Question about the birth of new france
Let me preface this answer by saying I am not an historian, and this is my first answer here. I’m answering today because there were no other responses, and because the topic interests me. My father is an historian, specializing in the history of the Maritime provinces, Nova Scotia, the Acadians, and religion in Canada. He recently retired after 40 years of teaching at Acadia University. I also grew up in Port Royal, about 1 km from the Habitation, not that either of those things particularly qualify me for anything. I’ll do my best.
“What was Port Royal?” At its founding in 1605, Port Royal (Port-Royale) was the name given by Champlain to the location where his expedition landed after their catastrophic winter at St. Croix, to the surrounding area, and to the basin itself. It was there that they built their “habitation”, a sizeable wooden fort to house the settlers and serve as both a defensive fortification and a trading outpost. It’s clear from Champlain's journals that he imagined the basin as an impressive home for hundreds of ships of the French fleet, so he was thinking militarily as well as in the more immediate mindset of fur trading: Sieur du Monts, the nobleman and merchant who led the expedition, had a monopoly over fur trading in the region.
“Why did Champlain abandon this location?” A mere two years after the construction of the habitation, de Monts’ fur trading monopoly was revoked, and the expedition was forced to return to France. The local aboriginal chief Membertou agreed to look after the fort until the settlers returned. Return they did, in 1610, under nobleman Poutrincourt (although without Champlain, who had since gone to found Quebec City, amongst his other adventures). They stayed until Argall and his ships arrived from Virginia and burned the fort to the ground in 1613 while the defenders were away nearby.
“Where did he move his trade post?” (Note that Champlain wasn’t involved in the settlement at this point, so replace “he” in your question with “the French”.) The Scots arrived in 1629 and settled farther up stream, at the junction of what is today the Annapolis River and the Allain River, not far from the site of the grist mill in Lequille which Champlain and the original French settlers had built. The Scots didn’t stay long, and the area was ceded back to the French, who built a new fort on the remains of the Scottish settlement (which they also called “Port Royal”). It remained predominantly in French hands until 1710, when it was captured by the British (after a bit of ping pong in the preceding years, in which it changed hands several times).
“What did this new site become?” The new site was much more heavily fortified, both naturally and artificially, than the original site down the river. It’s built on a natural promontory at the junction of the two rivers, and has a view far down the river. On top of that, the French (building on the Scottish fortifications) constructed a “star fort” with steep hills, similar to those seen at the citadel in Halifax and the fort at Quebec City. As for what it became, it served as the nucleus for the new town of Annapolis Royal after the British captured it in 1710. It’s worth noting that Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605-1710 under the French, and its “successor” Annapolis Royal continued to serve as such for the British from 1710 until the founding of Halifax in 1749.
In the intervening 300 years since the French lost control for the last time, the town transitioned from fur trading outpost to strategic military site to regional capital to transportation and shipping hub to quiet town dependant largely on tourism.
In more modern times, 1939 saw the reconstruction of Champlain’s habitation on a site believed to be adjacent to the original fort. The design was based on Champlain’s sketches as well as descriptions drawn from his journals (Voyages). The fort is a National Historic Site and you can visit it today. The second fort also became a National Historic Park in 1917, although the only remaining structure from the French times (aside from the earthenworks of the hills) is the dungeon (all other structures date from the British times).
A word on modern nomenclature is probably helpful for anyone visiting the region or looking at google maps. The site of the initial fort is today in the rural community of “Port Royal” in Annapolis County. The site on which they later built upstream is today the small town of “Annapolis Royal”. This can be a bit confusing since the French referred to the entire area, including both the sites of the old and new forts, as Port Royal. The reconstruction of the original fort in Port Royal is known today as “Port-Royal National Historic Site”, and the second fort in Annapolis Royal is known as “Fort Anne National Historic Site”.
Some sources for the above information, as well as further reading:
I should also give a semi-related plug to my father’s recently-released book. While it doesn’t cover the French era of Port Royal, it does continue the story of the region during the reign of the British until the present day: