villages in the immediate area included Weskak (now Westcock), Pré-des-Bourgs (Sackville), Pré-des-Richards (Middle Sackville), and Aulac. About half of the population were refugees from mainland Nova Scotia. Beginnings of warfare The settlement was subject to attacks from New England starting with the 1696 Raid on Chignecto during Queen Anne's War, led by Benjamin Church. In 1704 he returned and attacked the Beaubassin region again. Destruction Beaubassin was located at a site of strategic military importance. The peace and prosperity of Beaubassin was ended by rivalry between Britain and France for the control of Canada in the mid 1700s. Acadia comprised most of what is now the Maritimes, as well as parts of Québec, and northern Maine. With the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the part of Acadia today known as peninsular Nova Scotia became another British colony on the eastern seaboard. The area now known as New Brunswick remained under French control, as did what are now known as Prince Edward Island (then known as Île Saint-Jean) and Cape Breton Island (then known as Île Royale). Due to disagreements in interpretation of the treaty provisions delineating Acadia's boundaries, the ownership of New Brunswick was disputed. An informal dividing line was established on the Isthmus of Chignecto at the Missiguash River, near the site of Beaubassin. In May 1750, the British dispatched Major Charles Lawrence, along with 800 troops, to seize control of the Isthmus of Chignecto and construct a fort near the French post of Point Beauséjour, future site of Fort Beauséjour. As the British arrived, the French and their allies burned the town to prevent its use by the enemy. Forty-five buildings were burned. The Acadian population abandoned the village and sought refuge on the other side of the Missaguash River on Point Beauséjour. Major Lawrence and his troops later built Fort Lawrence near the site. The bell was saved from Notre Dame d'Assumption Church and eventually put it into a cathedral at Fort Beauséjour. Aftermath The British occupancy of the Isthmus of Chignecto marked the beginning of the end of French power in Acadia. Less than five years later, British and New England troops used Fort Lawrence as their base to capture Fort Beausejour in June 1755, followed soon after by the Expulsion of the Acadians from the area. The site today In 2004, Parks Canada acquired a significant portion of the lands on which Beaubassin once stood and