearby at the insistence of newly-arriving Loyalist refugees. The large numbers of Loyalists in the area of Nova Scotia north of the Bay of Fundy saw success in 1784 by petitioning the Crown to divide the colony of Nova Scotia, creating the new colony of New Brunswick.
The Loyalist-dominated communities of Parrtown and Carleton with a combined population of 14,000 developed around Fort Howe and both towns were amalgamated by Royal charter to become the City of Saint John the following year in 1785, making it the first incorporated city in British North America (present-day Canada). A reconstruction of Fort Howe sits on the original location overseeing the river and harbour entrance from a hill top.
During the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Saint John's location made it a probable target for American attacks, thus several military forts were constructed, namely Fort Dufferin and one of Canada's sixteen Martello Towers.
Chapi