Key Facts
- Settlements destroyed
- 23 English settlements
- English killed
- Over 100
- Deported to England or France
- Nearly 500
- Duration
- ~3 months (Nov 1696 – early 1697)
- First raid
- Ferryland, November 10, 1696
Strategic Narrative Overview
Beginning with a raid on Ferryland on November 10, 1696, d'Iberville and Father Jean Baudoin led Canadians, Acadians, Mi'kmaq, and Abenakis in a systematic sweep along the Avalon Peninsula coast. Over three months, they methodically attacked and destroyed settlement after settlement, concluding with a raid on Heart's Content. Nearly every English settlement in Newfoundland was burned, with over 100 colonists killed and many others captured.
01 / The Origins
The Avalon Peninsula campaign was a military operation conducted during King William's War, the North American theater of the Nine Years' War between England and France. Following the successful Siege of Pemaquid, New France sought to drive English settlers from Newfoundland entirely. Governor Brouillan and Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville organized a mixed colonial and Indigenous force to strike English coastal settlements on the Avalon Peninsula.
03 / The Outcome
The campaign effectively eliminated organized English colonial presence in Newfoundland for the duration of the conflict. Nearly 500 English colonists were deported to England or France. Only the fortified town of St. John's was not permanently taken. The destruction demonstrated New France's capacity to project military power deep into English colonial territory, though English presence in Newfoundland was ultimately restored by treaty.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, Jacques-François de Monbeton de Brouillan, Father Jean Baudoin.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.