Early Relations Between Mi’kmaq/French/British

1. Early Relations Between Mi’kmaq/French/British First European contact may have been as early as 11th Century with Vikings First recorded contact in 1497 with John Cabot, who took three Mi’kmaq to England; they never returned! Cabot disappeared during the next journey…Coincidence ???? By 1501 Trade between Mi’kmaq, Basque, Spanish, French and Irish fishers was routine

2. Mi’kmaq beaver furs helped create a fashion craze in France for beaver hats • The French felt that Cartier’s voyages of “discovery” gave them the right to claim Mi’kmaq territory even though England and Spain also claimed it • 1527 Basque fishers set up a temporary whaling station • 1541 Cartier attempted to set up a permanent settlement on the St. Lawrence River, but it failed because of starvation and cold

3. By 1578 more than 400 European fishing boats were working every summer around Mi’kmaq territory • By 1581 the organized fur trade had started • Despite the lack of permanent European settlements, outbreaks of European diseases struck between 1564-1570 and in 1586 • 1588 the destruction of the Spanish Armada (fleet) ended Spain’s ability to control trade in the “New World” • Fur Trade was now overwhelming Mi’kmaq supply • They began to trade with First Nations in the interior to get furs to trade with the French

4. The fierce Mi’kmaq warriors protected this trade with the help of metal weapons acquired through trade with Europeans • 1604 Samuel Champlain and Pierre DeMonts set up a settlement between Maine and New Brunswick - Most of the settlers died • Port Royal was established in 1605 • By 1607 fur trade rivalries caused an 8 year war to break out between the Mi’kmaq and the Penobscot of Maine • By 1610 Jesuit missionaries began converting Mi’kmaq • In 1611 Chief Membertou (the first to convert) died from a European disease • By 1615 Mi’kmaq warriors had defeated their Penobscot enemies and accidentally began to bring European diseases back to their territory

5. These diseases devastated the Mi’kmaq and by 1620 only 4000 Mi’kmaq were still living (out of 20000) • By 1613 the Mi’kmaq were getting caught up in the wars between France and England to control North America, Mi’kmaq captured in English raids against French settlements were sold as slaves • In 1627 the French government founded the Company of New France (100 Associates) to settle New France • In 1632 the French claim to the Maritimes and Quebec was confirmed by the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye • After this more and more French settlers came to Acadia (Nova Scotia) where they lived side by side with the Mi’kmaq

6. The French and English were also competing for control of NFLD • The French came into conflict with the Beothuk and began to encourage Mi’kmaq to settle in NFLD, they then came into conflict with the Beothuk who retreated to the interior of NFLD • In 1654 a British fleet from Boston captured Port Royal leaving Acadia under British control until 1667 • The French supported the Abenaki confederacy, which was formed to fight against the British • When war started again in 1688 Mi’kmaq warriors (along with Abenaki allies) forced the British to abandon most of their frontier settlements • War continued off and on until 1713 when the Treaty of Utrecht gave control of NS and NFLD to the British although Cape Breton remained in French hands

7. By 1720 the French were hard at work building the Fortress of Louisbourg and despite a treaty signed between the Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Abenaki, and the British war continued • At the same time New England settlers began to move into Abenaki lands in modern Maine • The French supported and encouraged their allies to resist these new settlements • More or less open warfare continued until the Treaty of 1725 was signed. • Despite this treaty the British rarely ventured into Mi’kmaq controlled territory as it could be hazardous to their health