Fort Pentagouët (Fort Pentagoet, Fort Castine, Fort Penobscot, Fort Saint-Pierre) was a French fort established in present-day Castine, Maine, which was the capital of Acadia (1670–1674).[1] It is the oldest permanent settlement in New England.
Its commanding position at the mouth of the Penobscot River estuary, a lucrative source of furs and timber, as well as a major transportation route into the interior, made the peninsula of particular interest to European powers in the 17th century. Majabagaduce (as the Abenaki name would be corrupted) changed hands numerous times with shifting imperial politics. At one time or another, it was occupied by the French, Dutch and England's Plymouth Colony.[2]
- ^ Dunn, Brenda (2004). A History of Port-Royal-Annapolis Royal, 1605-1800. Nimbus. ISBN 978-1-55109-740-4.; Buckner and Ried (Eds). The Atlantic Region to Confederation. University of Toronto Press. 1994. p. 71; John Faragher. Great and Nobel Scheme. 2005. p. 68
- ^ Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Castine, Boston: Russell, archived from the original on 2008-05-09, retrieved 2013-08-29