Jurriaen Aernoutsz
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colony of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
in 1674 AD, establishing the brief Dutch Occupation of Acadia
Dutch Occupation of Acadia
The Dutch Occupation of Acadia began when the Dutch naval captain Jurriaen Aernoutsz seized several settlements of Acadia, a part of the French colonial empire in northeastern North America, in 1674. Areas briefly occupied included coastal towns along the shores of Maine and New Brunswick, two...
.
The commander of the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Flying Horse, based at Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
during the Third Anglo-Dutch War
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...
, Aernoutsz was dispatched by the governor of Curaçao to fight French and English ships in the North Atlantic after the Netherlands recaptured New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. By the time he reached New York, however, the English and the Dutch had made peace in the Treaty of Westminster
Treaty of Westminster (1674)
The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 was the peace treaty that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Signed by the Netherlands and England, it provided for the return of the colony of New Netherland to England and renewed the Treaty of Breda of 1667...
— but with the Franco-Dutch War
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
still underway, Aernoutsz met with John Rhoades
John Rhoades
John Rhoades was a fur trader from New England, who was part of Jurriaen Aernoutsz's short-lived conquest of Acadia in 1674.A resident of Massachusetts, Rhoades met with Aernoutsz shortly after the latter's arrival in New York City, and used his familiarity with the region to convince Aernoutsz to...
and decided to attack Acadia.
On August 10, 1674, Aernoutsz and the crew of the Flying Horse captured Fort Pentagouet in two hours. He then sailed up the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
, pillaging several French posts along the coast and ending at Fort Jemseg
Jemseg, New Brunswick
Jemseg is a Canadian rural community in Queens County, New Brunswick. It is located on the east bank of the Jemseg River along its short run from Grand Lake to the Saint John River...
, which he also captured. Aernoutsz claimed Acadia as the Dutch territory of New Holland, burying bottles at both Pentagouet and Jemseg to assert his claim, and remained in Acadia for about a month. He subsequently returned to Boston in mid-September, disposing of his pillage and selling the cannon from Pentagouet to the government of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Aernoutsz then returned to Curaçao in October, leaving Rhoades and company in Boston with orders to return to Acadia to maintain possession of the territory. Once in Acadia, Rhoades began seizing New England vessels coming to trade with the Wabanaki Confederacy
Wabanaki Confederacy
The Wabanaki Confederacy, as it is known in English, is a historical confederation of five North American Algonquian language speaking Indian tribes....
. As a result, the government of Massachusetts apprehended the party and tried them as pirates, during which time the French regained control of the territory without any military opposition.
The Dutch continued to consider New Holland part of their colonial empire in North America, appointing Cornelius Van Steenwyk
Cornelius Van Steenwyk
Cornelius Steenwyck served two terms as Mayor of New York City, the first from 1668 to 1672 Cornelius Steenwyck (born Cornelis Jacobsz Steenwijck; March 16, 1626 – November 21, 1684) served two terms as Mayor of New York City, the first from 1668 to 1672 Cornelius Steenwyck (born Cornelis...
as Dutch governor of the territory in 1676, but this was largely a paper designation — in actual practice, the region remained under French control and sovereignty. Shortly after his appointment, Van Steenwyk sent a Dutch expedition to reoccupy Pentagouet, but they were turned back by three British war ships from Boston. The Dutch continued to claim sovereignty over Acadia on paper until 1678, when they surrendered the claim at the end of the war.