French forces briefly seized St. John's, Newfoundland in 1709, demonstrating the vulnerability of British colonial outposts during Queen Anne's War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 1 January 1709 (O.S. 21 December 1708)
- French force size
- 164 men
- British prisoners taken
- ~500
- St. John's abandoned by French
- April 1709
- Conflict
- Queen Anne's War
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During Queen Anne's War, France launched expeditions against English settlements in Newfoundland. Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint-Ovide, acting under Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, the French governor of Plaisance, assembled a small mixed force to strike the British colonial capital at St. John's.
On 1 January 1709, Saint-Ovide led 164 men in a swift assault that overwhelmed the British garrison at St. John's. The defenders were quickly subdued and approximately 500 prisoners were taken, giving France temporary control of the capital of British Newfoundland.
Because French resources were insufficient to hold St. John's, Costebelle ordered its fortifications destroyed and the town abandoned in April 1709. The British reoccupied it, and following the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, France ceded all of Newfoundland to Britain, with most French settlers relocated to Île-Royale (now Cape Breton Island).
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint-Ovide, Philippe Pastour de Costebelle.
Side B
1 belligerent