Misplaced Pages

#319680

25-537: Captain William Nichols of Norfolk , England, was the commander and co-owner of Duke William when it sank. Nichols survived the sinking and received international attention when his journal recounting the tragic incident was published in popular print throughout the 19th century in England and America. Several years after the sinking of Duke William , Nichols also received international attention when he

50-694: A black star. William Nichols (mariner) William Nichols ( fl. 1758–1780) was an English sea captain in the 18th century. He played a prominent role in one of the greatest marine disasters in Canadian history as measured by loss of Canadian lives. Nichols was the captain and co-owner of the transport vessel, the Duke William , when it sank in the North Atlantic on 13 December 1758. At least 360 Acadians perished. Nichols received international attention when his journal recounting

75-617: A convoy with nine other vessels, two of which were Violet (with over 280 Acadians) and Ruby (with approximately 310 Acadians). The ship sailed through the Canso Strait and moored off Canso, Nova Scotia , for almost a month because of foul weather. During the time in Canso, the Acadians helped the ship narrowly escape a raid by the Mi'kmaq . On November 25, Duke William sailed out of

100-769: A fellow Acadian Jean-Pierre LeBlanc for trying to board a lifeboat while abandoning his wife and children. As Priest Girrard got in the lifeboat he saluted Noel Doiron. After Captain Nichols could no longer see the ship, four Acadians got into a third boat and arrived safely in Falmouth, England. Duke William sank about 20 leagues (97 km; 52 nmi) from the coast of France shortly after 4:00 p.m. on December 13, 1758. Noel Doiron, his wife, Marie, five of their children with their spouses and over thirty grandchildren were lost – 120 family members in total. The Federation des Associations de Familles Acadiennnes of New Brunswick and

125-463: A leak and the Acadians assisted at the pumps. In the morning on December 11, after a brief squall, Violet sank with all the Acadians on board. The Acadians and crew on Duke William tried for three days to pump the water from her. Captain Nichols recorded: "We continued in this dismal situation three days; the ship, notwithstanding our endeavours, full of water, and expected to sink every minute." Captain Nichols reports that he gave up and announced to

150-666: Is a unit of length . It was common in Europe and Latin America , but is no longer an official unit in any nation. Derived from an ancient Celtic unit and adopted by the Romans as the leuga , the league became a common unit of measurement throughout western Europe. Since the Middle Ages, many values have been specified in several countries, ranging from 2.2 km (1.4 mi) to 7.9 km (4.9 mi). It may have originally represented, roughly,

175-484: The pie (Spanish foot ) and on the precision of measurement, but was officially equivalent to 4,180 metres (2.6 miles ) before the legua was abolished by Philip II in 1568. It remains in use in parts of Latin America , where its exact meaning varies. In the early Hispanic settlements of New Mexico , Texas , California , and Colorado , a league was also a unit of area, defined as 25 million square varas or about 4,428.4 acres . This usage of league

200-408: The 18th century were designed for work, not lifesaving. Intended to load cargo and supplies as well as shuttle people ashore, the three small boats aboard Duke William could hold only a handful of those aboard. Captain Nichols then recorded Noel Doiron's decision: About half an hour after, the old gentleman [Noel Doiron] came to me, crying; he took me in his arms, and said he came with the voice of

225-538: The Acadians and crew: "I told them we must be content with our fate; and as we sure certain we had done our duty, we should submit to Providence, to the Almighty will, with pious resignation." Despite this resignation, Captain Nichols dispatched both the long boat and cutter that were on board so that they might approach any passing vessels. On the morning of December 13, two English vessels were within sight of Duke William . Captain Nichols records: "I went and acquainted

250-488: The Société Saint-Thomas d'Aquin of Prince Edward Island has resolved that December 13 each year shall be commemorated as "Acadian Remembrance Day" to commemorate the sinking of Duke William and the nearly 2,000 Acadians deported from Ile-Saint-Jean who perished in the North Atlantic from hunger, disease and drowning. The event has been commemorated annually since 2004 and participants mark the event by wearing

275-481: The bay of Canso. On the third day at sea there was a storm and Duke William became separated from the other two ships. Ruby ran aground in a storm on Pico Island in the Azores , which caused the death of 213 of the Acadians on board. Almost two weeks after the ships were separated, late in the day on December 10, Duke William re-encountered Violet . Violet was sinking; during the night Duke William sprung

SECTION 10

#1732771739320

300-473: The distance a person could walk in an hour . The league was used in Ancient Rome , defined as 1½ Roman miles (7,500 Roman feet , modern 2.2 km or 1.4 miles). The origin is the leuga Gallica (also: leu c a Callica ) , the league of Gaul . The Argentine league ( legua ) is 5.572 km (3.462 mi) or 6,666 varas : 1 vara is 0.83 m (33 in). On land,

