David Basset ( fl 1687–1724) was a merchant active in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. He was French born

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Background

Little is known of Basset's earlier years other than that he probably resided in

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

, married and had a family. He was known in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

as a merchant trading between New England and Newfoundland. Trade included the usual goods from Boston being traded for fish. In 1687, he became embroiled in a dispute with

Antoine Parat Antoine Parat was Governor of Plaisance (Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Placentia), Colony of Newfoundland, Newfoundland from 1685 to 1690. See also * David Basset * List of Newfoundland and Labrador lieutenant-governors, Governors of New ...

, Governor of Plaisance ( Placentia),

, over transporting two Huguenots to Boston when the governor wanted to deport them to France. His ship was confiscated and he was sent to prison in France. A pardon occurred on conditions of becoming a settler at

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

, Acadia. Basset went to Boston for his family and did not return. Basset commanded a ship against the French when

William Phips Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was born in Maine in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was of humble origin, uneducated, and fatherless from a young age but rapidly advanced from shepherd boy, to shipwright, s ...

, colonial governor of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, sailed for Acadia in April 1690 and captured Port Royal. He was active in trade and privateering over the next few years. He had extended his trade to the West Indies.''The Melanson Story: Acadian Family, Acadian Times'' p. 59 In 1697, Basset was captured by the French and taken to Acadia. He agreed to serve the French as a pilot in an agreement arrived at with Governor

Villebon Villebon () is a commune in the department of Eure-et-Loir in northern France The inhabitants are called ''Villebonnais''. Population Personalities * Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully See also *Communes of the Eure-et-Loir department ...

. Again, the family was to move to Acadia but never arrived. After Villebon's death, the temporary governor arrested Basset again. It is presumed that Basset's trading and privateering career continued until his death from a slit throat in 1724 aboard his ship in the West Indies.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basset, David 1724 deaths Deaths by blade weapons French emigrants to the British Empire People of New France Year of birth unknown People who died at sea