Siege of Port Royal ( 1710 ) The Siege of Port Royal ( 5 – 13 October 1710 ) , also known as the Conquest of Acadia , was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison and the Wabanaki Confederacy under the command of Daniel d ' Auger de Subercase , at the Acadian capital , Port Royal . The successful British siege marked the beginning of permanent British control over the peninsular portion of Acadia , which they renamed Nova Scotia , and it was the first time the British took and held a French colonial possession . After the French surrender , the British occupied the fort in the capital with all the pomp and ceremony of having captured one of the great fortresses of Europe , and renamed it Annapolis Royal . The siege was the third British attempt during Queen Anne ' s War to capture the Acadian capital , and it had profound consequences over the next 50 years . The conquest was a key element in the framing of the North American issues in French - British treaty negotiations of 1711 – 1713 . It resulted in the creation of a new colony — Nova Scotia — and introduced significant questions concerning the fate of both the Acadians and the Mi ' kmaq who continued to occupy Acadia . The Conquest of Acadia was a foundational moment in the history of the Canadian state — it was a precursor to the British conquests of Louisbourg and Quebec , and it portended the end of French power in North America more generally . Background . Port Royal was the capital of the French colony of Acadia almost since the French first began settling the area in 1604 . It consequently became a focal point for conflict between English and French colonists in the next century . It was destroyed in 1613 by English raiders led by Samuel Argall , but eventually rebuilt . In 1690 it was captured by forces from the Province of Massachusetts Bay , although it was restored to France by the Treaty of Ryswick . Early expeditions . With the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702 , colonists on both sides again prepared for conflict . Acadia ' s governor , Jacques - François de Monbeton de Brouillan , had , in anticipation of war , already begun construction of a stone and earth fort in 1701 , which was largely completed by 1704 . Following a French raid on Deerfield on the Massachusetts frontier in February 1704 , the English in Boston organized a raid against Acadia the following May . Led by Benjamin Church , they raided Grand Pré and other Acadian communities . English and French accounts differ on whether Church ' s expedition mounted an attack on Port Royal . Church ' s account indicates that they anchored in the harbour and considered making an attack , but ultimately decided against the idea ; French accounts claim that a minor attack was made . When Daniel d ' Auger de Subercase became governor of Acadia in 1706 , he went on the offensive , encouraging Indian raids against English targets in New England . He also encouraged privateer ing from Port Royal against English colonial shipping . The privateers were highly effective ; the English fishing fleet on the Grand Banks was reduced by 80 percent between 1702 and 1707 , and some English coastal communities were raided . English merchants in Boston had long traded with Port Royal , and some of this activity had continued illegally after the war began . However , the business was being hurt by the war , and some merchants began making vocal calls for action , and public outrage rose over the failure of the Massachusetts defenses to stop the French and Indian raids . Massachusetts Bay Governor Joseph Dudley had made repeated requests to London for support without any success , and finally decided to act independently to fend off accusations of complicity in the illegal trade . In spring of 1707 , he authorized an expedition against Port Royal . This expedition made two separate attempts to take Port Royal ; for a variety of reasons , both attempts failed despite the expedition ' s significant numerical superiority . British expedition organized . In the following years , France failed to send any significant support , while the British mobilized larger and better - organized forces for the conflict in North America . Samuel Vetch , a Scots businessman with colonial ties , went to London in 1708 and lobbied Queen Anne for military support to conquer all of New France . She authorized a " great enterprise " to conquer all of Acadia and Canada in 1709 that was aborted when the promised military support failed to materialize . Vetch and Francis Nicholson , an Englishman who had previously served as colonial governor of Maryland and Virginia , returned to England in its aftermath , and again appealed to the queen for support . They were accompanied by four Indian chiefs , who caused a sensation in London . Nicholson and Vetch successfully argued on behalf of colonial interests for British military support against Port Royal . Nicholson arrived in Boston on 15 July 1710 , bearing a commission from the queen as " General and Commander - in - Chief of all and sundry the Forces , to be employed in the expedition design ' d for the reducing of Port Royal in Nova Scotia " . In addition to 400 marines brought over from England , four New England provinces raised militia regiments : Massachusetts Bay provided 900 , Rhode Island 180 , Connecticut 300 , and New Hampshire 100 . Some of the provincial troops were drilled in the arts of siege warfare by Paul Mascarene , a Huguenot officer in the British Army . A band of Iroquois was also recruited to serve as scouts on the expedition . When the fleet sailed on 29 September , it consisted of 36 transports , two bomb galleys , and five warships . Two ships , HMS " Falmouth " and HMS " Dragon " , were sent from England , while HMS " Feversham " and HMS " Lowestoft " were sent from New York to join with HMS " Chester " , which was already stationed at Boston . Nicholson sent HMS " Chester " ahead of the fleet to blockade the Digby Gut , which controlled naval access to Port Royal . Port Royal defences . Port Royal was defended by about 300 troops , many of whom were poorly trained recruits from France . Subercase had taken steps to improve the local defences since the 1707 sieges , building a new bomb - proof powder magazine and barracks in 1708 , and clearing woods from the river banks to deny attackers cover . He completed the construction of another vessel to assist in naval defence , and engaged privateers with great success against New England fishing and shipping . From prisoners taken by the privateers he learned that plans were