The Story of Acadia

17th Century North America

Acadia

Founding of Acadia

• Acadia was founded in 1605 with the settlement at Port Royal

• Founded near the mouth of the Annapolis River by a French colonizing expedition led by Pierre du Gua de MONTS and Samuel de CHAMPLAIN

• La Hève, with its natural harbour and sheltered inlets, was a very good base for the fishing industry

Port Royal

Port Royal

Acadian Life• French-speaking Roman Catholics who mostly

arrived during the 17th century• Company of 100 Associates believed that Acadian

needed to be developed for economic prosperity; 300 men and 12 – 15 women arrived in 1632

• Tenant farmers • Friendly terms with Mi’kmaq First Nations – there

were over 3000 living in the area when the French first arrived

Acadian Isolation• Acadia isolation from France required that the Acadian people

develop a sophisticated farming culture in order to survive on their own

• The preferred to have no strong ties to England or France and wanted to remain neutral in the many French/English conflicts

Acadian Community Life• Strong sense of community and cooperation

• It became an occasion for work, fun, food and celebration. • Music on these occasions was often provided by fiddles and

jaw harps.

• Dancing was a big part of social occasions.

• Firm sense of religion. Dates for celebration in the Catholic faith were extra special

• They drank their own beer brewed from spruce or fir tree extracts.

Acadian Farming and the Dykes

• The Acadians devised a system of drainage ditches combined with an ingenious one-way water gate called an aboiteau.

• The aboiteau was a hinged valve in the dyke which allowed fresh water to run off the marshes at low tide but which prevented salt water from flowing onto the dyked farmland as the tide rose.

• After letting snow and rain wash away the salt from the marshes for between two and four years the Acadians were left with fertile soil which yielded abundant crops.

Acadian Dykes

North America in 1713

Ownership of Acadia

• Over the span of 100 years the ownership of Acadia bounced back and forth between British and French rule

• French and British allowed the Acadians to live in peace

• Port Royal was captured for the last time by the British in 1710 and the region was named Nova Scotia.

• The Acadians lived successfully under British rule for 45 years.

Acadian Trading • What they could not grow or make themselves they

referred to the trade links with New England and with other French settlements

• Trade with New England was illegal when France in control so smuggling occurred; encouraged when England in control – Molasses, cooking pots, board axes, clay pipes, gunpowder,

fabrics, and rum came through New England.

– Through Louisbourg they obtained cottons, thread, lace, firearms and religious items from France.

Acadian Trading

• The Acadians were fond of smoking

• Made clay pipes

• Using local red clay

• Acadians traded grains, cattle, and furs they had obtained from trapping and trade with the Mi'kmaq.

British, French & Acadians

• Acadian land shared by British & French• Both allowed Acadians to live in peace• BUT war loomed between French & British,

Acadians caught in the middle• British Governor Lawrence of Nova Scotia told

Acadians they would have to swear an oath of loyalty to the British king

• Acadian settlers wanted to remain neutral

• In 1755 Governor Lawrence decided to act – he announced that Acadians would be forcibly removed from Nova Scotia, if refused to swear loyalty

• In end, all signed the oath unknowingly and were read the decree that they were to be deported

The Great Deportation• British soldiers moved into Acadian villages• Acadian men, women and children were

herded to British ships, taking only what they could carry with them

• Families were separated• Houses and barns were burned to the ground• Total # deported = 10 000 Acadians• Also known as the expulsion

Where did they go?• Ships carrying Acadians went to other British

colonies, to assimilate the Acadians• Ended up living in misery and poverty• Some fled to the woods and made their way

to Cape Breton (owned by French)• Some went south to Louisiana, descendants

now known as “Cajun”• Some ended up in France or Quebec

Fall of Louisbourg

• The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 that ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada 

• Also led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year

• From Louisbourg, British forces spent the remainder of the year routing French forces and occupying French settlements in Atlantic Canada

• The second wave of the Acadian expulsion began

Summary Video:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnpW5IVyWtU