The Basques, turbulent by nature, who manned these boats, acquitted 

 themselves with great success in this mission, so that Commodore Williams, 

 rather than engaging his vessels, judged it prudent to retreat after a cannon- 

 ade of five hours to which the cannons of the place responded briskly, as well 

 as the frigate Sainte-Anne, energetically commanded by the Baron deLahon- 

 tan. 



After this warning, the French raised new fortifications around Plai- 

 sance, and the garrison was strongly reinforced. They sought, at the same 

 time, to increase their exclusive rule by making the place strong as the 

 base of numerous expeditions against the British settled on the neighboring 

 coasts; raids which lacked any mercy, and to which the English did not fail 

 to reply in whole measure when they were able, using the same methods. 

 Soon everywhere at the heads of the bays, houses burned, women and child- 

 ren were carried away for ransom, stocks of dried cod were captured or 

 destroyed. 



The French did not stop at these simple raids. Many attacks in force 

 were launched against St. Johns. Twice, in 1696 and in 1708, after the fall 

 of their capital the English were not entirely evicted from Newfoundland. 

 Alone, the little village of Carbonear, on Conception Bay in the neighborhood 

 of St. John's, resisted all assaults. 



During this period, the English fleet did not fail to launch attack on at- 

 tack at Plaisance. But, as with Commodore Williams in 1692, Admiral 

 Graydon in 1703, Captain Leake in 1704, and Admiral Walker in 1711 were 

 unsuccessful in taking it. 



It was the treaty of Utrecht which in 1713 made the English masters of 

 Plaisance, as well as all the island of Newfoundland. Under the name of 

 Placentia , the ancient capital of the French settlers remained one of the 

 principal towns in the colony. It replaced St. John's as capital during part 

 of the 18th century. 



With Newfoundland and its dependencies, excepting St. Pierre and Mi- 

 quelon, the clauses of the treaty of Utrecht passed to English hands Acadia, 

 less Cap-Breton. The greater part of the French who had settled at Plai- 

 sance emigrated to Cap-Breton. They formed there, with the refugees from 

 Acadia, the first nucleus of the population of Louisburg, the great fortress 

 which was, for half a century, the center of French fisheries in the New 

 World. 



29 



