In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was meant to settle all "official" hostilities between France and England. The Treaty dealt, amongst other things, with the ownership of land in the "New World". They agreed that the mainland would be transferred to the English and the Islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence would be the property of France. The latter part of the ownership agreement would prove to be a sore spot in the treaty. The definition of what was considered to be "in the gulf of Saint Lawrence" would be the main issue. Grassy Island would be the target of this discontentment for the next thirty years.

There was very little settlement at first. Most fisherman were seasonal and came from mid March / early April to October. Unlike relations in the "Old World", the French and English fishermen in the Cape Canso area were very cordial to each other for at least four years after the treaty. In fact in 1718, Casbonne, a French surgeon, was living in Canso with New England merchants Gyles Hall and John Henshaw who also dined with French fisherman Claude Pettipas.

Around 1718 relations between the two groups (French and English) started to crumble, more from outside interference than anything. At this point, Cyprian Southack and Captain Thomas Smart came to Canso to assess the French presence in the area. Southhack and Smart went to Louisbourg to meet with the governor St. Ovide de Brouillian to state English claim to Canso in attempts to force the French away from the area. They then raided the French fishing stations at Canso, including that of a Joannes De Hiriberry. De Hiriberry, in turn, sued them for damages to his property and business. . Captain Southhack was one of many who ended up falling victim to the French reprisals against the raids conducted by himself and his crew.