Acadian
Encyclopedia
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French
colonists
who settled in Acadia
(located in the Canadian
Maritime provinces – Nova Scotia
, New Brunswick
, and Prince Edward Island
– as well as part of Quebec
, and in the U.S. state
of Maine
). Acadia was a colony of New France
. Although today most of the Acadians and Québécois
are French speaking (francophone
) Canadians, Acadia was a distinct colony of New France
, and was geographically and administratively separate from the French colony of Canada
(modern day Quebec
), which led to Acadians and Québécois developing two rather distinct histories and cultures. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians came from "all the regions of France but coming predominantly directly from the cities".
Prior to the British Conquest of Acadia
in 1710, the Acadians lived for almost 80 years in Acadia. After the Conquest, they lived under British rule for the next forty-five years. During the French and Indian War
, British colonial officers and New England legislators and militia carried out the Great Expulsion of 1755–1763. They deported approximately 11,500 Acadians from the maritime region. Approximately one-third perished from disease and drowning. One historian compared this event to a contemporary ethnic cleansing
, while other historians suggested that the event is comparable with other deportation
s in history.
Many later settled in Louisiana
, where they became known as Cajuns. Others were transported to France (but note the subsequent policies by Henri Peyroux de la Coudreniere
). Later on many Acadians returned to the Maritime provinces of Canada, most specifically New Brunswick. Most who returned ended up in New Brunswick because they were barred by the British from resettling their lands and villages in the land that became Nova Scotia. This was a British policy to assimilate them with the local populations where they resettled.
Acadians speak a dialect of French called Acadian French
. Many of those in the Moncton, New Brunswick area speak Chiac and English
. The Louisiana Cajun
descendants mostly speak English
, with a distinct local dialect known as Cajun English
being prominent, but some still speak Cajun French
, a French dialect developed in Louisiana.
During the 17th century, about sixty French families were established in Acadia. They developed friendly relations with the aboriginal Mi'kmaq, learning their hunting and fishing techniques. The Acadians lived mainly in the coastal regions of the Bay of Fundy; farming land reclaimed from the sea through diking. Living in a contested borderland region between French and British territories, the Acadians found themselves often entangled in the conflict between the powers. Before the Expulsion of the Acadians, there was already a long history of Acadian resistance to the British occupation of Acadia during the four French and Indian Wars
and two local wars (Dummer's War
and Father Le Loutre's War
).
The British Conquest of Acadia
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg
and Fort Beausejour
. During the French and Indian War
, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
Many Acadians might have signed an unconditional oath to the British monarchy had the circumstances been better, while other Acadians did not sign because they were clearly anti-British. For the Acadians who might have signed an unconditional oath, there were numerous reasons why they did not. The difficulty was partly religious, in that the British monarch was the head of the (Protestant) Church of England. Another significant issue was that an oath might commit male Acadians to fight against France during wartime. A related concern was whether their Mi'kmaq neighbours might perceive this as acknowledging the British claim to Acadia rather than the Mi'kmaq. As a result, signing an unconditional oath might have put Acadian villages in dangers of attack from Mi'kmaq.
In the Great Expulsion (le Grand Dérangement, beginning in August 1755 under Lieutenant Governor Lawrence, approximately 11,500 Acadians (three-quarters of the Acadian population in Nova Scotia) were expelled, their lands and property confiscated, and in some cases their homes burned. The Acadians were deported throughout the British eastern seaboard colonies from New England to Georgia. Although measures were taken during the embarkation of the Acadians to the transport ship, some families became split up. Thousands were transported to France. Gradually, some managed to make their way from France to Louisiana
, creating the Cajun
population and culture after mixing with others there.
Other Acadians returned to British North America
, settling in coastal villages and in northern New Brunswick
. Some settled in the region of Fort Sainte-Anne, now Fredericton, but were later displaced by the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists
after the American Revolution
.
