Despite the British Conquest of Acadia in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by ethnic French Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. Father Le Loutre's War began when Edward Cornwallis arrived with 13 transports on June 21, 1749 to establish Halifax. The British were largely confined to Halifax; having attempted to establish a settlement to the east near present-day Lawrencetown Beach, they quickly abandoned the effort due to the threat of Mi'kmaq attacks. Four years after the founding of Halifax, Lunenburg was established. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and French attacks on the new British Protestant settlements, the latter erected fortifications in Halifax (1749), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Lunenburg (1753), and Lawrencetown (1754).