Placentia was attacked five times by the English and once by the Dutch but it was never taken by force. It was the English Blockade that brought the colony to its knees. The blockade proved the Colony's dependance on the mother country. Without supplies and money from France the colony struggled to survive.
In 1710, the English reacted to the attack of 1709 with attacks made by their corsairs against French ships. Costebelle, who feared for the safety of Placentia, then decided to keep more soldiers than he had the means to support, in spite of the king's orders; he had three of the auxiliary companies returned to France, but kept those from Gotteville, who incidentally, were very undisciplined. The famine continued to take its toll. The king's ship, which generally arrived on March 15, or 20 did not appear until April 27, thus leaving the colony in a state of the most extreme destitution for more than a month. But 1710 was mainly noted for the predictions or conjectures made concerning the Treaty of Utrecht. The question was raised as to whether Placentia should be Surrendered to the English in the coming peace treaty. The merchants suggested to the king that he should exchange l'ile Royle for fishing rights in Placentia.
The year 1711 was certainly one of the most difficult that Placentia had ever known. The major cause of this sad state of affairs was above all the intensification of the English blockade. FromJ une until October, 18 to 20 ships armed with 24 to 30 cannons blocked the entrance to the bay. One thing led to another. As the port was closed, business dewindled, and without business Placentia was inevitably bound to suffer from famine. The food shortage led to many problems. One of the main problems was the desertion of the soldiers just at a time when their presence was so necssary, and no less a problem was their refusal to work on the fortifications. Added to these misfortunes was the shipwreck of the supply ships,together with the very poor fishing season of 1711 and the late arrival of infantry troops expected to arrive from Port-Royal. So the colony was in almost lamentable state.
So one can better understand why England did not launch a direct attack upon Placentia. It would be a mistake to do so, since England was already benefiting from a third of the colony's trade by capturing the ships on the way there. In fact, the only ships that managed to break through the blockade were those which took advantage of the fog or storms. So the French shipowners were becoming less and less interested in risking a lot of capital in such a hazardous enterprise; and without help from the homeland, the post was destined to defeat. The English had only to continue their surveillance by means of a strict control of the seas and await the right moment to take over Placentia without striking a blow.
But England had not bargained for the change of circumstances that took place in 1711. After the capture of Acadia, Placentia became the centre of interest of the French Court on the Atlantic coast. For this reason the number of troops had to be increased. First of all the colony received the two infantry companies from Port-Royal, and then 50 soliers from France. Costebelle returned the three auxiliary marine companies, with the result that in 1711 Placentia had more than 250 military men.
In 1712 the Blockade continued. The year 1713 was fateful. During this last year of official French occupation, all economic, political or military activity slowed down. Attention was focussed upon the negotiations related to the Treaty of Utrecht.