In 2003, at the request of Acadian representatives, Elizabeth II issued a Royal Proclamation
acknowledging the deportation and establishing July 28 as an annual day of commemoration, beginning in 2005. The day is called the "Great Upheaval
" on some English-language calendars.
Île Lamèque including Caraquet in the center, all the way to Neguac in the southern part, Grande-Anse in the eastern part and Campbellton
through to St.Quentin in the northern part. Other groups of Acadians can be found in the Magdalen Islands
and throughout other parts of Quebec. Many Acadians still live in and around the area of St. David, Maine where the Acadians first landed and settled in what is now known as the St. John Valley. There are also Acadians in Prince Edward Island
and Nova Scotia such as Chéticamp, Isle Madame
, and Clare
. East and West Pubnico
, located at the end of the province, are the oldest regions still Acadian.
The Acadians settled on the land before the deportation and returned to the same exact land after the deportation. Still others can be found in the southern and western regions of New Brunswick, Western Newfoundland and in New England. Many of these latter communities have faced varying degrees of assimilation. For many families in predominantly Anglophone
communities, French-language attrition
has occurred, particularly in younger generations.
The Acadians who settled in Louisiana
after 1764, known as Cajuns, have had a dominant cultural influence in many parishes
, particularly in the southwestern area of the state known as Acadiana
.
August 15, the feast of the Assumption
, was adopted as the national feast day of the Acadians at the First Acadian National Convention, held in Memramcook
, New Brunswick
in 1881. On that day, the Acadians celebrate by having the tintamarre
which consists mainly of a big parade where people can dress up with the colours of Acadia and make a lot of noise.
The national anthem
of the Acadians is "Ave, maris stella", adopted at Miscouche, Prince Edward Island
in 1884. The anthem was revised at the 1992 meeting of the Société Nationale de l'Acadies, where the second, third and fourth verses were changed to French, with the first and last kept in the original Latin.
The Federation des Associations de Familles Acadiennnes of New Brunswick and the Société Saint-Thomas d'Aquin of Prince Edward Island has resolved that December 13 each year shall be commemorated as "Acadian Remembrance Day" to commemorate the sinking of the Duke William and the nearly 2000 Acadians deported from Ile-Saint Jean who perished in the North Atlantic from hunger, disease and drowning in 1758. The event has been commemorated annually since 2004 and participants mark the event by wearing a black star.
Today, there are cartoons featuring Acadian characters and an Acadian show named Acadieman
.
In 1847, American writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
published Evangeline
, an epic poem loosely based on the events surrounding the 1755 deportation. The poem became an American classic, and contributed to a rebirth of Acadian identity in both Maritime Canada and in Louisiana.
In the early twentieth century, two statues were made of Evangeline, one in St. Martinville, Louisanna and the other in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, which both commemorate the Expulsion.
Robbie Robertson
wrote a popular song based on the Acadian Expulsion titled Acadian Driftwood
, which appeared on The Band
's 1975 album, Northern Lights – Southern Cross.
Antonine Maillet
's Pélagie-la-charette concerns the return voyage to Acadia of several deported families starting 15 years after the Great Expulsion.
The Acadian Memorial (Monument Acadien) honors those 3,000 who settled in Louisiana
.
Throughout the Canadian Maritime Provinces there are Acadian Monuments to the Expulsion, such as the one at Georges Island (Nova Scotia) and Beaubears Island
.
is the French
tricolour with a golden star in the blue field (see above), which symbolizes the Saint Mary
, Our Lady of the Assumption
, patron saint
of the Acadians and the "Star of the Sea
". This flag was adopted in 1884 at the Second Acadian National Convention, held in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island
.
Acadians in the diaspora have adopted other symbols. The flag of Acadians in Louisiana, known as Cajuns, was designed by Thomas J. Arceneaux of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
, and adopted by the Louisiana legislature as the official emblem of the Acadiana
region in 1974.
