Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Louisiana Cajuns



The British didn't plunder, rape and pillage Acadia.

As a matter of fact they rarely even dropped in for tea.
Usually they just pounded on the front door and rattled

their sabres. 
 
They wanted one thing from the French in Acadia

- an oath of loyalty to the English monarch.


The Acadians said the best they could do was a promise
of neutrality.


The British gritted teeth under stiffened upper lips and

let it go.  Several times, in fact.


Then as luck would have it war broke out and the Brits found
200 armed Acadians in the first French fort they pulverized.


The men swore they were forced to fight and the British bought
that story the way Churchill bought "Peace in our Time" from

Neville Chamberlain in 1938.

They gave the Acadians one more chance to swear loyalty.

And once again the Acadians refused.

So

6,000 Acadians were forced onto ships in 1755.

By all accounts it was a dreadful scene along the beaches
as they were being moved out.


The men were often separated from their loved ones.
(Longfellow's epic poem Evangeline tells the story here.)


By the time the expulsion was over 15,000 had been
forced onto ships and away from their homes.


The original idea was to scatter them among the 13 colonies
where they would be assimilated but most ended up in Louisiana.


And before the new 'Cajuns' had shaken the dust of Acadia
off their shoes


New France was gone.


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10 comments:

Doug Jamieson said...

Some didn't make the trip, though. I have friends in Nova Scotia whose Acadian roots go back to those days you describe.

The Dancing Crone said...

You are right, Doug. Some escaped into the 'forest primeval' and some returned after the fall of New France!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Our loss was the Bayou's gain!

CraveCute said...

Thanks for the refresher course! I am embarrassed to say I didn't really think much about where the word Cajuns actually came from and only vaguely remembered the whole story!

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

And they're having a grand old time down in that beautiful area, and enjoying much better weather.

momto8 said...

wish I knew this when I was in Cajun country!

Magaly Guerrero said...

I hope that one of these days you can tell us how we ended up with Cajuns in Louisiana and in your side of the world. I've read some of the story, but I bet you'll tell it much better ;-)

Victoria said...

Hugs kindred..I so appreciate all of your wonderfully written posts..they are fascinating and intriguing to read and I enjoy them so very very much! A visit here is always a treat..and leave me with knowledge, more thoughts to ponder and conjure great comments from bloggers ..which I love reading here! Wishing you a beautiful day!
Victoria

Pandorah's Box said...

I wish you had been my history teacher! I find this stuff so fascinating...not when I was younger though!! :)

Fundy Blue said...

Hi Francie! I'm just reading back through your historical posts. My roots in Nova Scotia go back to the 1670s. I was born just a few miles from Grand Pre, and it was one of the earlier historical events I learned about. I'm loving what you are doing!