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Interesting regional map of a portion of Newfoundland, from Charlevoix's Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle France.

In 1720 the Duke of Orleans sent the Jesuit scholar and explorer Pierre François-Xavier de Charlevoix to America to record events in New France and Louisiana and determine the best route to the Pacific Ocean. Charlevoix gathered geographic information from fur traders in Quebec and traveled through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River. After he returned to France, Charlevoix published his views on North America in his Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle France, which has become one of hte most important works on North America during the period prior to the French & Indian (Seven Years) War.

Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of Charlevoix's Histoire et description générale and recommended it, along with the accounts of Hennepin and Lahontan, as a "particularly useful species of reading." He referred to Charlevoix's book as he developed his own ideas of Louisiana and the Northwest.

The History of Plaisance / Placentia, Newfoundland

Plaisance or Placentia Bay, situated in Newfoundland, was historically inhabited by Indigenous groups such as the Little Passage people, and later their descendants, the Beothuk. Archaeological evidence, including carbon dating of artifacts, shows that the Beothuk were present in the area as early as 1500 CE. However, it remains uncertain whether the Beothuk permanently settled in Placentia or used it seasonally for fishing. By the late 17th century, with the arrival of English and French settlers, the Beothuk were cut off from vital coastal resources, including salmon and seal, which contributed to their eventual disappearance from the region.

The European presence in Placentia can be traced back to the early 16th century when Basque fishermen from Biscay used the bay as a seasonal fishing station. A significant document discovered in Spain, the last will and testament of a Basque mariner, Domingo de Luca, dated 1563, mentions his request to be buried in "Plazençia," providing evidence of the early European use of the area. This will is considered the oldest civil document written in Canada. The name "Placentia" likely derives from the Basque village of Placencia de las Armas (Soraluze), though it may also originate from the Latin placentia, meaning "smooth," a reference to the beach's suitability for drying fish without the need for wooden stages.

The French formally established a settlement in Placentia in 1655, naming it Plaisance. The first French governor was Sieur de Kéréon, who helped lay the foundation for the town’s strategic importance. Under French control, Placentia became the capital of French Newfoundland, and in 1662, the French built Fort Plaisance to protect the town from English attacks. This was followed by the construction of Fort Royal in 1687 and Fort Saint Louis in 1691. These fortifications allowed French fishermen to operate safely in nearby waters. Despite the relatively small size of the French garrisons, they successfully defended the settlement from several English assaults during the Nine Years' War (1688–1697) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).

In 1689, Recollect friars from New France established a friary in Placentia, which remained active until the French expulsion in 1714. French military figures such as Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan, played key roles in defending the town. In 1692, Lahontan led efforts to safeguard the French port during heightened English threats.

However, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 marked a turning point in Placentia’s history. The treaty forced the French to cede their settlements in Newfoundland, including Placentia, to the British. As a result, many of the French inhabitants, along with their Mi’kmaq trading partners, abandoned the town. The French governor, Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, began organizing the emigration in 1714, with 116 men, 10 women, and 23 children departing for Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island), where they would help establish the new French settlement of Louisbourg. British Rear-Admiral Hovenden Walker had considered attacking Placentia in 1711 with a fleet of 15 ships and 4,000 soldiers, but he ultimately decided against it, leaving the town intact until the formal handover.

Under British rule, Placentia remained a significant settlement throughout the 18th century. It even rivaled St. John’s in size and importance for a time. In 1786, the future King William IV, then serving as a Royal Navy officer, spent the summer in Placentia, using it as his base of operations while acting as a surrogate judge in Newfoundland. He described Placentia as "a more decent settlement than any we have yet seen in Newfoundland" and reported that it had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 people.