A group of New England Acadians attending Le Congrès Mondial Acadien in Nova Scotia in 2004, endorsed a design for a New England Acadian flag by William Cork, and are advocating for its wider acceptance.
(1684–1758). Noel was one of more than 350 Acadians that perished on the Duke William on December 13, 1758. Noel was described by the Captain of the Duke William as the "father of the whole island", a reference to Noel's place of prominence among the Acadian residents of Isle St. Jean (Prince Edward Island). For his "noble resignation" and self-sacrifice aboard the Duke William, Noel was celebrated in popular print throughout the 19th century in England and America. Noel also is the namesake of the village Noel, Nova Scotia
.
Another prominent Acadian from the 18th century was militia leader Joseph Broussard
who joined French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre
in resisting the British occupation of Acadia.
More recent notable Acadians include singers Weldon Boudreau, Delores Boudreau, Angèle Arsenault
and Edith Butler
, singer Jean-François Breau, writer Antonine Maillet
; film director Phil Comeau
; singer/songwriter Julie Doiron
; boxers Yvon Durelle
and Jacques LeBlanc
; pitcher Rheal Cormier
; former Governor General
Roméo LeBlanc
; former premier of Prince Edward Island
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault
, the first Acadian premier of any province and the first Acadian appointed to a provincial supreme court; Aubin-Edmond Arsenault's father, Joseph-Octave Arsenault
, the first Acadian appointed to the Canadian Senate from Prince Edward Island; Peter John Veniot, first Acadian Premier of New Brunswick; and former New Brunswick premier Louis Robichaud
, who was responsible for modernizing education and the government of New Brunswick in the mid-20th century. Chris d'Entremont
is the current MLA of Argyle, Nova Scotia.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonists
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
who settled in Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
(located in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Maritime provinces – Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
– as well as part of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
). Acadia was a colony of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. Although today most of the Acadians and Québécois
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
are French speaking (francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
) Canadians, Acadia was a distinct colony of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
, and was geographically and administratively separate from the French colony of Canada
Canada, New France
Canada was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided into three districts, each with its own government: Quebec,...
(modern day Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
), which led to Acadians and Québécois developing two rather distinct histories and cultures. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians came from "all the regions of France but coming predominantly directly from the cities".
Prior to the British Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
in 1710, the Acadians lived for almost 80 years in Acadia. After the Conquest, they lived under British rule for the next forty-five years. During the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, British colonial officers and New England legislators and militia carried out the Great Expulsion of 1755–1763. They deported approximately 11,500 Acadians from the maritime region. Approximately one-third perished from disease and drowning. One historian compared this event to a contemporary ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
, while other historians suggested that the event is comparable with other deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
s in history.
Many later settled in Louisiana
Acadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
, where they became known as Cajuns. Others were transported to France (but note the subsequent policies by Henri Peyroux de la Coudreniere
Henri Peyroux de la Coudreniere
Henri Peyroux, de la Coudreniere , was a French politician and author who is perhaps best known for his scheme to transport the exiled Acadians from France to Louisiana, from which the people known as Cajuns are descended....
). Later on many Acadians returned to the Maritime provinces of Canada, most specifically New Brunswick. Most who returned ended up in New Brunswick because they were barred by the British from resettling their lands and villages in the land that became Nova Scotia. This was a British policy to assimilate them with the local populations where they resettled.
Acadians speak a dialect of French called Acadian French
Acadian French
Acadian French , is a regionalized dialect of Canadian French. It is spoken by the francophone population of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by small minorities in areas in the Gaspé region of eastern Quebec, by small groups of francophones in Prince Edward Island, in several tiny pockets...
. Many of those in the Moncton, New Brunswick area speak Chiac and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The Louisiana Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
descendants mostly speak English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
, with a distinct local dialect known as Cajun English
Cajun English
Cajun English is the dialect of English spoken by Cajuns living in southern Louisiana and, to some extent, in eastern Texas. Cajun English is significantly influenced by Cajun French, the historical language of the Cajun people, a direct descendant of Acadian French, which differs somewhat from...
being prominent, but some still speak Cajun French
Cajun French
Cajun French is a variety or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in Louisiana, specifically in the southern and southwestern parishes....
