The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
descended from the
French who settled in the
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
colony of
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
, as it is the region where the descendants of a few Acadians who escaped the
Expulsion of the Acadians
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...
(aka The Great Upheaval / ''Le Grand Dérangement'') re-settled. Most Acadians in Canada continue to live in majority French-speaking communities, notably those in New Brunswick where Acadians and Francophones are granted autonomy in areas such as education and health.
Acadia was one of the 5 regions of New France. Acadia was located in what is now
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...
's
Maritime provinces
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...
, as well as parts of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and present-day
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
to the
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...
. It was ethnically, geographically and administratively different from the other French colonies and the
French colony of Canada (modern-day Quebec). As a result, the Acadians developed a distinct history and culture. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians primarily came from the southwestern region of France, also known as
Occitania
Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...
, such as the rural areas of
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
and
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
(
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
).
During the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, British colonial officers suspected that Acadians were aligned with France, after finding some Acadians fighting alongside French troops at
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour (), renamed Fort Cumberland in 1755, is a large, five-bastioned fort on the Isthmus of Chignecto in eastern Canada, a neck of land connecting the present-day province of New Brunswick with that of Nova Scotia. The site was strateg ...
. Though most Acadians remained neutral during the war, the British, together with New England legislators and militia, carried out the
Great Expulsion
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...
(Le Grand Dérangement) of the Acadians between 1755 and 1764. They forcefully deported approximately 11,500 Acadians from the maritime region. Approximately one-third perished from disease and drowning.
In retrospect, the result has been described as an
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
of the Acadians from Maritime Canada.
Most Acadians were deported to various British American colonies, where many were put into
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
or
servitude.
Some Acadians were deported to England, some to the Caribbean, and some to France. After being expelled to France, many Acadians were eventually recruited by the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
government to migrate to ''
Luisiana
Luisiana, officially the Municipality of Luisiana ( tgl, Bayan ng Luisiana), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,859 people.
Locals call the town ''Little ...
'' (present-day
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
). These Acadians settled into or alongside the existing
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and N ...
settlements, sometimes intermarrying with Creoles, and gradually developed what became known as
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
culture.
In time, some Acadians returned to the Maritime provinces of Canada, mainly to New Brunswick. The British prohibited them from resettling their lands and villages in what became Nova Scotia. Before the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the Crown settled Protestant European immigrants and
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign ( ...
in former Acadian communities and farmland. After the war, it made land grants in Nova Scotia to
Loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
. British policy was to establish a majority culture of Protestant religions and to
assimilate Acadians with the local populations where they resettled.
Acadians speak a variety of French called
Acadian French
Acadian French (french: français acadien, acadjonne) is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia (region), Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has 7 regional accents, including chiac and brayon.
Phonology
Since there w ...
, which has a few regional accents (for example,
Chiac
Chiac (or ''Chiak'', ''Chi’aq''), is a Creole variety of Acadian French spoken mostly in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. Chiac is often characterized and distinguished from other forms of Acadian French by its borrowings from English, it ...
in the southeast of New Brunswick, or
Brayon
Brayons, also called Madawaskayens, are a francophone people inhabiting the area in and around Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada, including some parts of northern Maine. In French, they are called or feminine as in ''Brayon culture'', o ...
in the northwest of New Brunswick). Most can also speak English. The Louisiana Cajun descendants tend to speak
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, including
Cajun English
Cajun English, or Cajun Vernacular English, is the dialect of English spoken by Cajuns living in Southern Louisiana. Cajun English is significantly influenced by Louisiana French, the historical language of the Cajun people, a subset of Louisian ...
, and/or
Louisiana French
Louisiana French ( frc, français de la Louisiane; lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louisia ...
, a relative of Acadian French from Canada.
Estimates of contemporary Acadian populations vary widely. The Canadian census of 2006 reported only 96,145 Acadians in Canada, based on self-declared ethnic identity.
However the Canadian Encyclopedia estimates that there are at least 500,000 of Acadian ancestry in Canada, which would include many who declared their ethnic identity for the census as French or as Canadian.
Pre-deportation history
During the early 17th century, about 60
French families were established in Acadia. They developed friendly relations with the peoples of the
Wabanaki Confederacy
The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of four principal Eastern Algonquian nations: the Miꞌkmaq, Maliseet ( ...
(particularly the regional
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
), learning their hunting and fishing techniques developed for local conditions. The Acadians lived mainly in the coastal regions of the
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...
