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.
- 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.
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.
10 comments:
Some didn't make the trip, though. I have friends in Nova Scotia whose Acadian roots go back to those days you describe.
You are right, Doug. Some escaped into the 'forest primeval' and some returned after the fall of New France!
Our loss was the Bayou's gain!
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!
And they're having a grand old time down in that beautiful area, and enjoying much better weather.
wish I knew this when I was in Cajun country!
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 ;-)
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
I wish you had been my history teacher! I find this stuff so fascinating...not when I was younger though!! :)
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!
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