King William's War in the context of "Nine Years' War"

Acadia (French: Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. Settlers primarily came from the southwestern regions of France, including Poitou-Charentes and the Aquitaine region (now known as Nouvelle-Aquitaine), as well as Poitou and Anjou. The territory was originally inhabited by various First Nations of the Wabanaki Confederacy who referred to the region as Dawnland.

The first capital of Acadia was established in 1605 as Port-Royal. Soon after, English forces of Captain Argall, an English ship's captain employed by the Virginia Company of London attacked and burned down the fortified habitation in 1613. A new centre for Port-Royal was established nearby, and it remained the longest-serving capital of French Acadia until the British siege of Port Royal in 1710. There were six colonial wars in a 74-year period in which British interests tried to capture Acadia, starting with King William's War in 1689.

Provincial troops were military units raised by colonial governors and legislatures in British America for extended operations during the French and Indian Wars. The provincial troops differed from the militia, in that they were a full-time military organization conducting extended operations. They differed from the regular British Army in that they were recruited only for one campaign season at the time. These forces were often recruited through a quota system applied to the militia. Officers were appointed by the provincial governments. During the eighteenth century militia service was increasingly seen as a prerogative of the social and economic well-established, while provincial troops came to be recruited from different and less deep-rooted members of the community.

The first provincial forces in British North America were organized in the 1670s. The major operations during King William's War were conducted by provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay. During Queen Anne's War provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Hampshire made up the bulk of the English forces. During King George's War the land forces that took Louisbourg were entirely supplied by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. During the French and Indian War the imperial government in London took an increasingly more leading part, relegating the provincial troops to a non-combat role, largely as pioneers and transportation troops, while the bulk of the fighting was done by the regular British Army. However the contributions of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were essential.