; they reclaimed farming land from the sea by building dikes to control water and drain certain wetlands. Living in a contested borderland region between French Canada and the British territories on New England and the coast, the Acadians often became entangled in the conflict between the powers. Their competition in Europe played out in North America as well. Over a period of 74 years, six wars (the four
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
,
Father Rale's War
Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...
, and
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Briti ...
) took place in Acadia and Nova Scotia, in which the Wabanaki Confederacy and some Acadians fought to keep the British from taking over the region. While France lost political control of Acadia in 1713, the Mí'kmaq did not concede land to the British. Along with Acadians, the Mi'kmaq from time to time used military force to resist the British. That was particularly evident in the early 1720s during
Dummer's War
Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...
, but hostilities were brought to a close by a treaty signed in 1726.
The British had conquered Acadia in 1710. Over the next 45 years, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. Many were influenced by Father
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre (; 26 September 1709 – 30 September 1772) was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Le Loutre became the leader of the French forces and the Acadian and Mi'kmaq militias during King G ...
, who from his arrival in 1738 until his capture in 1755, preached against the "English devils". Father Le Loutre led the Acadian people during the
Acadian Exodus
The Acadian Exodus (also known as the Acadian migration) happened during Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories. The thr ...
, as an act of defiance towards British demands and oppression. Acadians took part in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two sie ...
and
Fort Beausejour
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. During the French and Indian War, the British sought to neutralize any military threat posed by the Acadians and to interrupt the vital supply lines which they provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The British founded the town of
Halifax and fortified it in 1749 in order to establish a base against the French. The Mi'kmaq resisted the increased number of British (Protestant) settlements by making numerous raids on Halifax,
Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, and
Lunenburg. During the French and Indian War, the Mi'kmaq assisted the Acadians in resisting the British during the Expulsion of the Acadians.
Many Acadians might have signed an unconditional oath to the British monarchy had the circumstances been better, while other Acadians would not sign because it was religious oath which denied the Catholic faith because the British Monarch was Head of the Church of England. Acadians had numerous reasons against signing an oath of loyalty to the British Crown. The British monarch was the head of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. Acadian men feared that signing the oath would commit them to fighting against France during wartime. They also worried about whether their Mi'kmaq neighbours might perceive an oath as acknowledging the British claim to Acadia rather than that of the indigenous Mi'kmaq. Acadians believed that if they signed the oath, they might put their villages at risk of attack by the Mi'kmaq.
File:Acadians, Inset of painting by Samuel Scott Annapolis Royal, 1751.jpg, Acadians by Samuel Scott, Annapolis Royal, 1751
File:Costumes de Differents Pays, 'Homme Acadien' LACMA M.83.190.378.jpg, "Homme Acadien" (Acadian Man) by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur represent a Mi'kmaq man in the area of Acadia according to the Nova Scotia Museum.
Geographical distribution
Data from this section from Statistics Canada, 2021.
Provinces & territories
Deportation
![La Deportation des Acadiens par Henri Beau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/La_Deportation_des_Acadiens_par_Henri_Beau.jpg)
In the Great Expulsion (known by French speakers as ''le Grand Dérangement''), after the
Battle of Fort Beauséjour
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre's War and
the opening of a British offensive in the Acadia/Nova Scotia theatre of the Seven Years' War, which would eventually lead to t ...
beginning in August 1755 under
Lieutenant Governor Lawrence, approximately 11,500 Acadians (three-quarters of the Acadian population in Nova Scotia) were expelled, families were separated, their lands and property confiscated, and in some cases their homes were burned. The Acadians were deported to separated locations throughout the British eastern seaboard colonies, from New England to Georgia, where many were put into forced labour or imprisoned.
After 1758, thousands were transported to France. Most of the Acadians who later went to Louisiana sailed there from France on five Spanish ships. These had been provided by the Spanish Crown, which was eager to populate their Louisiana colony with Catholic settlers who might provide farmers to supply the needs of New Orleans residents. The Spanish had hired agents to seek out the dispossessed Acadians in Brittany and kept this effort secret in order to avoid angering the French king. These new arrivals from France joined the earlier wave expelled from Acadia, and gradually their descendants developed the
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
population (which included multiracial unions and children) and culture. They continued to be attached to French culture and language, and Catholicism.
