38o A VOYAGE TO Book IX, 



peace, in v^hich France ceded to the crown of Eng- 

 land, Placentia the capital of Newfoundland, and the 

 whole ifland, this peninfiila was alfo included, a fug- 

 geftion which the court of England owed to its inhabi- 

 tants, who being generally proteftants, reafonably pro- 

 mifed themfelves more freedom under a fovereign of 

 their own religion. Many parts of that peninfula be^ 

 longed to the inhabitants of Loui/bourg, who became 

 deprived of them by this treaty : and among them one, 

 concerning which there feems to have been a difputc, 

 whether it was to be included in Acadia or not. But 

 the inhabitants ftrongly infilling on the affirmative, and 

 the king of England fupporting their plea, France 

 was obhged to give up the point, and confent to its 

 being reckoned a part of the peninfula. The owner of 

 this parcel of land, however, who was one of the moO: 

 confiderable inhabitants- of Louifbourg, defirous of 

 recovering fo valuable a part of his pofieflions, and 

 availing himfelf of the prefcnt war, laid before the 

 miniftry of France his fcheme for the conqucft of ir, 

 v/ithoiit any charge to the king, with the allowance 

 only of a body of troops from the garrifon ; fetting 

 forth the great advantage which would refult from it 

 10 the French intereft in thefe parts. The miniftry 

 entered into his views ; a commifilon was fent him for 

 the expedition, accompanied with an order for fur- 

 niihing him with the number of regulars he had re- 

 quired. 



The country in queftion little apprehending any 

 invafion, was totally unprovided with the means of 

 defence, fo that after little or no refiftance, it was 

 caken poffeffion of by the former owner, who, with the 

 body of regulars and adventurers that had attended 

 him, returned in triumph to Louifbourg. In the 

 mean time, the clamours not only of the fufferers, 

 v;ho h?d been the immediate object of this ad of vio- 

 lence, but of all the inhabitants of Acadia, reached 

 thtj cars of the governor and other powerful perfonsof 



BoftoHg, 



