Captain François Dupont Duvivier (; 25 April 1705 – 28 May 1776) was an

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 ...

n-born merchant and officer of the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

colonial troupes de la marine. He was the wealthiest offer on Ile Royale and led the

Raid on Canso The Raid on Canso was an attack by French forces from Louisbourg on the British outpost Fort William Augustus at Canso, Nova Scotia shortly after war declarations opened King George's War. The French raid was intended to boost morale, secure Lo ...

and

Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744) The siege of Annapolis Royal (also known as the siege of Fort Anne) in 1744 involved two of four attempts by the French, along with their Acadian and native allies, to regain the capital of Nova Scotia/Acadia, Annapolis Royal, during King George's ...

during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

. He received the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

for his military work in Acadia.Bernard, p. 70

Early life

François Dupont Duvivier was born in

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 ...

, the eldest of the three sons of

François du Pont Duvivier François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

and Marie Mius d'Entremont de Pobomkou on April 25, 1705. With the cession in 1713 of Acadia to the British the Duviviers were sent to the new colony of Île Royale (present-day

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

) where, through various business endeavours they became one of the wealthiest and most prestigious families. François upheld his family's strong military traditions, enlisting as a cadet in the French troupes de la marine in 1716, and being commissioned an ensign three years later. By 1730 he had earned promotion to lieutenant and in 1737 he was made Captain in the Compagnies Franches garrison of

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...

Business ventures

Duvivier proved himself an astute businessman in Louisbourg, rapidly accruing a vast fortune and becoming one of the wealthiest officers in the colony. Through a series of trading ventures with

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 ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and France, canny manipulation of the law, and the usage of his military rank as leverage he earned a reputation as a businessman of great acumen who was not afraid to use unscrupulous business practices to further his own ambitions. By 1745 his fortune was estimated by a contemporary at the vast sum of 200,000

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

King George's War

At the outbreak of the hostilities between France and Great Britain whose

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n theatre became known among

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

(but is known more generally as the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

), Duvivier was chosen to command a raiding party of 350 men in an

attack Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...

on the British settlement at

Canso The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is a representative body of companies that provide air traffic control. It represents the interests of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). CANSO members are responsible for supporting ov ...

. After the success of this raid the captain was charged with the task of raising an Acadian and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

army to capture Annapolis Royal (as Port Royal had been renamed), the only significant British stronghold in Nova Scotia. Having achieved less than expected success in gathering these forces, Duvivier arrived at Annapolis Royal with an army that was inadequate to the task of forcing a surrender. After laying siege to the settlement for nearly a month he received word that reinforcements and naval support from Louisbourg would not arrive, forcing him to break siege and return to Île Royale.

Later life

After the expedition to Annapolis Royal Duvivier returned to France where he carried the colony's dispatches to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

and prepared to join a relief expedition to Louisbourg. However, the fall of Louisbourg to British colonists under the command of

William Pepperrell Sir William Pepperrell, 1st Baronet (27 June 1696 – 6 July 1759) was a merchant and soldier in colonial Massachusetts. He is widely remembered for organizing, financing, and leading the 1745 expedition that captured the French fortr ...

halted all plans for a relief expedition, compelling Duvivier to stay in France. In 1747 he resigned his captain's commission only to rejoin at half pay in 1749 in order to make a bid for the governorship of Île Royale, newly restored to the French in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Failing in this he remained in France, retiring from the military in 1753 with a pension of 1,200 livres. Records of Duvivier disappear for the next twenty years, but it can be presumed that he spent most of this time living on his estate at Le Vivier, near Chalais in the commune of Sérignac before dying on 28 May 1776. The vast fortune he had accumulated in North America had dwindled to 25,000 livres, which was inherited by his sister-in-law.

References

Endnotes Texts * Bernard Pothier. The Siege of Annapolis Royal, 1744. The Nova Scotia Historical Review. 59-71 * Johnson, A.J.B. ''The Summer of 1744: A Portrait of Life in 18th-Century Louisbourg''. Parks Canada, 2002. * Canada-Québec, synthèse historique, éditions du Renouveau Pédagogique, Montréal, 1977, p 154–155. * the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (online ed

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duvivier, Francois Dupont 1705 births 1776 deaths People of New France French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession