Placentia Information

Sieur de Keron was appointed Governor of Placentia in 1655. Louis XIV sent out Nicholas Gargot in 1660 to seize and fortify Grand and Little Placentia with the title of "Count of Placentia, Chevalier of the Order of Saint Michael, Marshal of Armies, Captain of Ships." He found 23 Spanish and Basque ships in the harbour at Placentia. When the fishermen discovered Gargot intended to levy taxes they appealed to the British at St. John's. A naval skirmish followed and the count was forced to retreat to Quebec.

Gargot sent a 20 man French garrison and 50 Basque and Malouin colonists to settle Placentia in 1662. That winter the colony was torn by riots and drunken brawls which left 13 people dead including the leader of the colonists, Sieur de Perron, and their priest. The King encouraged the growth of the Placentia colony in 1667 by offeringships masters 100 dollars for every man and 60 dollars for every woman they brought out. By December Sieur de la Palme was in charge of a community of 60 settlers and 150 soldiers.

The 1670 census reveals a population of 128 residents included a Governor, chaplin, locksmith, armourer, carpenter and surgeon. In 1689 the Recollect Fathers from Quebec opened Our Lady of Angels Monastery at Placentia on the site of the present Anglican Church. The town was attacked and sacked in 1690 by 45 pirates and the revolt of some Basque fishermen later that fall threatened to repeat the incident. A new Governor was sent out, St. Ovide de Brouillon, and he began the construction of Fort Louis on the small beach north of the gut.

Five English ships under Commodore Williams attacked Placentia 15 September 1692. Between 600 and 700 soldiers attempted an invasion of the community. The bombardment lasted five hours. The English soldiers set out to shore but when Baron de Lahontan and 60 Basque fishermen came out of cover prematurely the English fled fearing up to 1500 French were waiting in ambush. Six of their men were killed. The only French casualty reported was Lahontan who lost an arm.

During the engagement with Commodore Williams the importance of Castle Hill in any defence of the town was recognized. A small redout was immediately constructed there. Known as Le Gaillardin it was built of logs and drywall masonry and surrounded by outworks capable of housing 100 men. This eventually became Fort Royal.

Fort Louis and Fort Royal protected the French colony from sea-borne attack and effectively eliminated any English raid on the place Frenchmen called Plaisance. The British tried a naval blockade and reduced the settlement to stanation but the colony did not surrender. Instead the French government used it to launch a series of attacks on British settlements in Newfoundland in 1696, 1705 and 1707.

With the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 the French were forced to abandon Placentia. Governor De Costabelle sent the garrison and settlers to Cape Breton. English officers bought the property of the departing Frenchmen. Fort Royal, atop Castle Hill, was renamed Castle Graves after the English Governor of Newfoundland. A major fortification, Fort Frederick, called after the Prince of Wales, was constructed near the Gut in 1721 but it was never properly maintained.

In 1786 Prince William Henry, who was to become King William IV, spent the summer at Placentia. The Prince provided funds for the construction of a Church of England. His Royal Highness presented the congregation of the little Anglican chapel with a silver communion senice which is now held in trust by the Anglican Cathedral in St. John's. By 1905 Prince William's chapel was thought to be beyond repair. It was torn down and the present church erected on the site.