e. The treaty of Paris, 1763

It was the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, following the Seven Year War, which established the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon as a shelter for the French fishery; the French soon took advantage of this establishment and the King took all necessary steps to ensure that the colony was a successful enterprise but before long the arrival of Acadian refugees, Louisbourg Merchants, and the fast growth of the new colony raised serious issues. On top of this, relations with the British government in Newfoundland quickly became difficult. Hugh Palliser saw any French military presence in Saint-Pierre as a serious threat, just as William Pitt the Elder in London feared the islands would become a second Louisburg.

Thus relations between the French and the British remained tense. Moreover, events in the American colonies would soon prove disastrous for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. An active trade had developed between the French and the Americans in Saint-Pierre, which the British in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia had tolerated to some degree.