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The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought during the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War) on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of vessels of the French Navy, Acadian militia and Mi'kmaq militias. The French vessels had been sent to relieve New France after the fall of Quebec. Supplies were extraordinarily important because France ran their colonies such that the colonies were wholly dependent on products and manufacturing of the motherland. The loss of the Battle of Restigouche and the consequent inability to supply the troops, marked the end of any serious attempt by France to keep hold of their colonies in North America, and it severely curtailed any hopes for a lengthy resistance to the British by the French forces that remained. The battle was the last major engagement of the Mi'kmaq and Acadian militias before the Burying of the Hatchet Ceremony between the Mi'kmaq and the British. ==Background== Quebec had fallen to the British in September 1759, but French forces still remained in New France in large numbers. Several appeals to the French government for reinforcements met with indifference or neglect, partly because the French navy had been smashed at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759. On April 10, 1760, the frigate ''Le Machault'' under Lieutenant Francois La Giraudais sailed from Bordeaux with 5 merchant ships carrying 2,000 casks of provisions and 400 troops. Francois-Gabriel D'Angeac commanded reinforcement troops because of his familiarity with the area. Things did not go well for the flotilla on the outward journey. On April 11, they were forced to disperse in order to run the British blockade off France. Two merchant vessels were seized, and two weeks later another ran aground in the Azores. The three remaining vessels rendezvoused in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on May 15, only to find that a British fleet had already arrived in Quebec. Seeking a safe harbour, they sailed for Chaleur Bay and anchored in the estuary of the Restigouche River near the Mi'kmaq settlement of Listuguj on May 18. Here they enlisted the help of the locals and some Acadien refugees in exchange for feeding and arming them. In the meantime, a force of Royal Navy ships under Captain John Byron sailed from Louisbourg to intercept the French flotilla. They arrived in Chaleur Bay on June 22, blockading any attempt by La Giraudais to escape. He responded by sailing further upriver where the deeper draft British ships would have difficulty following. There he turned ''Le Machault'' broadside, scuttled some schooners as a barrier and placed a battery of cannon ashore to strengthen his position. On 26 Oct. 1759, after the fall of Quebec, the French priests who had been an integral part of the leadership of the Acadian militia and Mi'kmaq militia began to negotiate for peace.〔(Jacques Manach - Canadian Biography )〕 Father Manach accepted in the name of the Acadians at Richibucto (N.B.) and Baie des Ouines (Bay du Vin) the peace proposals put forward by “Commandant Henry () Schomberg.” Father Maillard and Joseph-Charles Germain also agreed to local capitulations. These initiatives were severely criticized by French officer at Restigouche Jean-François Bourdon de Dombourg. He prepared a file on the missionaries, whom he accused of treason. The Battle of Resitgouche was one of the few battles the Acadians and Mi'kmaq untook without the sanction of the French priests. 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 Restigouche」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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