John Rhoades was a

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

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 to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, who was part of

Jurriaen Aernoutsz Jurriaen Aernoutsz (or Aernouts) was a Dutch colonial navy captain, who briefly conquered the capital of Acadia, Fort Pentagouet in Penobscot Bay (present day Castine, Maine) and several other villages, and renamed the colony New Holland during t ...

's short-lived conquest of Acadia in 1674. A resident of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, Rhoades met with Aernoutsz shortly after the latter's arrival in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and used his familiarity with the region to convince Aernoutsz to attack Acadia. He took the Dutch oath of allegiance, and served as the navigator and pilot on Aernoutsz's expedition. On August 10, 1674, Aernoutsz, Rhoades and the crew of the Flying Horse captured Fort Pentagouet in two hours. They then sailed up the Bay of Fundy, pillaging several

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 ...

posts along the coast and ending at

Fort Jemseg A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''face ...

, which they also captured. Aernoutsz claimed Acadia as the Dutch territory of New Holland, burying bottles at both Pentagouet and Jemseg to assert his claim, and remained in Acadia for about a month. He then left Rhoades in charge of New Holland while he returned to

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

in search of settlers. However, Rhoades,

Peter Roderigo Peter Roderigo (fl. 1674-1675, last name occasionally Oderigoe) was a Dutch pirate, privateer, and soldier. He is best known for attacking English traders off Acadia and for serving in King Philip’s War. History Dutch buccaneer Jurriaen Aerno ...

, and

Cornelius Andreson Cornelius Andreson (fl. 1674–1675) was a Dutch pirate, privateer, and soldier. He is best known for attacking English traders off Acadia and for serving in King Philip’s War. History During the Franco-Dutch War in the 1670s the Dutch took over ...

began seizing New England vessels coming to trade with the

Wabanaki Confederacy The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of four principal Eastern Algonquian nations: the Miꞌkmaq, Maliseet ( ...

.Dow, The Pirates of the New England Coast, 1630-1730, page 44-45 As a result, the government of

apprehended the party and tried them as

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s, during which time the French regained control of the territory without any military opposition. Rhoades was condemned to death, but he was eventually released on condition that he leave Massachusetts. He was later granted a trading license by the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ...

during Cornelius Van Steenwyk's brief attempt to regain control 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 Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and earl ...

in 1676, but was again arrested for trespassing on the territory of

James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious ...

. He was taken back to New York City, but was released after a brief imprisonment.

References

* * Governors of Acadia People of colonial Massachusetts American fur traders Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown {{Canada-bio-stub