Les Acadiens
They are the descendants of French-speaking settlers who
migrated from the west coast of France in the late 16th
century.
They established a French colony in the maritime
provinces of Canada and part of what is now the state of
Maine.
Before 1713, Acadia was a French colony with settlers from the coastal provinces of
Brittany, Normandy, Picardy, and Poitou. When social tensions in coastal France
became unbearable, more than 10,000 people left for the colony founded by Samuel
Champlain in 1604 known as "La Cadie" or Acadia.
The area, which included what is now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island, and part of Maine, was one of the first European colonies in
North America.
In the New World, colonists made friends with local Indians, who generally
preferred the settlers from France over those from Britain because, unlike
the British who took all the land they could, the coastal French in Acadia
did not invade Indian hunting grounds inland.
The early French settlers called themselves "Acadiens" or "Cadiens" (which eventually
became Anglicized as "Cajuns") and were among the first Old World settlers to
identify themselves as North Americans.
The New World offered them relative freedom and independence from the French
upper class. When French owners of Acadian lands tried to collect seignorial rents
from settlers who were farming, many Acadians simply moved away from the colonial
centers.
Acadia changed hands several times: first it was owned by France, then Great Britain in
1647, then France again in 1670, then British control once again in the 1690s.
French control
British control
Despite British attempts to impose its language and culture, Acadian culture persisted.
Large families increased their numbers and new settlers spoke French. The British tried
to change the region's French-Catholic culture to a British-Protestant one. The Frenchspeaking Acadians, however, held onto their own culture.
Le Grand Dérangement (the Great Upheaval of 1755)
(What we would call now “ Ethnic Cleansing” )
The Acadians were French people in the British Acadia.
In 1745, they were given an ultimatum by the British: take an oath of allegiance to the
British, which would mean, that the need arises, they would fight for the British during
battle, or be deported. They refused, claiming that they were not allied with France.
(The British thought they were helping the French out in the French/Indian War.) T
o dominate the region militarily, culturally, and agriculturally without interference, the
British expelled the Acadians and deported them starting in 1755. Houses were burnt to
the ground and their property and land confiscated. Many died or were separated from
their family. The deportation continued for 7 years
and over 11,000 were deported.
The mass deportation of Acadians involved much cruelty. In an attempt to
eliminate the Acadians from Acadia, the British packed them by the hundreds
into the cargo holds of ships, where many died from the cold and smallpox.
“Parents were separated from
children, husbands from wives,
some of whom have not to this
day met again; and we were so
crowded in the transport vessels
that we had not room even for all
our bodies to lay down at once.”
They couldn’t even bring anything
with them.
At the time, Acadians
numbered about 15,000.
However, the Expulsion
killed almost half the
population. Of the
survivors and those who
escaped expulsion, some
found their way back to
the region, and many
drifted through England,
France, the Caribbean,
and to the 13 colonies.
Shows to where many Acadians were deported
To this day, many Acadians have strong sentiments about the expulsion 225 years
ago.
In 1997, Warren A. Perrin, an attorney from Lafayette, Louisiana, filed a lawsuit
against the British Crown for the expulsion in 1775. Perrin is not seeking monetary
compensation. Instead, he wants the British government to formally apologize for
the suffering it caused Acadians and build a memorial to honor them.
The British Foreign Office is fighting the lawsuit, arguing it cannot be held responsible
for something that happened more than two centuries ago.
The yellow/gold star represents the "Stella Maris" (Star of the
Sea), seeks the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary (patron
saint of the Acadians) and indicates hope and the guiding light of
the future.
The red section serves to remind of the suffering and hardships
of the past; the white section denotes purity of spirit and the
peace of the present; and the blue section represents harmony
with the sea and the sky.
Since 1965, the Louisiana Acadian flag has been flown
throughout Acadiana - the 22-parish area of south Louisiana
populated by the Cajun people.
The gold castle represents the Spanish kingdom, who allowed
and even assisted the Acadians in settling their new
homeland. The silver fleur-de-lis represents their French
heritage. The gold star on represents the Virgin Mary.
Evangeline
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Evangeline is a tragic but fictional account of two lovers,
Evangeline and Gabriel, who were separated on their wedding
day during the expulsion of the Acadians from Acadie.
The Acadians were forced to leave behind everything and be
herded onto ships without any regard to family ties.
Upon her arrival in Louisiana, Evangeline learned that Gabriel
was in the Attakapas district. She began her journey there, but
soon found that Gabriel, in a grief-stricken state, had left the
region. It was here that she began a lifelong search for her lost
love as she wandered through the American frontier.
She eventually gave up her search and joined the Sisters of
Mercy, dedicating her life to the service of others. Years later,
she found Gabriel who was on his deathbed and died in her
arms. She died soon after.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R
npW5IVyWtU