, a French dialect developed in Louisiana.
Pre-Deportation history
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
and two local wars (Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
and Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
).
The British Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th century French fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia...
and Fort Beausejour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
. During the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
Many Acadians might have signed an unconditional oath to the British monarchy had the circumstances been better, while other Acadians did not sign because they were clearly anti-British. For the Acadians who might have signed an unconditional oath, there were numerous reasons why they did not. The difficulty was partly religious, in that the British monarch was the head of the (Protestant) Church of England. Another significant issue was that an oath might commit male Acadians to fight against France during wartime. A related concern was whether their Mi'kmaq neighbours might perceive this as acknowledging the British claim to Acadia rather than the Mi'kmaq. As a result, signing an unconditional oath might have put Acadian villages in dangers of attack from Mi'kmaq.
In the Great Expulsion (le Grand Dérangement, beginning in August 1755 under Lieutenant Governor Lawrence, approximately 11,500 Acadians (three-quarters of the Acadian population in Nova Scotia) were expelled, their lands and property confiscated, and in some cases their homes burned. The Acadians were deported throughout the British eastern seaboard colonies from New England to Georgia. Although measures were taken during the embarkation of the Acadians to the transport ship, some families became split up. Thousands were transported to France. Gradually, some managed to make their way from France to Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
, creating the Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
population and culture after mixing with others there.
Other Acadians returned to British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
, settling in coastal villages and in northern New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. Some settled in the region of Fort Sainte-Anne, now Fredericton, but were later displaced by the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
In 2003, at the request of Acadian representatives, Elizabeth II issued a Royal Proclamation
Royal Proclamation of 2003
The Royal Proclamation of 2003 — formally known as Proclamation Designating July 28 of Every Year as "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval", Commencing on July 28, 2005 — is a document issued by Queen Elizabeth II acknowledging the Grand Dérangement, England's expulsion of French-speaking...
acknowledging the deportation and establishing July 28 as an annual day of commemoration, beginning in 2005. The day is called the "Great Upheaval
Great Upheaval
The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from present day Canadian Maritime provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
" on some English-language calendars.
Geography
The Acadians today live predominately in the Canadian Maritime provinces, as well as parts of Quebec, Louisiana and Maine. In New Brunswick, Acadians inhabit the northern and eastern shores of New Brunswick, from Miscou IslandMiscou Island
Miscou Island is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick.It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both islands forming Miscou Harbour....
Île Lamèque including Caraquet in the center, all the way to Neguac in the southern part, Grande-Anse in the eastern part and Campbellton
Campbellton
-Canada:* Campbellton, New Brunswick* Campbellton, Newfoundland and Labrador* Campbellton-Restigouche Centre, a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada-United States:* Campbellton, Florida* Campbellton, Georgia...
through to St.Quentin in the northern part. Other groups of Acadians can be found in the Magdalen Islands
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....
and throughout other parts of Quebec. Many Acadians still live in and around the area of St. David, Maine where the Acadians first landed and settled in what is now known as the St. John Valley. There are also Acadians in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
and Nova Scotia such as Chéticamp, Isle Madame
Isle Madame
Isle Madame is a Canadian island located at off the southeastern corner of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.The island was settled by France as part of its colony of Île-Royale . It is presumed to have been named for Madame de Maintenon, the second wife of France's King Louis XIV. After the fall...
, and Clare
Clare, Nova Scotia
Clare is a municipal district in western Nova Scotia, Canada.Primarily an Acadian region, Clare occupies the western half of Digby County. Most of the municipality's settled areas are located along St. Marys Bay, a sub-basin of the Gulf of Maine...
