Grand-pre
Encyclopedia
Grand-Pré National Historic Site is a park set aside to commemorate the Grand-Pré area of Nova Scotia
as a centre of Acadia
n settlement from 1682 to 1755, and the deportation
of the Acadians which began in 1755 and continued to 1762. The original village of Grand Pré extended four kilometres along the ridge between present-day Wolfville and Hortonville
(where the British fort Fort Vieux Logis
was located). Together with the adjacent marshland, this area was designated a Rural Historic District by the Government of Canada in 1995.
which was the first capital of the French settlement of Acadia
(Acadie in French). Grand Pre is located in Nova Scotia Canada.
Pierre Melanson and the Acadians who joined him in Grand-Pré built dykes there to hold back the tides along the Minas Basin. They created rich pastures for their animals and fertile fields for their crops. Grand-Pré became the bread basket of Acadia, soon outgrew Port-Royal, and by the mid-18th century was the largest of the numerous Acadian communities around the Bay of Fundy
and the coastline of Nova Scotia (Latin for "New Scotland").
, the Raid on Grand Pré
(1704) happened and Major Benjamin Church (military officer) burned the entire village. After the war, in 1713, part of Acadia became Nova Scotia, and Port-Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, became its capital. Rather than leave, the Acadians chose to live under British rule. However, they were asked to take an oath of allegiance to the British crown. This oath became a bone of contention for the next 40 years. Many signed a conditional oath in 1730 on the premise that they never be forced to take up arms against the French.
.
Father Le Loutre's War
began with the establishement of Halifax
, which became the new capital for the colony in 1749. Shortly after the war, the Mi'kmaq attacked the British fort at Grand Pre Fort Vieux Logis
in the Siege of Grand Pre
.
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.
In the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755), during the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
, the Acadians in the Minas area had their boats and their guns confiscated. The French Fort Beauséjour
was captured. Acadian delegates, in Halifax to present a petition, were imprisoned. The governor, Charles Lawrence, coveting the Acadian farmland, decided to settle the Acadian question once and for all. With the help of Governor William Shirley
of Massachusetts
, the Expulsion of the Acadians began, and the Acadians would be expelled from Nova Scotia and dispersed among the British colonies to the south, from Massachusetts to Georgia.
Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow
arrived in Grand-Pré with troops on August 19, 1755 and took up headquarters in the church. The men and boys of the area were ordered there on September 5. Winslow informed them that all but their personal goods were to be forfeited to the Crown and that they and their families were to be deported as soon as ships arrived to take them away. At exactly the same time, the Acadians in the neighbouring village of Pisiguit
were informed of the same declaration at Fort Edward
.
Before the year was over, more than 6,000 Acadians were deported, not only from the Minas Basin area but from all of mainland Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Their villages were burned to the ground. Thousands more would be deported in the second wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians, which involved the deportation of the Acadians from Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island (1758). The deportation continued until England and France made peace in 1763. In all, 12,000 Acadians were deported, and half would die from drowning, starvation, imprisonment, and cold weather.
, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
was published in the United States in 1847, the story of the Deportation and le Grand Dérangement, the great uprooting, was told to the English-speaking world. Grand-Pré, forgotten for almost a century, became popular for American tourists who wanted to visit the birthplace of the poem's heroine, Evangeline. But nothing remained of the original village except the dykelands and a row of old willows.
in 1917 on the condition that Acadians be involved in its preservation. Acadian history had already become a staple for tourism traffic on the Dominion Atlantic and the Grand Pre site was located beside the railway's mainline. The railway made substantial investments in developing the park and promoting the history and lore of Acadians. Extensive gardens were planted at the site and a small museum was opened. In 1920 the Dominion Atlantic erected a statue of Evangeline conceived by Canadian sculptor Philippe Hébert and, after his death, finished by his son Henri. The railway deeded a piece of the land and funds were raised to build a memorial church in Grand-Pré. Construction began in the spring of 1922 and the exterior was finished by November. The interior of the church was finished in 1930, the 175th anniversary of the Deportation, and the church opened as a museum.
took over operation of the park. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1961. The Visitor Reception and Interpretation Center features exhibits about the history of Grand-Pré and Acadia
. A video presentation presents the story of the Acadian deportation. In 2004, Parks Canada
added the site to Canada's Tentative List of potential future World Heritage Sites.
