Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
| Joseph-Nicolas Gautier | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1709 Rochefort, France |
| Died | April 10, 1752 (aged 62–63) |
| Allegiance | France |
| Service/branch | Acadian militia |
| Battles/wars | |
Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair (1689–1752) was one of the wealthiest Acadians as a merchant trader and a leader of the Acadian militia. He participated in war efforts against the British during King George's War and Father Le Loutre’s War. In the latter war, Gautier was particularly instrumental in the Acadian Exodus.
Gautier was born at Rochefort, France. He arrived at Port Royal around 1710 and became elected as a deputy by 1732. He became one of the wealthiest and prominent Acadians. Through engaging in the merchant trade, by the mid-1740s Gautier had assets valued at 85,000 livres.
Gautier and his two eldest sons, Joseph and Pierre, actively supported the four assaults the French launched to win back Acadia by conquering the capital Annapolis Royal. He supplied intelligence on British defences and troop movements; transported foodstuffs, materials, munitions, and troops; and piloted French vessels along the coastal waters of the province.
He participated in the siege that happened in July 1744 and then again in September of that year. With the latter attack, he assisted François Dupont Duvivier in the siege. Gautier’s habitation at Bellair served as Duvivier’s headquarters during the siege of Annapolis Royal.
Gautier’s partisanship was at great personal cost; in 1744 the British seized his 40-ton vessel and its cargo, valued together at 6,000 livres, The British also put a bounty on his head.
Gautier was also active in support of the French Siege of Annapolis Royal (1745). In May 1745, he assisted Paul Marin de la Malgue who led 200 troops and hundreds of Mi'kmaq joined a siege against Annapolis Royal. This force was twice the size of Duvivier's expedition. During the siege the English destroyed their own officers fences, houses and buildings that the attackers might be able to use. During the Siege, the British destroyed his habitation at Bellair, which had served as Duvivier’s headquarters during the siege of Annapolis Royal. As well, the British also incarerated his wife, Marie, daughter of Louis Allain, and one of his children at Annapolis Royal for ten months, “their feet in irons,”. (They escaped 10 months later in February 1746 by forcing the bars of their prison and scaling the walls of the fort.)
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