. East and West Pubnico
Pubnico (village), Nova Scotia
Pubnico is a small French Acadian community located in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia on Nova Scotia Trunk 3 . It was founded in 1653 by Philippe Mius d’Entremont...
, located at the end of the province, are the oldest regions still Acadian.
The Acadians settled on the land before the deportation and returned to the same exact land after the deportation. Still others can be found in the southern and western regions of New Brunswick, Western Newfoundland and in New England. Many of these latter communities have faced varying degrees of assimilation. For many families in predominantly Anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
communities, French-language attrition
Language attrition
Language attrition is the loss of a first or second language or a portion of that language by individuals. Speakers who routinely use more than one language may not use either of their languages in ways which are exactly like that of a monolingual speaker...
has occurred, particularly in younger generations.
The Acadians who settled in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
after 1764, known as Cajuns, have had a dominant cultural influence in many parishes
Parish (subnational entity)
A parish is an administrative division used by several countries. In the British Isles it is known as a civil parish to distinguish it from the ecclesiastical parish.-External links:* Editorial in The Guardian, 2011-05-16....
, particularly in the southwestern area of the state known as Acadiana
Acadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
.
Culture
Today Acadians are a vibrant minority, particularly in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Louisiana (Cajuns), and northern Maine. Since 1994, Le Congrès Mondial Acadien has united Acadians of the Maritimes, New England, and Louisiana.August 15, the feast of the Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
, was adopted as the national feast day of the Acadians at the First Acadian National Convention, held in Memramcook
Memramcook, New Brunswick
Memramcook is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac derivative of the French language....
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
in 1881. On that day, the Acadians celebrate by having the tintamarre
Tintamarre
Tintamarre is an Acadian tradition of marching through one's community making noise with improvised instruments and other noisemakers, usually in celebration of National Acadian Day. The term originates from the Acadian French word meaning "clangour" or "din"...
which consists mainly of a big parade where people can dress up with the colours of Acadia and make a lot of noise.
The national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of the Acadians is "Ave, maris stella", adopted at Miscouche, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
in 1884. The anthem was revised at the 1992 meeting of the Société Nationale de l'Acadies, where the second, third and fourth verses were changed to French, with the first and last kept in the original Latin.
The Federation des Associations de Familles Acadiennnes of New Brunswick and the Société Saint-Thomas d'Aquin of Prince Edward Island has resolved that December 13 each year shall be commemorated as "Acadian Remembrance Day" to commemorate the sinking of the Duke William and the nearly 2000 Acadians deported from Ile-Saint Jean who perished in the North Atlantic from hunger, disease and drowning in 1758. The event has been commemorated annually since 2004 and participants mark the event by wearing a black star.
Today, there are cartoons featuring Acadian characters and an Acadian show named Acadieman
Acadieman
Acadieman is the first Acadian superhero, created by cartoonist and musician Daniel "Dano" Leblanc. His animated series Acadieman, began airing in late 2005, and can be seen on both Rogers TV and TV Rogers...
.
Artistic commemorations of The Expulsion
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
published Evangeline
Evangeline
Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, is an epic poem published in 1847 by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians.The idea for the poem came from...
, an epic poem loosely based on the events surrounding the 1755 deportation. The poem became an American classic, and contributed to a rebirth of Acadian identity in both Maritime Canada and in Louisiana.
In the early twentieth century, two statues were made of Evangeline, one in St. Martinville, Louisanna and the other in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, which both commemorate the Expulsion.
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
wrote a popular song based on the Acadian Expulsion titled Acadian Driftwood
Acadian Driftwood
"Acadian Driftwood" is a song by The Band. It was the fourth track on the album Northern Lights - Southern Cross."Acadian Driftwood" is a portrayal of the troubled history of Nova Scotia and Acadia, the Great Upheaval...
, which appeared on The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
's 1975 album, Northern Lights – Southern Cross.
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick and lives in Montreal, Quebec....