, Parks Canada
, and Sociéte Promotion Grand-Pré. While excavations have been undertaken by Parks Canada since 1971, the field school has been operational for ten years, during which archaeologist have identified the cemetery for the Acadian period, the cellar of an Acadian house immediately to the east of the Memorial Church, and has conducted test pits throughout the site looking for evidence of the parish church, St-Charles-des-Mines. Acadian artefacts that have been unearthed include fragments of Saintonge ceramic, nails, wine bottle glass, window pane glass, a 1711 French silver coin, spoons, belt buckles, buttons, clay pipes, etc. There seems to also be evidence of the occupation by New England troops, as well as considerable evidence of the New England Planter occupation period beginning in 1760.
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...
as a centre of 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...
n settlement from 1682 to 1755, and the deportation
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...
of the Acadians which began in 1755 and continued to 1762. The original village of Grand Pré extended four kilometres along the ridge between present-day Wolfville and Hortonville
Hortonville, Nova Scotia
Hortonville is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County.The site of Fort Vieux Logis is located at the site of the Acadian Memorial Cross and the New England Planters monument in Hortonville, Canada . The fort was built during Father Le Loutre's War.-References:*...
(where the British fort Fort Vieux Logis
Fort Vieux Logis
The site of Fort Vieux Logis is in present-day Hortonville, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The site of the fort is on the field where the Acadian Cross and the New England Planters monument...
was located). Together with the adjacent marshland, this area was designated a Rural Historic District by the Government of Canada in 1995.
Settlement of Grand-Pré
Grand-Pré (French for great meadow) is located on the shore of the Minas Basin, an area of tidal marshland, first settled about 1680 by Pierre Melanson dit La Verdure, his wife Marguerite Mius d'Entremont and their five young children who came from nearby Port-RoyalPort Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
which was the first capital of the French settlement of 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...
(Acadie in French). Grand Pre is located in Nova Scotia Canada.
Pierre Melanson and the Acadians who joined him in Grand-Pré built dykes there to hold back the tides along the Minas Basin. They created rich pastures for their animals and fertile fields for their crops. Grand-Pré became the bread basket of Acadia, soon outgrew Port-Royal, and by the mid-18th century was the largest of the numerous Acadian communities around the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
and the coastline of Nova Scotia (Latin for "New Scotland").
Queen Anne's War
During Queen Anne's WarQueen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, the Raid on Grand Pré
Raid on Grand Pre
The Raid on Grand Pré was the major action of a raiding expedition conducted by New England militia Colonel Benjamin Church against French Acadia in June 1704, during Queen Anne's War...
(1704) happened and Major Benjamin Church (military officer) burned the entire village. After the war, in 1713, part of Acadia became Nova Scotia, and Port-Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, became its capital. Rather than leave, the Acadians chose to live under British rule. However, they were asked to take an oath of allegiance to the British crown. This oath became a bone of contention for the next 40 years. Many signed a conditional oath in 1730 on the premise that they never be forced to take up arms against the French.
King Georges War
Everything changed in 1744 when England and France declared war. During King Georges War the French from Québec and fortress Louisbourg tried to retake Acadia. There were attacks and counter attacks. During the war there was the Battle of Grand PreBattle of Grand Pré
The Battle of Grand Pré, also known as the Battle of Minas, was a battle in King George's War that took place between British and French forces near present-day Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia in the winter of 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession...
.
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...
began with the establishement of Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, which became the new capital for the colony in 1749. Shortly after the war, the Mi'kmaq attacked the British fort at Grand Pre Fort Vieux Logis
Fort Vieux Logis
The site of Fort Vieux Logis is in present-day Hortonville, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The site of the fort is on the field where the Acadian Cross and the New England Planters monument...
in the Siege of Grand Pre
Siege of Grand Pre
The Siege of Grand Pre happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and was fought between the British and a militia made up of Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Acadians. The siege happened at Fort Vieux Logis, Grand Pre...
.
French and Indian War
The British Conquest of AcadiaSiege 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 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.
In the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755), during the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
, the Acadians in the Minas area had their boats and their guns confiscated. The French Fort Beauséjour
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...
was captured. Acadian delegates, in Halifax to present a petition, were imprisoned. The governor, Charles Lawrence, coveting the Acadian farmland, decided to settle the Acadian question once and for all. With the help of Governor William Shirley
William Shirley
William Shirley was a British colonial administrator who served twice as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and as Governor of the Bahamas in the 1760s...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, the Expulsion of the Acadians began, and the Acadians would be expelled from Nova Scotia and dispersed among the British colonies to the south, from Massachusetts to Georgia.
Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow
John Winslow (British army officer)
Major-General John Winslow , descendant of Pilgrim Edward Winslow, was an officer during the French and Indian War....
arrived in Grand-Pré with troops on August 19, 1755 and took up headquarters in the church. The men and boys of the area were ordered there on September 5. Winslow informed them that all but their personal goods were to be forfeited to the Crown and that they and their families were to be deported as soon as ships arrived to take them away. At exactly the same time, the Acadians in the neighbouring village of Pisiguit
Pisiguit
In the Minas Basin of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, the settlement of Grand-Pré grew eastward towards the Pisiquid River. This settlement became known as Pisiguit or . Pisiguit came from the Mi'kmaq term Pesaquid, meaning "Junction of Waters". It became so large that it was viewed as...
were informed of the same declaration at Fort Edward
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
.
Before the year was over, more than 6,000 Acadians were deported, not only from the Minas Basin area but from all of mainland Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Their villages were burned to the ground. Thousands more would be deported in the second wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians, which involved the deportation of the Acadians from Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island (1758). The deportation continued until England and France made peace in 1763. In all, 12,000 Acadians were deported, and half would die from drowning, starvation, imprisonment, and cold weather.
Evangeline
When the poem, EvangelineEvangeline
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...
, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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...
was published in the United States in 1847, the story of the Deportation and le Grand Dérangement, the great uprooting, was told to the English-speaking world. Grand-Pré, forgotten for almost a century, became popular for American tourists who wanted to visit the birthplace of the poem's heroine, Evangeline. But nothing remained of the original village except the dykelands and a row of old willows.
John Frederic Herbin
In 1907, John Frederic Herbin, poet, historian, and jeweller, and whose mother was Acadian, purchased the land believed to be the site of the church of Saint-Charles so that it might be protected. The following year the Nova Scotia legislature passed an act to incorporate the Trustees of the Grand-Pré Historic Grounds. Herbin built a stone cross on the site to mark the cemetery of the church, using stones from the remains of what he believed to be Acadian foundations.Dominion Atlantic Railway
Herbin sold the property to the Dominion Atlantic RailwayDominion Atlantic Railway
The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....
in 1917 on the condition that Acadians be involved in its preservation. Acadian history had already become a staple for tourism traffic on the Dominion Atlantic and the Grand Pre site was located beside the railway's mainline. The railway made substantial investments in developing the park and promoting the history and lore of Acadians. Extensive gardens were planted at the site and a small museum was opened. In 1920 the Dominion Atlantic erected a statue of Evangeline conceived by Canadian sculptor Philippe Hébert and, after his death, finished by his son Henri. The railway deeded a piece of the land and funds were raised to build a memorial church in Grand-Pré. Construction began in the spring of 1922 and the exterior was finished by November. The interior of the church was finished in 1930, the 175th anniversary of the Deportation, and the church opened as a museum.
Parks Canada
As railway tourism declined in the face of subsidized highway construction, the Dominion Atlantic sold the park to the Canadian federal government in 1957. The Canadian Parks ServiceParks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
took over operation of the park. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1961. The Visitor Reception and Interpretation Center features exhibits about the history of Grand-Pré and 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...
. A video presentation presents the story of the Acadian deportation. In 2004, Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
added the site to Canada's Tentative List of potential future World Heritage Sites.
Archaeological site
Grand-Pré National Historic Site is also the location of an archaeological site sponsored by St. Mary’s UniversitySaint Mary's University (Halifax)
Saint Mary's University is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. The school is best known for having nationally lead programs in Business, Astronomy and International Development Studies as well, one of the best football and Men's hockey programs in Canada .The campus is situated in Halifax's...
, Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
, and Sociéte Promotion Grand-Pré. While excavations have been undertaken by Parks Canada since 1971, the field school has been operational for ten years, during which archaeologist have identified the cemetery for the Acadian period, the cellar of an Acadian house immediately to the east of the Memorial Church, and has conducted test pits throughout the site looking for evidence of the parish church, St-Charles-des-Mines. Acadian artefacts that have been unearthed include fragments of Saintonge ceramic, nails, wine bottle glass, window pane glass, a 1711 French silver coin, spoons, belt buckles, buttons, clay pipes, etc. There seems to also be evidence of the occupation by New England troops, as well as considerable evidence of the New England Planter occupation period beginning in 1760.
External links
- Grand-Pré National Historic Site of Canada at Parks CanadaParks CanadaParks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
- Société Promotion Grand-Pré (key reference) and
- Acadian Memorial (in Louisiana)
- Les Ami(e)s de Grand-Pré
- Musée Acadien of the Université de Moncton and