The Spanish offered the Acadians lowlands along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
in order to block British expansion from the east. Some would have preferred Western Louisiana, where many of their families and friends had settled. In addition, that land was more suitable to mixed crops of agriculture. Rebels among them marched to New Orleans and ousted the Spanish governor. The Spanish later sent infantry from other colonies to put down the rebellion and execute the leaders. After the rebellion in December 1769, Spanish Governor O'Reilly permitted the Acadians who had settled across the river from
Natchez Natchez may refer to:
Places
* Natchez, Alabama, United States
* Natchez, Indiana, United States
* Natchez, Louisiana, United States
* Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States
* Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...
to resettle along the
Iberville or
Amite rivers closer to
.
The British conducted a second and smaller expulsion of Acadians after taking control of the north shore of what is now
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
. After the
fall of Quebec
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...
and defeat of the French, the British lost interest in such relocations. Many Acadians gradually returned to
British North America
British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...
, settling in coastal villages that were not occupied by colonists from New England. A few of the Acadians in this area had evaded the British for several years, but the brutal winter weather eventually forced them to surrender. Some returnees settled in the region of Fort Sainte-Anne, now
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
, but were later displaced when the Crown awarded land grants to numerous
United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...
s from the Thirteen Colonies after the victory of the United States in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. Most of the descendants of Acadian returnees now live primarily on the eastern coast of New Brunswick, Canada.
![Acadian deportation map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Acadian_deportation_map.jpg)
In 2003, at the request of Acadian representatives,
Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada issued a
Royal Proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
acknowledging the deportation. She established 28 July as an annual day of commemoration, beginning in 2005. The day is called the "Great Upheaval" on some English-language calendars.
Geography
The Acadians today live predominantly in the Canadian Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia), as well as parts of Quebec, Canada, and in Louisiana and Maine, United States.
In New Brunswick, Acadians inhabit the northern and eastern shores of New Brunswick. Other groups of Acadians can be found in the
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...
and the
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick o ...
. Ethnic Acadian descendants still live in and around the area of
Madawaska, Maine
Madawaska is a New England town, town in Aroostook County, Maine, Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,867 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Madawaska is opposite Edmundston, Madawaska County, New Brunswick, M ...
, where some of the Acadians first landed and settled in what is now known as the St. John Valley. There are also Acadians in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, at
Chéticamp,
Isle Madame
Isle Madame is an island off southeastern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It is part of the Municipality of the County of Richmond.
Once part of the French colony of Île-Royale (New France), Île-Royale, it may have been named for Franço ...
, and
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
. East and West
Pubnico, located at the end of the province, are the oldest regions that are predominantly ethnic Acadian.
Other ethnic Acadians can be found in the southern regions of New Brunswick, Western Newfoundland and in New England. Many of these communities have assimilated to varying degrees into the majority culture of English speakers. For many families in predominantly
Anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
communities, French-
language attrition
Language attrition is the process of losing a native or first language. This process is generally caused by both isolation from speakers of the first language ("L1") and the acquisition and use of a second language ("L2"), which interferes with ...
has occurred, particularly in younger generations.
The Acadians who settled in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
after 1764 became known as Cajuns for the culture they developed. They have had a dominant cultural influence in many
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
, particularly in the southwestern area of the state, which is known as
Acadiana
Acadiana ( French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained mu ...
.
Culture
![Tintamarre during National Acadian Day 2009, Caraquet New Brunswick](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Tintamarre_during_National_Acadian_Day_2009%2C_Caraquet_New_Brunswick.jpg)
Acadians are a vibrant minority, particularly in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, and in Louisiana (Cajuns) and northern Maine, United States. Since 1994, ''
Le Congrès Mondial Acadien'' has worked as an organization to unite these disparate communities and help preserve the culture.
In 1881, Acadians at the First Acadian National Convention, held in
Memramcook
Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac deri ...
, New Brunswick, designated 15 August, the Christian feast of the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
, as the
national feast day of their community. On that day, the Acadians celebrate by having a ''
tintamarre
''Tintamarre'' is an Acadian tradition of marching through one's community making noise with improvised instruments and other noisemakers, usually in celebration of National Acadian Day. The term originates from the Acadian French word meaning "c ...
,'' a big parade and procession for which people dress up with the colors of Acadia and make a lot of noise and music. The
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
of the Acadians is "
Ave Maris Stella
"Ave maris stella" (Latin for 'Hail, star of the sea') is a medieval Marian hymn, usually sung at Vespers. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers as the basis of other compositions.
Background
Authorship ...
", adopted in 1884 at
Miscouche
Miscouche (2021 population: 992) is a municipality that holds community status in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located in Prince County.