's Pélagie-la-charette concerns the return voyage to Acadia of several deported families starting 15 years after the Great Expulsion.
The Acadian Memorial (Monument Acadien) honors those 3,000 who settled in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Throughout the Canadian Maritime Provinces there are Acadian Monuments to the Expulsion, such as the one at Georges Island (Nova Scotia) and Beaubears Island
Beaubears Island
Beaubears Island is an island at the confluence of the Northwest Miramichi and Southwest Miramichi Rivers near Miramichi, New Brunswick. The island is most famous for being the site of an Acadian refugee camp during the French and Indian War. The camp was under the command of leader of the Acadian...
.
Flags
The flag of the AcadiansFlag of Acadia
The flag of Acadia was adopted on August 15, 1884, at the Second Acadian National Convention held in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, by nearly 5,000 Acadian delegates from across the Maritimes. It was designed by Father Marcel-Francois Richard, a priest from Saint-Louis-de-Kent, New Brunswick...
is the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
tricolour with a golden star in the blue field (see above), which symbolizes the Saint Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
, Our Lady of the Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
, patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of the Acadians and the "Star of the Sea
Our Lady, Star of the Sea
Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris, first reliably used with relation to the Virgin Mary in the ninth century...
". This flag was adopted in 1884 at the Second Acadian National Convention, held in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island
Miscouche, Prince Edward Island
Miscouche is a Canadian rural community in Prince County, Prince Edward IslandIncorporated in 1957, Miscouche is located 6 miles west of the city of Summerside...
.
Acadians in the diaspora have adopted other symbols. The flag of Acadians in Louisiana, known as Cajuns, was designed by Thomas J. Arceneaux of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
, and adopted by the Louisiana legislature as the official emblem of the Acadiana
Acadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
region in 1974.
A group of New England Acadians attending Le Congrès Mondial Acadien in Nova Scotia in 2004, endorsed a design for a New England Acadian flag by William Cork, and are advocating for its wider acceptance.
Prominent Acadians
Notable Acadians in the 18th century include Noel DoironNoel Doiron
Noel Doiron was a leader of the Acadians, renown for the decisions he made during the Deportation of the Acadians. Doiron was deported on a vessel named the Duke William . The sinking of the Duke William was one of the worst marine disasters in Canadian history...
(1684–1758). Noel was one of more than 350 Acadians that perished on the Duke William on December 13, 1758. Noel was described by the Captain of the Duke William as the "father of the whole island", a reference to Noel's place of prominence among the Acadian residents of Isle St. Jean (Prince Edward Island). For his "noble resignation" and self-sacrifice aboard the Duke William, Noel was celebrated in popular print throughout the 19th century in England and America. Noel also is the namesake of the village Noel, Nova Scotia
Noel, Nova Scotia
Noel is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants, which is in Hants County, Nova Scotia . The community is most well known for being named after its most prominent resident Noel Doiron and for ship building in the nineteenth century...
.
Another prominent Acadian from the 18th century was militia leader Joseph Broussard
Joseph Broussard
Joseph Gaurhept Broussard , also known as Beausoleil, was a leader of the Acadian people in Acadia; later Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Broussard organized a resistance movement against the forced Expulsion of the Acadians...
who joined French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society...
in resisting the British occupation of Acadia.
More recent notable Acadians include singers Weldon Boudreau, Delores Boudreau, Angèle Arsenault
Angèle Arsenault
Angèle Arsenault, is an acclaimed Canadian-Acadian singer, songwriter and media host.- Early life :Arsenault was born to Acadian parents in Abrams Village, Prince Edward Island, Canada in 1943. She was the eighth child out of fourteen children. She grew up surrounded by music because this medium...
and Edith Butler
Édith Butler
Édith Butler O.C. is an Acadian singer-songwriter and folklorist. Her career began in the early 1960s with performances in Moncton, followed by national appearances on CBC Television's Singalong Jubilee.2003's Madame Butlerfly is her most recent studio recording.-Honours:*Butler was appointed an...
