How ignoring 3,000 years of Native knowledge doomed France’s first North American settlement

Saint Croix Island’s Deadly Winter of 1604

The Saint Croix Island International Historic Site sits on the border between Maine and New Brunswick.

The site features seven bronze figures depicting France’s first attempt at year-round colonization in North America, based on Samuel de Champlain’s own journals.

The Passamaquoddy had used successfully for over 3,000 years as a food storage location became a death trap for European colonists who ignored indigenous wisdom.

The winter of 1604-1605 turned into one of the deadliest season with 35 of 79 French settlers dying from scurvy while trapped on the frozen island.

Here’s how ancient Native American knowledge could have saved France’s first colony, about three years before Jamestown was even founded.

Passamaquoddy People Used This Tiny Island as a Food Vault for Thousands of Years

For over 3,000 years, the Passamaquoddy people called Saint Croix Island “Muttoneguis,” meaning “a place to leave things going up and down the river.

They used this 6.5-acre island to store food safely away from mainland animals. People first settled around the Bay of Fundy nearly 11,000 years ago.

Folks likely lived on Saint Croix Island about 5,000 years ago, with the area buzzing with Passamaquoddy activity by 2,500 years ago.

King Henry IV Handed a French Nobleman the Keys to North America

On November 8, 1603, France’s King Henry IV gave Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, a fur trade monopoly and put him in charge of La Cadie, the land between the 40th and 46th parallels.

Dugua promised to start colonies and convert natives to Christianity. He gathered 120 noblemen, craftsmen, and soldiers and hired five ships.

The hopeful group left Havre de Grâce (now Le Havre) in March 1604, carrying dreams of wealth across the Atlantic.

The Cross-Shaped Waters Led Explorers to Their New Home

By June 1604, the five ships sailed into Passamaquoddy Bay. They named it Saint Croix because the waters around it looked like a cross.

The area offered plenty of seafood like fish, clams, mussels, sea urchins, and snails. Trees gave settlers all the wood they needed.

The French also liked that the island would be easy to defend against other Europeans trying to grab land in the New World.

France Built Its First North American Colony Three Years Before Jamestown

The colonists quickly built forts, a storehouse, homes, an oven, a mill, a blacksmith shop, a well, a kitchen, and gardens on both the island and the mainland.

When the supply ships went back to France, 79 men stayed behind on Saint Croix Island. They planned for the ships to return in spring with more men and supplies.

The settlers traded with local Passamaquoddy people, swapping European tools for fresh meat and furs to help them through their first months.

Snow Arrived in Early October, Catching the Settlers Off Guard

The first snow fell on October 6, much earlier than the French expected.

Since Saint Croix Island sits at roughly the same spot on the map as France, the settlers thought the weather would be similar.

The winter of 1604-1605 turned out to be one of the coldest ever. Snow piled up waist-deep until late April. Fierce north winds blew across the open island.

The ice in the river blocked them from reaching water and wood on the mainland.

Ice Turned Their Island Haven Into a Prison

By December 3rd, ice completely surrounded the island. Large chunks floated through the river, cutting off the settlers from the mainland and fresh supplies.

The dangerous ice made it impossible for the men to reach fresh water and game just across the water.

The colonists found themselves stuck on their small island with limited drinking water and no way to get more firewood as their supplies ran low and the bitter cold grew worse.

Men Started Dying as Their Bodies Broke Down

By February, the settlers got very sick. Doctors today think they had scurvy from not getting enough vitamin C in winter.

Scurvy causes skin spots, bleeding, limb pain, and soft gums. Food supplies froze solid in storage. They had to chip drinking cider into blocks for rations.

Their diet shrank to mostly salt meat.

The men lived on Spanish wine, dirty water, frozen cider, and salted meat, all missing the vitamins their bodies needed to stay healthy.

Teeth Fell Out as Scurvy Ravaged the Colony

Thirty-five of the 79 settlers died from scurvy, poor diet, and freezing cold. Champlain wrote, “Of the seventy-nine of us, thirty-five died and twenty others were near it.”

The disease made their teeth fall out while chunks of flesh grew in their mouths. Most couldn’t walk as they got sicker.

One skull found later showed signs of autopsy, which Champlain ordered to try to figure out what caused the mystery illness.

Bodies piled up through winter, buried in the frozen island ground.

Native Americans Brought Game That Saved the Survivors

By March 1605, when ice finally melted enough, local Passamaquoddy people reached the island. They brought fresh game to trade for bread and European goods.

The fresh meat gave survivors the vitamin C and nutrients they badly needed. By May, the settlers who lived through winter had mostly gotten their health back.

The Passamaquoddy’s knowledge of local food and hunting helped the Frenchmen survive after months of being cut off and sick.

Ships Arrived With Supplies and a Chance to Escape

In June 1605, French ships finally returned with more supplies and men. After watching almost half his crew die during winter, Dugua decided to move the settlement.

In August 1605, after looking at the coast as far south as Cape Cod, he picked Port Royal in what’s now Nova Scotia for their new home.

The survivors packed what was left of their stuff and left the island that had become a graveyard for many of their friends.

Paved the Way for Future French Settlements

The Saint Croix Island settlement came before both Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (1620), making it one of the earliest European outposts on North America’s Atlantic coast.

The Port Royal settlement proved far more successful than Saint Croix.

Its location in the Annapolis Valley protected settlers from harsh weather and provided better access to resources.

The knowledge gained through the tragic Saint Croix experience helped the French avoid similar mistakes.

Despite its failure, this first colony laid the groundwork for successful French settlements throughout North America in the years that followed.

Visiting Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

Saint Croix Island International Historic Site in Calais, Maine tells the story of France’s failed 1604 colony where many settlers died during a brutal winter.

You can visit the grounds for free year-round from sunrise to sunset. The visitor center is open Thursday through Monday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm until October 31.

Walk the short 300-foot trail to a gazebo with views of the island where the French settlement once stood. The island itself is off-limits.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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