The governance of the French colony of

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

has a long and tangled history. Founded in 1603 by

Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts; c. 1558 – 1628) was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge (southwestern France) and founded the first permanent French set ...

, the territory of Acadia (roughly, the present-day Canadian provinces of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, and portions of the U. S. state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

) was hotly contested in the 17th century. It was claimed by English and Scottish interests, fought over by competing French governors, and subjected to raids and attacks from English colonists that sometimes resulted in years of occupation of some of its communities. Most of the non-French claims were given up under the 1667 Treaty of Breda, but the territory did not come completely under French control until three years later. From 1670 until 1710 the province remained in French hands, except for a brief period in the 1670s when Dutch attackers occupied several Acadian communities. In 1710 a British expedition including

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

warships and colonial forces from

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 (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

captured Acadia's capital for good, and France ceded an ill-defined territory to Britain in the 1713

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

. Although France continued to claim those portions of present-day Maine and New Brunswick that constituted part Acadia, it had no formal government prior to the British conquest of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

in 1760. The first British governor of

was

Samuel Vetch Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

; he took command immediately after the 1710 capture. Most of Acadia's French governors operated under commissions given by the French crown. During the periods of turmoil in the mid 17th century, they acted more like

proprietary governor A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial propert ...

s, acting primarily in their own interests, or in those of their corporate supporters. A Scottish

proprietary colony A proprietary colony was a type of English colony mostly in North America and in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the British Empire, all land belonged to the monarch, and it was his/her prerogative to divide. Therefore, all colonial proper ...

named New Scotland (the origin of the name "Nova Scotia") was granted to William Stirling in 1621; this claim was formally abandoned with the 1632 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Even though there were English claims to the territory under the 1620 charter granted to the

Plymouth Council for New England The Council for New England was a 17th-century English joint stock company that was granted a royal charter to found colonial settlements along the coast of North America. The Council was established in November of 1620, and was disbanded (alt ...

, there was no English settlement of the territory under its authority. In 1656 two Englishmen,

Thomas Temple Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet (January 1613/14 at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England – 27 March 1674 at Ealing, Middlesex) was an English proprietor and governor of Acadia/Nova Scotia (1657–70). In 1662, he was created a Baronet of Nova Sc ...

and

William Crowne William Crowne (1617–1682) had a varied career as an officer of arms, a member of parliament, a colonel during the English civil war, and a joint proprietor of the English colony of Nova Scotia. He was also the father of the playwright John Cr ...

, acquired the French interest of

Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour (1593–1666) was a French colonist and fur trader who served as Governor of Acadia from 1631–1642 and again from 1653–1657. Early life Charles de Saint-Étienne de La Tour was born in France in 1593 to H ...

, who had been governing part of the territory under a French commission. They ruled over his territories until 1670, when they turned their lands over to French governor

Hector d'Andigné de Grandfontaine Hector d'Andigné de Grandfontaine (bap 17 May 1627 – 6 July 1696) was a French naval officer who served as the governor of Acadia from 1670–1673. Grandfontaine was baptised in France and became a Knight of Malta. He was captain of a compan ...

. Some of the later appointments were not as governors; these were military men who were commissioned as commandant of Acadia, and acted under the direction of the

Governor General of New France Governor General of New France was the vice-regal post in New France from 1663 until 1760, and it was the last French vice-regal post. It was replaced by the British post of Governor of the Province of Quebec following the fall of New France. ...

See also