THE ACADIAN
STORY
Photo by Theresa Hardy
Nova Scotia Map (Wikipedia
About sixty French families were established in this
area during the seventeenth century. The group
learned about hunting and fishing techniques from
the Aboriginal Mi'kmaq. (Native American people
who lived around Canada's Atlantic Providence)
Wikipedia Photo
For the most part, the Acadians lived
mainly in the coastal regions.
Farming and fishing were important
to the Acadians.
Acadians often found themselves on
the front lines in conflict between
French and British powers who were
fighting for control of North America.
Photo courtesy of the Acadian Museum .
Photo courtesy of the Acadian Museum .
The Joseph Beausoleil Broussard Portrait
was painted by Robert Dafford . Photo
courtesy of the Acadian Museum .
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Le Grand Dérangement dispersed the Acadians to
British colonies along North America’s eastern
coast. Some groups refused to receive them and
they were sent to England.
Acadian families were
separated and shipped to
various destinations including
seven British American
colonies:
 Connecticut
 New York
 Pennsylvania
 Maryland
 Massachusetts
 South Carolina
 Georgia
After the war, some were sent
to French Caribbean (Antilles,
Martinique, St. Domingue),
while others went back to
France.
Map from Wikipedia
Exiled Acadians numbered more than
12,000. Some historians estimate that
close of fifty percent of these people
died as a direct consequence of the
expulsion, also called the Diaspora.
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St. John Parish
St. James Parish
Attakapas region (St. Martin Parish)
St. Gabriel, Louisiana
Vidalia (old location)
Natchitoches (settlers
relocated to Opelousas)
Bayou Lafourche area
Natchitoches
Relocated to Opelousas
(Concordia Parish)
Opelousas
St. Landry Parish
St. Martin Parish
(Attakapas Region)
St. Gabriel
St. John Parish
St. James Parish
Bayou Lafourche
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Spanish land grants along the
Mississippi River were the first
settlements for the Acadians in
Louisiana
Later Acadian arrivals were given
land on Bayou Lafourche and
Bayou Teche
These Acadians used the rich soil
for farming cotton as a cash crop
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Lived on swamp levees like in
the Atachafalaya River basin
Made a living by hunting and
fishing; eventually lived on
house boats
In the marshes Acadians
realized they could graze cattle
in the winter months
Once settled, Acadians picked up their former life
styles. They farmed, fished, built self-sufficient
homes, retained their French language.
Many lived in the bayou country where they hunted,
fished, trapped, and lived off the Mississippi River.
Photo courtesy of the Acadian Museum .
Wikipedia Photo
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Developed in two areas differently
Eastern Lifestyle - the rich soil supported crops
(cotton was the main cash crop) and the area
quickly became densely settled
Western Lifestyle - was at first characterized by
small towns and cattle ranches
Life changed in the western prairies with the
introduction of the railroad, rice farming, the
discovery of oil, and agricultural mechanization
Alexander Mouton
Wikipedia Photo
Photo by Theresa Hardy
Acadian Triangle
Alexandria
This map represents the
area of Louisiana with the
largest concentration of
Acadian settlements and
their living descendents.
The area is officially
designated as the Acadian
Triangle and has its own
Acadian flag.
Cameron
Bayou Lafourche
The gold star on the
white background
represents the Virgin
Mary, (Our Lady of
Assumption), Patroness
of the Acadians. This
represented their
Catholic faith.
Another interpretation is that the
star is a reminder of the efforts of
the Acadian volunteers in removing
British from areas adjacent to the
Spanish Louisiana boarder (Baton
Rouge, Mobile, Pensacola) under
Louisiana Governor Galvez.
The three fleur-delis on the blue field
represent the
French
heritage. The fleurde-lis is a symbol
of the kings of
France.
The gold castle (or
tower) on the red field
represents the Spanish
kingdom, who allowed
and even assisted the
Acadians in settling
their new homeland.
Language Difficulties
1915 – Banned French to be spoken
1918 – German could not be spoken
1921 – All languages except English
was prohibited
1955 – Language acts repealed
In 1990, Warren Perrin, a Louisiana Attorney and a Cajun
descendant of Acadian exiles, delivered a petition to the
British government seeking from Queen Elizabeth II an
official apology for what had been done to the Acadians.
After 13 years of negotiations, on December 9, 2003, the
Royal Proclamation was singed, an official acknowledgment
of responsibility by the Crown of England.
Photo from The Acadian Museum in Erath, Louisiana
Photo by Theresa Hardy
Acadiana Region in
Louisiana (Wikipedia
Map)
Acadians resettled in small
numbers in cities across the
Eastern seaboard, and Evangeline
searches each for her love. She
eventually gives up, settles in
Philadelphia, becomes a nun and
works at a hospital. After many
years, she finally encounters
Gabriel once again—now a sick
old man. He dies in her arms, she
soon follows him to the grave.
A Mrs. Voorheis said that she was the adoptive
mother of a girl named Emmeline Labiche –
whose story that Longfellow heard, and who
renamed her Evangeline, presumably for creative
effect. In his version, the lovers reunite not in
Philadelphia but in St. Martinville, under a Live
Oak tree that stretches its branches towards the
chocolate brown waters of the Bayou Teche. They
embrace passionately and all was well until
Gabriel (actual name: Louis) suddenly
remembered that he had remarried in the years
that passed. Evangeline later goes insane and
dies.