The Wars to take Acadia Acadia lay in a boundary zone, between
the English and French colonies, and it was never left in peace
for long. The English colonies of New England were closer to
Acadia than to any other French settlements. In peacetime the
English came to trade, and in war they came to conquer. In 1613
English colonists from Virginia led by Samuel Argall attacked
and burned Port-Royal. The English attacked again in 1629. They
captured Port-Royal in 1654 and controlled Acadia until France
regained it by treaty in 1670. The English attacked again in
1690, 1704, and in 1707. With so much fighting and so many
changes of command, the Acadians became a people without strong
ties to either side. In 1710 the British captured Port-Royal yet
again, and in 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht gave Acadia permanently
to Britain. Port-Royal was renamed Annapolis Royal, and a
British commander with a small garrison of soldiers replaced the
French governor and his garrison. However, most of the Acadians
stayed on under Brit