, singer Jean-François Breau, writer Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick and lives in Montreal, Quebec....
; film director Phil Comeau
Phil Comeau
Phil Comeau, CM is a Canadian film and television director, born in Digby, Nova Scotia and living in Montreal, Quebec.- Biography :Phil Comeau, based in Montreal since 1983, is a film and television director and scriptwriter...
; singer/songwriter Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron is an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage.-Background:Doiron started playing guitar in Eric's Trip at the age of eighteen, having joined the band at the insistence of her then-boyfriend, Rick White, also of Eric's Trip...
; boxers Yvon Durelle
Yvon Durelle
Yvon Durelle , born in Baie-Ste-Anne, New Brunswick, Canada, was a French Canadian champion boxer.-Early life and career:...
and Jacques LeBlanc
Jacques LeBlanc
Jacques LeBlanc is a retired Acadian Middleweight Boxer.- Early career :LeBlanc started his boxing career in 1982, Knocking out Tim Parson in 2 rounds. In 1988 LeBlanc fought and won a fight versus Danny Winters for the Maritimes Middleweight Title...
; pitcher Rheal Cormier
Rheal Cormier
Rhéal Paul Cormier is a Canadian former Major League Baseball pitcher.He attended Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick, Rhode Island, and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 6th round of the 1988 amateur draft...
; former Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc was a Canadian journalist, politician, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation....
; former premier of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault was a Prince Edward Island politician. He was the 13th Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1917 to 1919....
, the first Acadian premier of any province and the first Acadian appointed to a provincial supreme court; Aubin-Edmond Arsenault's father, Joseph-Octave Arsenault
Joseph-Octave Arsenault
Joseph-Octave Arsenault was a Canadian politician who was the first Acadian from Prince Edward Island to be named to the Canadian Senate....
, the first Acadian appointed to the Canadian Senate from Prince Edward Island; Peter John Veniot, first Acadian Premier of New Brunswick; and former New Brunswick premier Louis Robichaud
Louis Robichaud
Louis Joseph Robichaud, PC, CC, QC , popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis" , was a Canadian lawyer and politician...
, who was responsible for modernizing education and the government of New Brunswick in the mid-20th century. Chris d'Entremont
Chris d'Entremont
Chris A. d'Entremont is a Canadian politician. He currently represents the electoral district of Argyle in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly...
is the current MLA of Argyle, Nova Scotia.
See also
- New BrunswickNew BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
- New FranceNew FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
- History of Nova ScotiaHistory of Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the colony was primarily made up of Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq...
Further reading
- J. Chetro-Szivos "Talking Acadian: Work, Communication, and Culture, YBK 2006, New York ISBN 0-9764359-6-9.
- Dean Jobb, The Acadians: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph, John Wiley & Sons, 2005 (published in the United States as The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph)
- James Laxer, The Acadians: In Search of a Homeland, Doubleday Canada, October 2006 ISBN 0-385-66108-8.
- Naomi Griffiths, From Migrant to Acadian: a North American border people, 1604–1755, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005.
- Naomi E. S. Griffiths, The Acadian Deportation: Deliberate Perfidy or Cruel Necessity? Toronto: Copp Clark, 1969.}}
- Le Bouthillier, Claude, Phantom Ship, XYZ editors, 1994, ISBN13: 9781894852098
External links
- Acadian Ancestral Home - A repository for Acadian history & genealogy
- 1755: The History and the Stories
- Acadian-Cajun History & Genealogy – Acadian-Cajun culture, history, & genealogy.
- L'Acadie Toujours! – Acadians in New England.
- Acadian literature - Acadian litterature by Claude Le Bouthillier
- Acadian Author & Storyteller Marie-Colombe Robichaud—Site is only in French
- Musee acadien and Research Centre of West Pubnico
- Kings County Museum