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The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre's War and the opening of a British offensive in the Acadia/ Nova Scotia theatre of the Seven Years' War, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America. The battle also reshaped the settlement patterns of the Atlantic region, and laid the groundwork for the modern province of New Brunswick. Beginning June 3, 1755, a British army under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton staged out of nearby Fort Lawrence, besieged the small French garrison at Fort Beauséjour with the goal of opening the Isthmus of Chignecto to British control. Control of the isthmus was crucial to the French because it was the only gateway between Quebec and Louisbourg during the winter months. After two weeks of siege, Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor, the fort's commander, capitulated on June 16. == Historical context == Tensions between the English and the French concerning the Acadian territory date to the seventeenth century, when France established its Acadian colony, which made them neighbors with the Puritans in New England. One of the main reasons for tensions was the question of jurisdiction, especially after the conquest of Acadia (1710). The isthmus of Chignecto was claimed by both the French and English whereas present day Nova Scotia was claimed by the English. The border differentiating the two was the Missaguash River; however, Acadians settled on both sides of the river.〔 English claim to present day New Brunswick, and Northern Maine conflicted with small French presence and Acadian settlement on the area. Despite this, France's Louis XV encouraged Acadians to migrate to the land west of the Missaguash, and toward Fort Beauséjour. In the 1750s, New Englanders were subject to drought, depression, high taxes and violence, all of which were further manipulated by Puritan and Protestant priests to garner support for an impending attack on the Catholic French. Furthermore, the close relationship between the French and the Mikmaq in the area angered the English. Acadians often married the Mikmaq people, leading to an ethnic accord and the creation of a unique local population. The English especially resented the Acadians for holding the best land and for the support they had from the Mikmaq, which prevented the establishment of a Protestant settlement. A major problem for the New Englanders was the close relationship between the Acadians, the French, and the Mikmaq. Abbé Le Loutre, the priest at Fort Beauséjour, created yet another source of tension as he was a representative of the French government, and therefore also allied to the Mikmaq. Le Loutre was loyal to France and to ensure the Acadians allegiance, he threatened physical and spiritual damage to the Acadians if they were ever to enter English territory. In the face of religious and military excommunication, Acadians subdued any English support they may have had. Le Loutre also encouraged the Mikmaq to continue to align themselves against the British which they had done since King William's War (1689). The British put a bounty on Le Loutre. Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council, along with many previous governors, had noted that on many occasions, the Acadians did not act neutral. Lawrence had evidence that at least some Acadians clearly favoured the French and hoped to force all of the Acadians to take an oath of allegiance to the English. The English in New England considered the Acadians traitors to Britain and as “French bigots”, whom they hoped would be moved to Philadelphia. Lawrence had little regard for the unique lifestyle of the Acadians and their declaration of neutrality. Consequently, some historians have suggested the Lawrence was motivated by wanting to clear rich land for New Englanders. Others have noted that the deportation was primarily based on military reasons to remove any military threat Acadians posed in their alliance with the Mi'kmaq people and the Acadian support of Louisbourg.〔 In 1753, French troops from Canada marched south and seized and fortified the Ohio Valley. Britain protested the invasion and claimed Ohio for itself. On May 28, 1754, the French and Indian War began with the Battle of Jumonville Glen. French Officer Ensign de Jumonville and a third of his escort was killed by a British patrol led by George Washington. In retaliation the French and the Indians defeated the British at Fort Necessity. Washington lost a third of his force, and surrendered. Major General Edward Braddock's troops were defeated in the Battle of the Monongahela, and William Johnson's troops stopped the French advance at Lake George. In Acadia, the primary British objective was to defeat the French fortifications at Beausejour and Louisbourg. The British saw the Acadians' allegiance to the French and the Wabanaki Confederacy as a military threat. Father Le Loutre's War had created the conditions for total war; British civilians had not been spared and, as Governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council saw it, Acadian civilians had provided intelligence, sanctuary, and logistical support while others had fought against the British. Throughout all of this, the British were nervous about French and native invasion. As a result of native raids supported by the French some British settlers left their settlements (see Raid on Dartmouth (1751)). As a result of the military buildup at Chignecto, as part of the larger coordinated effort of the French and Indian War, the Governor of Massachusetts, William Shirley planned to take Fort Beausejour.〔 Shirley's intelligence fermented the idea that the only way of saving Massachusetts was to attack Beauséjour. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Fort Beauséjour」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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