Fonds 75-1021 - Annapolis Royal, indenture

Annapolis Royal (Port Royal) in Nova Scotia is the site of the first European settlement in Canada. It was settled three years before Quebec City in Quebec and two years before Virginia in the United States. A settlement was established in 1605 in the Annopolis Basin by the French. At first it consisted of a wooden palisade, a few small huts or homes and a church. A Governor's house was added to the fort and buildings for munitions and military personnel. Most of the settlers lived outside of the fort area. Eventually the fort was rebuilt of earth and then stone. By 1671 there were approximately 68 families living in Annapolis Royal and by 1686 the population had reached 231 civilians. By arms or treaty the settlement changed hands between the French and the English a total of seven times. In 1710 the English captured Annapolis Royal for the last time. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 had the French give her possessions of Acadia and Newfoundland to the Crown of Britain forever. In 1710 Annapolis Royal had been captured by General Nicholas who was later to become the Governor of all of Nova Scotia in 1714. Annapolis Royal was governed by Colonel Vetch of the 1710 war. In 1714 the Queen encouraged Governor Francis Nicholson to allow the French residents to retain their land and tenements or to sell their land. English settlement was encouraged. In 1719 Colonel Phillips replaced Governor Nicolson. By 1720 there were approximately 12 English families living in Annapolis Royal near the fort. (Taken from: MacVicar, W.M. "A Short History of Annapolis Royal, the Port Royal of the French..." Toronto: The Copp, Clark Company, Limited, 1897. microfiche CIHM 09502.)