 Acadia was a French Settlement that began in the
Early 1600’s.
 The colony grew until they became an successful
society independent from French control with a
culture and social structure all their own.
 The Acadians developed a very egalitarian society and
thoroughly rejected the French seigneurial system
that had taken shape in the rest of New France.
 The Acadians saw themselves as a peaceful, pastoral
society and tried their best to remain neutral and
passive in world affairs.
 Throughout most of Acadia’s existence, the Acadians were
caught in the middle between the French and British
Empires in the fight for dominance in North America.
 As mentioned earlier, the Acadians tried their best to stay
out of the conflict and remain an independent culture and
society.
 This strategy worked fairly well until the British gained
control of the Acadian territory in 1713. The Acadians were
given two choices by the British: They could forfeit all of
their property and relocate to French territory, or they
could swear an oath of unconditional allegiance to the
British King
 The Acadians politely refused Britain's demands, and
instead declared that while they would not swear allegiance
to the King, they promised to remain neutral in any
conflict between Britain and any other nation. They just
wanted to live in peace, and their true goal was to be
independent of both Britain and France.
 This neutrality was actually put to the test when another
conflict between Britain and France arose and both sides
demanded the Acadians fight for them. Again, they
refused.
 Acadian society prospered in this neutrality between 17131749 and actually considered themselves Acadians rather
than French or British.
 In 1753, Colonel Charles
Lawrence was named
Governor of Nova Scotia.
 Lawrence decided to take a
hard-line stance with the
Acadians. He saw them as a
conquered people who should
obey their colonial masters.
 Lawrence arrested the
Acadian leaders when they
would not sign an oath of
allegiance and ordered the
deportation of all Acadians
who would not sign the oath.
Acadian Expulsion, Grand Pré 1755
C.W.Jefferys
 Between 1755 and 1764, over three quarters of the Acadian





population were forcefully taken from their homes and
deported.
Many Acadians escaped to Quebec, the American Colonies,
or back to France.
During the madness of the deportations, many families
were separated, never to see their loved ones again.
Of the 7,000 Acadians arrested and put on cargo ships,
approximately 3,000 died of various diseases.
This remains one of the darkest and most brutal chapters
in Canadian history.
Many Acadians ended up in French controlled Louisiana,
where they eventually became known as Cajuns.
 One of the most popular
and enduring poems in
American Culture is
Longfellow’s Evangeline,
which is the story of a
young Acadian girl,
Evangeline, and her
lifelong search for her
lover Gabriel, who she
had not seen since the
Great Upheaval.
 Evangeline searches all
over the country for
Gabriel. She finally finds
him in her very old age
while working as a nun
tending to the poor. She
finds him among the
victims of an epidemic
and he dies in her arms.