Incorporated in 1957, Miscouche is located 10 kilometres west of the City of Summerside. Its name i ...
, Prince Edward Island. The anthem was revised at the 1992 meeting of the Société Nationale de l'Acadie. The second, third and fourth verses were translated into French, with the first and last kept in the original
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
The Federation des Associations de Familles Acadiennes of New Brunswick and the Société Saint-Thomas d'Aquin of Prince Edward Island have resolved to commemorate 13 December annually as "Acadian Remembrance Day," in memory of the sinking of the ''
Duke William
''Duke William'' was a full-rigged ship, ship which served as a troop transport at the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), Siege of Louisbourg and as a deportation ship in the Île Saint-Jean Campaign of the Expulsion of the Acadians during the Seven Year ...
'' and of the nearly 2,000 Acadians deported from Ile-Saint Jean who died in 1758 while being deported across the North Atlantic: from hunger, disease and drowning. The event has been commemorated annually since 2004; participants mark the day by wearing a black star.
Legacy
American writer
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
published ''
Evangeline
''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during t ...
'', an epic poem loosely based on the 1755 deportation. The poem became an American classic. Activists used it as a catalyst in reviving a distinct Acadian identity in both Maritime Canada and in Louisiana.
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, (; born May 10, 1929) is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada."Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958-2009)'', edited by ...
's novel ''
Pélagie-la-charette'' concerns the return voyage to Acadia of several deported families, starting 15 years after the Great Expulsion. In 1976, the Canadian-American rock group
The Band released the song
Acadian Driftwood
"Acadian Driftwood" is a song by the Band. It was the fourth track on their sixth studio album '' Northern Lights – Southern Cross'' (1975), written by member Robbie Robertson. Richard Manuel, Levon Helm and Rick Danko trade off lead vocals a ...
, influenced by Longfellow's poem.
In the early 20th century, two statues were made of the fictional figure of "Evangeline" to commemorate the Expulsion: one was installed in
St. Martinville, Louisiana
St. Martinville (french: Saint-Martin)Jack A. Reynolds. "St. Martinville" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 480. is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana ...
and the other in
Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia
Grand-Pré () is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great/Large Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a ...
. The Acadian Memorial (Monument Acadien) has an eternal flame; it honors the 3,000 Acadians who settled in Louisiana after the Expulsion. Monuments to the Acadian Expulsion have been erected at several sites in the Maritime Provinces, such as at
Georges Island
Georges Island, or George's Island, may refer to:
Geography
*Georges Island (Massachusetts), offshore from the city of Boston, Massachusetts
*Georges Island (Nova Scotia), offshore from the community of Halifax in the Halifax Regional Municipali ...
, Nova Scotia, and at
Beaubears Island
Beaubears Island (french: Île Boishébert) is an island at the confluence of the Northwest Miramichi and Southwest Miramichi Rivers near Miramichi, New Brunswick. The island is most famous for being the site of an Acadian refugee camp during th ...
.
Flags
The
flag of the Acadians is the French
tricolour
A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...
, with the addition of a golden star in the blue field. This symbolizes Saint
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, Our Lady of the Assumption,
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of the Acadians and widely known as the "
Star of the Sea". This flag was adopted in 1884 at the Second Acadian National Convention, held in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island.
Acadians in the diaspora have adopted other symbols. The flag of Acadians in Louisiana, known as Cajuns, was designed by Thomas J. Arceneaux of the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...
. In 1974 it was adopted by the Louisiana legislature as the official emblem of the Acadiana region. The state has supported the culture, in part because it has attracted cultural and heritage tourism.
In 2004 New England Acadians, who were attending Le Congrès Mondial Acadien in Nova Scotia, endorsed a design by William Cork for a New England Acadian flag.
Prominent Acadians
![Acadian memorial Halifax](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Acadian_memorial_Halifax.JPG)
*
Noël Doiron Noël Doiron (Port-Royal, 1684 – December 13, 1758) was a leader of the Acadians, renowned for his leadership during the Deportation of the Acadians. Doiron was deported on a vessel named the ''Duke William'' (1758). The ''Duke William'' sank, ki ...
(1684–1758). A regional leader, Noel was among the more than 350 Acadians who died during the deportation when the ''Duke William'' sank on 13 December 1758.
He was widely celebrated and places have been named for him in Nova Scotia.
