Claude-Sébastien de Villieu (;

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1674–1705) was a French military officer best known for his service in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

. In addition to service during King William's War, he served for a time as military governor of

Acadia Acadia (; ) 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. The population of Acadia included the various ...

. According to his own statement, he served for fifteen years on the battlefields of Europe, beginning in 1674, before coming to New France. He participated in the defense of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

when it was attacked by New England colonists in 1690. In 1692 he married Judith Leneuf, the daughter of Michel Leneuf de La Vallière de Beaubassin. He led French forces in the 1694 raid on Durham, New Hampshire, after which he was rewarded with command of

Fort Nashwaak Fort Nashwaak (also known as Fort Naxoat, Fort St. Joseph) was the capital of Acadia and is now a National Historic Site of Canada in present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It was located strategically up the Saint John River and clos ...

(at present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick). He participated with Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin in Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville's successful Siege of Pemaquid in 1696. The ship carrying him from Pemaquid (in present-day Bristol, Maine) was captured, and he was imprisoned in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Eventually released back to France, he returned to

, where he served as the temporary

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

from July 1700 to December 1701 after the death of governor Robineau de Villebon. Little is known of the rest of his life. He was known to have difficult relations with his superiors, but was popular with the people in Acadia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villieu, Claude-Sebastien De Military history of Acadia Military history of Nova Scotia Military history of New England Military history of Canada Governors of Acadia French military personnel of the Nine Years' War People of New France