Sinking of the Duke William (1758)

After the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, particularly aggressive measures were adopted against Acadians, who since 1755 had been subjected to raids, a precursor of deportation. Some 700 Acadians from Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) were put on board the Duke William and the Violet, destined for England. When the Duke William sank off the coast of England on 13 December, more than 300 Saint-Paul-de-la-Pointe-Prime parishioners went down with it. The other ship also sank in the English Channel, and there were few survivors.