*
Jean Baptiste Guedry (d. 1726). An example of an Acadian who resisted British rule. He took over a small ship off Acadia and was tried for piracy. The trial was publicized to the Mi’kmaq tribes as an example of English law. Guedry's trial was used as a counter to local customs, which allowed the holding of a group - i.e., all Englishmen - responsible for an individual’s crimes. His prosecutors also used his trial as a test case for separating English law as applied to Acadia from law applied to First Nations groups like the Wabanaki Confederacy.
*
Joseph Broussard
Joseph Broussard (1702–1765), also known as Beausoleil ( en, Beautiful Sun), was a leader of the Acadian people in Acadia; later Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. Broussard organized a Mi'kmaq and Acadian militias against t ...
, an Acadian folk hero and militia leader who joined French priest
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre (; 26 September 1709 – 30 September 1772) was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Le Loutre became the leader of the French forces and the Acadian and Mi'kmaq militias during King G ...
in resisting the British occupation of Acadia.
Contemporary Canadian figures
*
Angèle Arsenault
Angèle Arsenault, (October 1, 1943 – February 25, 2014) was a Canadian- Acadian singer, songwriter and media host.
Early life
Arsenault was born to Acadian parents Arthur and Joséphine in Abrams Village, Prince Edward Island, Canada in 1 ...
, singer
*
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault
Aubin-Edmond Arsenault (28 July 1870 – 29 April 1968) was a Prince Edward Island politician. He was the 13th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1917 to 1919.
Born in Egmont Bay, Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Arsenault's family s ...
, the first Acadian premier of any province and the first Acadian appointed to a provincial supreme court
*
Joseph-Octave Arsenault
Joseph-Octave Arsenault (August 5, 1828 – December 14, 1897) was a Canadian politician who was the first Acadian from Prince Edward Island to be named to the Senate of Canada.
Born in Cascumpec, Prince Edward Island, the son of Mélème Arsena ...
, the first Acadian appointed to the Canadian Senate from Prince Edward Island
*Jean Paul Bourque (known by the stage name
Johnny Burke), singer/songwriter
*
Édith Butler
Édith Butler (born Marie Nicole Butler, 27 July 1942) is an Acadian-Canadian singer-songwriter and folklorist of from New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula.
Biography
Édith Butler was born in Paquetville on the Acadian Peninsula in Glouces ...
, singer
*
Phil Comeau
Phil Comeau (born 1956), CM is a Canadian film and television director, born in Saulnierville, Nova Scotia. He lives in Moncton, New Brunswick and Montreal, Quebec.
Biography
Phil Comeau is a film and television director and scriptwriter, base ...
, film director
*
Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron (born June 28, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, begi ...
, singer/songwriter
*
Lyse Doucet
Lyse Marie Doucet , (; born 24 December 1958) is a Canadian journalist who is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent and senior presenter. She presents on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television, and also reports for BBC R ...
, BBC journalist and presenter
*
Yvon Durelle
Yvon Durelle (October 14, 1929 – January 6, 2007), was a Canadian champion boxer. He was of Acadian descent.
Early life
From a family of fourteen children, Yvon Durelle grew up in Baie-Ste-Anne, a small Acadian fishing village on Miramichi ...
, boxer
*
Jacques LeBlanc, boxer
*
Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc (December 18, 1927June 24, 2009) was a Canadian journalist, politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation.
LeBlanc was born and educated in New Brunswick, and also ...
, former
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
*
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, (; born May 10, 1929) is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada."Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958-2009)'', edited by ...
, writer, first non-European recipient of the
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...
*
Louis Robichaud
Louis Joseph Robichaud (October 21, 1925 – January 6, 2005), popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis", was the second (but first elected) Acadian premier of New Brunswick, serving from 1960 to 1970.
With the Equal Opportunity ...
, former New Brunswick premier, modernized education and the government of New Brunswick in the mid-20th century.
*
Jackie Vautour
John L. Vautour (1929/1930 – February 7, 2021[Peter John Veniot
Peter John Veniot, (October 4, 1863 – July 6, 1936) was a businessman and newspaper owner and a politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He was the first Acadian premier of New Brunswick.
Early life and career
He was born in Richibucto, New Brun ...]
, first Acadian to serve as Premier of New Brunswick
Figures in the U.S.
*
William Arceneaux
William Arceneaux (born August 19, 1941) is a Louisiana higher education official, an American professor, historian, writer, and Louisiana native. Arceneaux is President of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), having ...
, Louisiana historian and president of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana
*
Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier (born January 19, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. As of May 9, 2022, he is #2 in the UFC lightweight rankings and as of October 24, 2022, he is #11 in the U ...
