|
A New France |
The Iroquois |
English Invasion |
Peace |
Seigneiurial System
| The Kings Girls |
Canadian Identity |
Society |
Government |
The Church |
Champlain |
Frontenac |
Acadia
| The Fall
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The Acadians
took their name from the area of New World in
which they landed and choose to settle.
The explorer Verazanno had sailed through this
area in 1524 and named it Acadia. In 1604 Samuel
de Champlain landed on St Croix Island on the
west side of the Bay of Fundy and established a
settlement. After a terrible winter of
starvation and disease he moved it across the
Bay to Port Royal where a permanent settlement
was established. |
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The
colonization of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward
Island, new Brunswick and the south-eastern
areas of Quebec was all considered to be a part
of the expansion of the Acadians and their
particular culture. They were a peaceful people
who felt their bonds to France melt away as the
years passed by. When the politics of the
British French confrontations intruded upon
their peaceful and prosperous life. |
The constant shifting
of power and interest continued until 1713 when present
day Nova Scotia (excluding Cape Breton) was ceded to
England by the treat of Paris. The Acadians were allowed
to remain in Nova Scotia but by 1754 with rising tension
between France and England they were required to swear
an oath of alliance to England. They refused and in 1755
the expulsion of the Acadians by the British, to other
areas such as New England, Louisiana and France plus
many more areas began. The story of the expulsion is
most emotionally told by
Henry Longfellow in his poem
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadia
This is the forest
primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks, Bearded
with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the
twilight, Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and
prophetic, Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that
rest on their bosoms. Loud from its rocky caverns, the
deep-voiced neighboring ocean Speaks, and in accents
disconsolate answers the wail of the forest. This is the
forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath
it...CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE POEM
About 6,000 were expelled
of which some made there way back to Nova Scotia but
upon their return they found their homes and lands
already occupied by English settlers. Man in New
Brunswick hid in the forest and escaped the expulsion.
By 1758 Cape Breton and Louisbourg were under siege and
that area plus the rest of New France had fallen into
English hands by 1762. The Acadian culture is still
strong in the Maritimes today and a version of it took
root in Louisiana and thrived only changing their names
slightly to Cajuns.
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