Description

The historic settlement at Saint Croix Island shaped the course of the New World, and on its 400th anniversary, commemorative events were planned on both sides of the Atlantic. France had issued its own commemorative coin and stamp, and they joined their Canadian counterparts to create an exclusive set with an unprecedented international flair.

The first organized French settlement in Acadia was founded in 1604 on an island in Passamaquoddy Bay, on the present U.S.-Canadian border, by Pierre du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain. Promising to King Henry to report on any discoveries, Samuel de Champlain joined an expedition to New France in the spring of 1604. This trip, an exploratory journey without women and children, lasted several years, and focused on areas south of the St. Lawrence River, in what later became known as Acadia. It was led by Pierre Dugua de Mons, a noble and Protestant merchant who had been given a fur trading monopoly in New France by the king. Dugua asked Champlain to find a site for winter settlement. After exploring possible sites in the Bay of Fundy, Champlain selected Saint Croix Island in the St. Croix River as the site of the expedition's first winter settlement. After enduring a harsh winter on the island the settlement was relocated across the bay where they established Port Royal. Until 1607, Champlain used that site as his base, while he explored the Atlantic coast. Dugua was forced to leave the settlement for France in September 1605, because he learned that his monopoly was at risk. His monopoly was rescinded by the king in July 1607 under pressure from other merchants and proponents of free trade, leading to the abandonment of the settlement.