, UFC fighter of Acadian descent from Louisiana
*
Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, t ...
, first female governor of Louisiana
*
Dudley J. LeBlanc, senator from Louisiana
*
Phoebe Legere
Phoebe Hemenway Legere is a multi-disciplinary artist.
She is a Juilliard-educated composer, soprano, pianist and accordionist, painter, poet, and a film maker. A graduate of Vassar College with a four octave vocal range, Legere has recorded fo ...
, artist
*
Austin Theriault
Austin L. Theriault (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver and politician, who currently works in driver development. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 52 for Rick Ware Racing ...
, stock car driver
*
Zachary Richard
Ralph Zachary Richard (born September 8, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and poet. His music is a combination of Cajun and Zydeco musical styles.
Biography
Zachary Richard began his musical career at the age of 8, as soprano in the Bish ...
, singer/songwriter from Louisiana
*
George Rodrigue
George Rodrigue (March 13, 1944 – December 14, 2013) was an American artist who in the late 1960s began painting Louisiana landscapes, followed soon after by outdoor family gatherings and southwest Louisiana 19th-century and early 20th-centu ...
, Artist
See also
*
History of Nova Scotia
The history of Nova Scotia covers a period from thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Nova Scotia (also historically referred to as Mi'kma'ki and Acadia) were inhabited by t ...
*
Military history of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia (also known as Mi'kma'ki and Acadia) is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces and th ...
*
Acadian cuisine
Acadian cuisine (french: Cuisine acadienne) comprises the traditional dishes of the Acadian people. It is primarily seen in the present-day cultural region of Acadia. Acadian cuisine has been influenced by the Deportation of the Acadians, proxim ...
*
Occitans
The Occitans ( oc, occitans) are a Romance-speaking ethnic group originating in the historical region of Occitania (southern France, northeastern Spain, and northwestern Italy). They have been also called Gascons, Provençals, and Auvergnats.The ...
*
Occitania
Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...
*
Louisiana Creoles
Louisiana Creoles (french: Créoles de la Louisiane, lou, Moun Kréyòl la Lwizyàn, es, Criollos de Luisiana) are people descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana before it became a part of the United States during the period of bo ...
*
Aquitani
The Aquitani were a tribe that lived in the region between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean, and the Garonne, in present-day southwestern France in the 1st century BCE. The Romans dubbed this region ''Gallia Aquitania''. Classical authors such a ...
*
Chiac
Chiac (or ''Chiak'', ''Chi’aq''), is a Creole variety of Acadian French spoken mostly in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. Chiac is often characterized and distinguished from other forms of Acadian French by its borrowings from English, it ...
*
Iberians
The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...
Citations
References
*
*
*
* .
*
Further reading
* Chetro-Szivos, J. ''Talking Acadian: Work, Communication, and Culture'', YBK 2006, New York .
* Griffiths, Naomi. ''From Migrant to Acadian: a North American border people, 1604–1755'', Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005.
* Hodson, Christopher. ''The Acadian Diaspora: An Eighteenth-Century History'' (Oxford University Press; 2012) 260 page
online review by Kenneth Banks* Jobb, Dean. ''The Acadians: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph'', John Wiley & Sons, 2005 (published in the United States as ''The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph'')
* Kennedy, Gregory M.W. ''Something of a Peasant Paradise? Comparing Rural Societies in Acadie and the Loudunais, 1604-1755'' (MQUP 2014)
* Laxer, James. ''The Acadians: In Search of a Homeland'', Doubleday Canada, October 2006 .
* Le Bouthillier, Claude, ''Phantom Ship'', XYZ editors, 1994,
* Magord, André, ''The Quest for Autonomy in Acadia'' (Bruxelles etc., Peter Lang, 2008) (Études Canadiennes - Canadian Studies 18).
*
*
*
External links
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130205115042/http://www2.umoncton.ca/cfdocs/etudacad/1755/entree.cfm?&lang=en 1755: The History and the StoriesAcadian-Cajun History & Genealogy– Acadian-Cajun culture, history, & genealogy.
*http://www.acadians.org/ New-Brunswick and Nova Scotial Acadian Portal
Acadians of Madawaska, MaineQuit rents paid by Acadians (1743–53)
{{Authority control
Acadian communities
Ethnic groups in Canada
French dialects
New France
French-Canadian people
French-speaking ethnicities in Canada