Quebec Expedition - French Actions

French Actions

Authorities in France were alerted as early as March 1711 that Nicholson was organising an expedition against Quebec. They also knew the composition of Hill's force, but were apparently unaware of his destination until July. The Governor-general of New France, the marquis de Vaudreuil, sent Louis Denys de La Ronde to Boston ostensibly to oversee a prisoner exchange in early June. La Ronde also had secret instructions that he was to try to convince authorities to withhold support from expeditions sent from England. La Ronde, who coincidentally arrived in Boston on 8 June, the same day as Nicholson, was apparently unsuccessful in his attempts to influence British colonial opinion. Nicholson became suspicious of his behaviour and eventually had him arrested. When copies of his secret instructions were found aboard a captured French vessel and brought to Boston, La Ronde was held in Boston until November.

Governor Vaudreuil was warned again in August that expeditions against Quebec and Montreal were being organised. He called out his militia, rallied local Indians, and prepared his defences as best he could, putting the whole colony on a war footing. In mid-October word reached Quebec that large ships were approaching, heightening tensions further. It turned out they were French, and on board was a scout Vaudreuil had sent downriver on 19 September to watch for the British fleet. The scout reported finding the wreckage of seven ships and an estimated 1,500 bodies. Although locals were already plundering through the wreckage, the colony organised a formal salvage operation that recovered items like anchors, chains, tents, and cannons; the items recovered were auctioned.