History of Acadia

The first settlement in Acadia (1604) marked the beginning of French colonization in North America. France made a sustained effort to populate this historic Acadia, especially from 1632 onwards.

The origins

Coming mainly from Poitou, the settlers gradually took over the territory. However, Acadia soon suffered the repercussions of the wars between Great Britain and France. Thus, during the first century of its history, Acadia was unwittingly drawn into a series of military conflicts due to its strategic geographical position for controlling maritime communication routes. From 1604 to 1713, it changed hands seven times.

Finally, in 1713, under the Treaty of Utrecht, France permanently ceded Acadia to the British. However, it retained Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island) and Isle Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), and maintained its presence in what is now New Brunswick.

The oath of allegiance

This treaty gave the Acadians of the conquered region—renamed Nova Scotia—the choice of leaving the territory within a year with whatever movable property they could carry, or remaining on their land and becoming British subjects. The vast majority decided to remain in Acadia, but refused to swear unconditional allegiance.

The Acadians wanted to retain the right to practice their religion and be exempt from bearing arms in the event of war. This status was granted to them verbally in 1730 by Governor Richard Philipps, but it was not recognized by the British Crown.

The English, who were in no hurry to colonize this territory, had no interest in letting them leave and thereby strengthening the French presence on Isle Royale or Isle Saint-Jean. They therefore allowed these inhabitants to prosper despite their refusal to swear allegiance. For 40 years, the Acadians enjoyed relative peace, and the population grew significantly.

The Acadians, a threat to the British colony

In 1753, with the arrival of Charles Lawrence as lieutenant governor, the English attitude toward the Acadians hardened. Their presence was perceived as a threat and an obstacle to the establishment of a British colony. In 1754, the resumption of war against the French in America prompted Lawrence to put his plan into action: to dislodge the Acadians and cede their lands to British subjects.

At that time, the expulsion of a community in the aftermath of a conquest was not an unusual measure. What made this deportation unique was the fact that it took place more than 40 years after Britain's conquest of Acadia and that the Acadians had been British subjects since 1713.

The deportation of the Acadians

The former French colony suffered its final blow in 1755 with the systematic deportation of the Acadian population. Soldiers hunted down and captured thousands of people, then began shipping the prisoners to New England on September 10.

Driven from their homes and dispossessed of their land, their possessions seized or destroyed, families were crammed onto boats, stripped of everything except a few personal belongings. In the rush and confusion, many families were separated. But it was not so much the military operations as the voyages on the ships that caused a large number of deaths.

Shipwrecks, malnutrition, overcrowding, and disease, particularly an outbreak of smallpox, claimed many lives. The situation of the survivors in the colonies remained precarious. Most were dependent on the state and were not welcomed by a population that was largely anti-Catholic.

Towards a new destination

The deportation was not limited to 1755; it continued until the end of hostilities in 1763. For example, more than 3,000 Acadians from Isle Saint-Jean were deported in 1758. In total, approximately 10,000 people, or about 75% of the population, were deported, mostly to the American colonies, but also, for many of them, to England and France.

Contrary to a popular image often conveyed, not all Acadians allowed themselves to be deported without fighting or resisting. Many joined French troops, armed privateers, or deliberately hindered the authorities' plans.

With the help of the Mi'kmaq, some escaped deportation by fleeing through the woods, later taking refuge in Baie-des-Chaleurs and the St. Lawrence Valley. But for most, the Great Upheaval meant exile; wandering and a painful reintegration into other communities marked the lives of the deportees for decades. Some Acadians settled in various host countries such as Louisiana and France, but many chose to return to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec.

And they arrive in Quebec...

From the outset of the deportation, many Acadians headed for Quebec—French territory at the time—where they were granted land. It is estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 people settled there. They were located throughout Quebec, as they are mentioned between 1755 and 1775 in 96 of the 120 parishes that existed at the time.

Settlement in Quebec took place fairly continuously, but there were two major waves of immigration. The first, between 1756 and 1759, consisted of refugees who had managed to escape the mass deportations of 1755. The second, consisting mainly of deportees returning from the American colonies, took place after the Treaty of Paris in 1763. With this treaty, the French Empire in America was definitively dismantled. Only the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon remained French.

In 1765, James Murray, governor of the province of Quebec, offered land to immigrants to revive the economy weakened by war. Upon hearing of this offer, Acadians in Massachusetts asked to return to Canada. Murray agreed, stipulating that they must do so at their own expense and swear allegiance to the British Crown.

The little Cadies

The Acadians who came to Quebec settled mainly in the Chaudière-Appalaches and Centre-du-Québec regions, in Gaspésie, Montérégie, Mauricie, and Lanaudière. While swelling the ranks of existing villages, they founded six new ones, nicknamed "Cadies" or "petites Cadies" in memory of their homeland: Saint-Gervais-de-Bellechasse (1756), Bonaventure (1760), Tracadièche (1766), Saint-Jacques (1766), Saint-Grégoire-de-Nicolet (1767), and L’Acadie (1768).

The 19th and 20th centuries saw the expansion of villages and the settlement of new regions. The Acadians settled in different ways: some integrated into the local population, while others became pioneers.

Acadians are devout Catholics who fought to preserve their right to practice their religion in Acadia. Thus, once they settled in a new location, one of their concerns was to build a place of worship. The entire community rallied together, whether by donating land or materials, to build and maintain their church.

Today's Acadians

According to a study conducted in 2008, half of Quebecers of French Canadian descent, or approximately three million individuals, have at least one ancestor of Acadian origin. It is therefore not surprising to find so many Acadian surnames in Quebec, not to mention a multitude of place names and street names that recall Acadia and its history.

References

John A. Dickinson, "Acadian Refugees in Canada, 1755-1775," Canadian Studies, 1994, pp. 51-61.

Josée Bergeron, Hélène Vézina, Louis Houde, and Marc Tremblay, "The Contribution of Acadians to the Settlement of Quebec Regions," Cahiers québécois de démographie, vol. 37, no. 1, 2008, pp. 181-204.

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