325-409: The league (Spanish legua ) is still used in the original sense of the distance that can be covered on foot in an hour, so that a league along a good road on level ground is a greater distance than a league on a difficult path over rough terrain. In Portugal , Brazil and other parts of the former Portuguese Empire , there were several units called league (Portuguese: légua ): The names of

350-611: The league is most commonly defined as three miles (4.83 km), although the length of a mile could vary from place to place as well as depending on the era. At sea, a league is three  nmi (3.452 mi; 5.556 km). English usage also included many of the other leagues mentioned below (for example, in discussing the Treaty of Tordesillas ). The French lieue  — at different times — existed in several variants, namely 10,000, 12,000, 13,200 and 14,400 French feet , about 3.25 to 4.68 km (2.02 to 2.91 miles). It

375-515: The priest [Girrard] and the old gentleman [Noel Doiron] with the good news. The old man took me in his aged arms, and cried for joy." The ships did not stop. During the possible rescue, Duke William almost got separated from the long boat and the cutter . As the long boat and cutter returned, a Danish ship appeared in the distance. Again those aboard thought they were saved, but the Danish ship, like those before, sailed away from them. Ship's boats in

400-589: The revolution, he was taken prisoner by American patriots. Nichols wrote to George Washington on 6 May 1778 and requested his prompt release through a prisoner exchange with England. After his release as a prisoner, Captain Nichols took up residence in Falmouth, Cornwall , England and finished his career making trans-Atlantic crossings in the Swift Packet delivering mail, though illness on occasion made him unable to travel. League (unit) A league

425-529: The same unhappy voyage, we would all take the same chance. I thought we ought to share the same fate. He said that should not be; and if I did not acquaint my people with their offer, I should have their lives to answer for. The two boats on board were lowered into the English channel carrying only the Captain, his crew, and the parish priest Girrard. Upon lowering the life boats, Noel Doiron sharply reprimanded

450-516: The several léguas referred to the number of units that made the length corresponding to an angle degree of a meridian arc . For compatibility after Portugal adopted the metric system, the metric légua of 5.0 km was used. In Brazil, the léguas is still used occasionally, where it has been described as about 6.6 km. The legua or Spanish league was originally understood as equivalent to 3 millas (Spanish miles ). This varied depending on local standards for

475-596: The sinking of Duke William . Louisbourg fell to the British on July 26, 1758 and within two weeks a deportation order was issued for the Acadians of Île Saint-Jean ( Prince Edward Island ). The English authorities had given up on their earlier attempts to assimilate the Acadians into the thirteen colonies and now wanted them returned directly to France. On October 20, 1758, Duke William left Île Saint-Jean for France with over 360 Acadians on board. The ship sailed in

500-607: The tragic incident was published in popular print throughout the 19th century in England and America. Several years after the sinking of the Duke William , Nichols also received international attention again when he was taken captive by American patriots during the American Revolution . During the Seven Years' War , Captain Nichols owned and captained the vessel known as the Duke William . In 1758, Nichols

525-633: The whole people, to desire that I and my men would endeavour to save our lives, in our boats; and as they could not carry them, they would on no consideration be the means of drowning us. They were well convinced, by all our behaviour, that we had done everything in our power for their preservation, but that God Almighty had ordained them to be drowned, and they hoped that we should be able to get safe ashore. I must acknowledge that such gratitude, for having done only our duty, in endeavouring to save their lives as well as our own, astonished me. I replied that there were no hopes of life, and, as we had all embarked in

SECTION 20

#1732771739320

550-465: Was celebrated in popular print throughout the nineteenth century in England and America. Noel Doiron also is the namesake of the village of Noel in Hants County, Nova Scotia. Jacques Girrard was a priest who also sailed on the fatal voyage. Girrard had been the parish priest for Noel Doiron and other Acadians who lived on Île Saint-Jean ( Prince Edward Island ). He was one of the few who survived

575-574: Was taken captive by American patriots during the American Revolution . Noel Doiron (1684 – December 13, 1758) was one of over three hundred people aboard Duke William who were deported from Île Saint-Jean ( Prince Edward Island ). William Nichols described Noel as the "head prisoner" and the "father of the whole Island", a reference to Noel's place of prominence among the Acadian residents of Île Saint-Jean ( Prince Edward Island ). For his "noble resignation" and self-sacrifice aboard Duke William , Noel

600-492: Was tasked with transporting exiled Acadians to France. While en route to France, the Duke William sank and 362 Acadians perished. One notable passenger on board the Duke William was Noel Doiron described by Nichols in his journal as the "head prisoner". Captain Nichols survived the sinking of the Duke William and went on to own and captain a Falmouth Packet called the "Eagle" during the American Revolution . During

625-506: Was used along with the metric system for a while, but is long discontinued. A metric lieue was used in France from 1812 to 1840, with 1 metric lieue being exactly 4,000 m, or 4 km (about 2.5 mi). It is this unit that is referenced in both the title and the body text of Jules Verne 's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870). In some rural parts of Mexico,

#319680