History
The Placentia area attracted Basque fishermen as early as the 16th century. Large quantities of cod fish, highly prized in Europe, brought fishermen in droves.
The French government founded the colony of "Plaisance" in 1662.
During the late 17th and 18th centuries,
French and British forces fought sporadically for control of Newfoundland,
though the island's fate was still heavily influenced by events in Europe.
Determined to control the Newfoundland fishery, the French chose Placentia, or "Plaisance" as they called it, for its excellent harbour and proximity to the Grand Banks.
Here, they hoped to build a colony that would solidify their claim to a portion of the fishing rights around the island of Newfoundland.
Under the leadership of New France's most famous soldier, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, the French marched overland from Plaisance to the Southern Shore, up towards St. John's and on to Conception Bay.
Iberville was successful, easily taking all but one of his targets. His men destroyed 36 settlements and captured more than 300 fishing boats, 200,000 quintals (hundred weight) of cod, and 700 prisoners in four months.
Back in France, a decision to send Iberville to Hudson Bay may have saved the British from being driven out of Newfoundland!
Plaisance proved to be a poor choice for the French colonists. Despite successful fortifications at Castle Hill which allowed the French to fend off British attacks, Plaisance had serious problems. The British were able to blockade Placentia Bay fairly easily.
The French colonists had limited access to basic supplies. The land itself was not good for farming, and yielded little in the way of crops or livestock.
With no support infrastructure, and rivalries between resident and seasonal fishermen on the rise, the colony was destined to fail.
Today, the remains of France's 17th-century fortress at Castle Hill are all that is left of the French presence here. Events in Europe sealed Plaisance's fate when the British gained sovereignty over Newfoundland by the Treaty of Utrecht,
leaving France with fishing rights to the northeast and west coasts.
The French colonists and soldiers moved on to build the Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. Castle Hill was fortified by the British for a brief period during the Seven Years' War,
but Placentia was overshadowed by St. John's.
Castle Hill played a critical role in this chapter in Newfoundland's history and in Europe's changing role in the New World!
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nl/castlehill copy link
time line
After a century of fishing by migratory Basque, Spanish, Portuguese, and French ships the French founded a colony at Plaisance (now called Placents)in 1662. Plaisance formed part of King Louis XIV and his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert’s push to establish New France in what are now Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and regions stretching south to Louisiana. To secure this expansion, walls were built at the colony on the strategic choke-point and lookout of Castle Hill.Using this fortified colony as a base France secured its fishery on the Grand Banks and in times of war used it for staging attacks on the English towns and villages The most famous attacks are Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville’s bloody invasion of the English shore in 1696 during King William’s War During the invasion d’Ibervillehis forces destroyed 36 settlements and close to 300 boats, 200,000 quintals of cod, and 700 prisoners in four months. d’Iberville’s Newfoundland campaign was cut short when he was ordered to go to the Hudson Bay
the French at Plaisance launched a number of raids and attacks over the next seventeen years (including the capture of St. John’s in 1705) Britain was able to successfully blockade the colony and in 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht, Plaisance came under British control. While some further fortification was carried out by Britain during the Seven Years War, Castle Hill’s role as a military base was greatly reduced as St. John’s became more famous