Battle of Fort Albany facts for kids
The Battle of Fort Albany happened in 1688. It was a fight between the English and French in Hudson Bay. This area was very important for trading furs.
A few years before, in 1686, the French had marched from Quebec. They captured three English trading posts on James Bay. This happened even though England and France were not officially at war. The French left soldiers at Fort Albany to guard it. They also needed to send a ship to bring supplies and take out the valuable furs.
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Why the Battle Started
The Hudson's Bay Company, which was an English fur trading company, found out about their lost forts in 1687. They asked the King of England for help. This led to about a year of talks between the two countries.
In 1688, the Hudson's Bay Company sent five ships to Hudson Bay. Two ships went to York Factory, which was still an English post. One ship went to rebuild Rupert House, which the French had burned down. Two other ships, named Churchill and Yonge, sailed to Fort Albany. Their orders were to restart trade. They were told not to fight the French unless the French attacked first.
The French Arrive First
Meanwhile, a famous French commander named Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was in charge of a ship called Soleil d'Afrique. He reached Fort Albany first and brought supplies to the French soldiers there.
In September 1688, just as Iberville was getting ready to leave, the English ships Churchill and Yonge appeared. They sailed up the river. The English soldiers landed and quickly built a small barricade.
A Winter of Waiting
The English had about 85 men. The French had 16 Canadian soldiers and some sailors. A few weeks later, the English started building a fort. During this time, three English soldiers were shot. This broke the peace between them.
Even though the English had more men, their leader, Governor Marsh, did not attack. Soon, all three ships became stuck in the ice for the winter. By December, many English soldiers started getting scurvy. Scurvy is a serious illness caused by not getting enough vitamin C.
Iberville, the French commander, even captured the English doctor. He hoped this would make more English soldiers die from scurvy. A kind of truce was made, and people from both sides moved between the forts.
The French Attack
When enough English soldiers had died from scurvy, Iberville decided to act. He set a trap for a group of English soldiers who were cutting wood. He captured twenty of them. Then, he attacked the main English fort.
The English fort fought back for several days. But when only eight healthy men were left, they had to give up. The French captured the fort.
After the Battle
In the spring, Iberville captured the two English ships that were still stuck in the ice. In the summer, he sailed across the bay to Fort Rupert. There, he captured another English ship called the Husband.
By this time, England and France were officially at war. However, the news had not yet reached the remote Hudson Bay. The Battle of Fort Albany was an important event in the ongoing struggle for control of the fur trade in North America.