continually being made in 1708 and 1709 for new attempts on Port Royal . Siege . As the fleet sailed north , it was met by a dispatch vessel sent by Thomas Matthews , captain of the " Chester " . She carried deserters from the French garrison , who reported that morale was extremely low . Nicholson sent the ship ahead with one of the transports ; when they entered Digby Gut they received some fire from parties of Mi ' kmaq on the shore . The ships returned fire with their cannons , without either side taking casualties . On 5 October , the main British fleet arrived at Goat Island , about below Port Royal . That afternoon , the transport " Caesar " ran aground while attempting to enter the Annapolis River , and was eventually swept onto the rocks . Its captain , some of its crew , and 23 soldiers died , while a company commander and some 25 others struggled ashore . The following day , 6 October , British marines began landing both north and south of the fortress and the town . The northern force was joined by four New England regiments under Colonel Vetch , while Nicholson led the remaining New England troops as part of the southern force . The landings took place without incident , with fire from the fort answered by one of the fleet ' s bomb ship s at long range . Although later accounts of the siege claimed Vetch ' s detachment was part of a strategic plan to surround the fort , contemporary accounts report that Vetch wanted to have a command that was somewhat independent of Nicholson . These same accounts claim Vetch never got to within range of the fort ' s guns until after the siege ended ; his attempts to erect a battery of mortars in a muddy area across Allain ' s Creek from the fort was repulsed by cannon fire . The southern force met with guerrilla - style resistance outside the fort , with Acadian and Indian defenders firing small arms from houses and wooded areas , in addition to taking fire from the fort . This fire resulted in three British killed , but the defenders were unable to keep the British on the south side from establishing a camp about from the fort . Over the next four days the British landed their cannons and brought them up to the camp . Fire from the fort and supporters outside it persisted , and the British bomb ships wrought havoc within the fort with their fire each night . With the opening of new British batteries imminent , Subercase sent out an officer with a parley flag on 10 October . The negotiations got off to a bad start because the officer was not properly announced by a drummer , and deteriorated from there . Each side ended up holding an officer of the other , principally over matters of military etiquette , and the British continued their siege work . By 12 October , the siege trenches had advanced , and cannons that were within of the fort opened fire . Nicholson sent Subercase a demand that he surrender , and negotiations began once more . By the end of the day , the parties reached an agreement on the terms of surrender , which was formally signed the next day . The garrison was allowed to leave the fort with all the honours of war , " their Arms and Baggage , Drums beating , and Colours flying . " The British were to transport the garrison to France , and there were specific protections in the capitulation to protect the local residents . These terms called for the " Inhabitants within Cannon shot of the Fort " to be allowed to remain on their properties for up to two years if they so chose , provided they were willing to take an oath to the British Crown . Aftermath . The British took formal possession of Port Royal following a ceremony on 16 October , in which they renamed the place Annapolis Royal in honour of their queen . Samuel Vetch was inaugurated as the new governor of Nova Scotia . The first attempt to retake Annapolis Royal happened the next year . After a skirmish in which a party of British soldiers was ambushed , Bernard - Anselme d ' Abbadie de Saint - Castin lead a force of 200 Acadians and native warriors in a siege of the fort , without success . The capture of Port Royal marked the end of French rule in peninsular Acadia , and inaugurated a struggle for control of the territory that lasted until the British conquests of the Seven Years ' War . The status of Acadia was one of the more contentious issues in the negotiations leading to the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht , and very nearly led to renewed war . French negotiators were unable to recover Acadia , although they were able to retain Isle Saint - Jean ( present - day Prince Edward Island ) and Île Royale , ( present day Cape Breton Island ) , which provided access to the important Atlantic fisheries . Acadia ' s people were placed in a difficult position by the conquest . The British on numerous occasions demanded they take oaths to the British Crown , but many refused to take oaths requiring them to take arms against the French , preferring to proclaim their neutrality . For this and other reasons , hundreds of Acadians left peninsular Nova Scotia over the next decade . Most of them avoided the principal French colonial settlements and went to French - occupied Isle Saint - Jean . Acadia ' s border was not formally demarcated by the Treaty of Utrecht , which became a cause of ongoing friction between the British and French , especially on the Isthmus of Chignecto , which both sides eventually fortified . The French interpreted the pharse " ancient boundaries " to imply only the peninsula of presentday Nova Scotia , thereby excluding the mainland between New England and the St . Lawrence , ÎLe St . Jean , and Cape Breton . This helped the Amerindians of Abenaquis , Malecites , and MicMacs to retain their soveeignty over their old hunting grounds . In 1746 , the grand expedition was organized in France under the command of the Duc d ' Anville . The expedition was composed of 20 warships , 21 frigates , and 32 transport ships , containing 800 cannons , 3 , 000 soldiers , and 10 , 000 marines . The expedition was to retake Louisbourg and then Annapolis Royal . However , after a three months crossing , and the dispersal of the fleet between Sable Island and the mainland , the expedition turned out to be a disaster for the French , and they would not try to recapture Port Royal again . The territorial dispute would not be fully resolved until the British conquest of New France in 1760 , and the informal boundary between the British and French in the dispute ( the Missaguash River ) now forms the border between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick .