How did we get to be Cajun

1755 1800 2000 1500 1600 1700 1900

It all began in the small settlement of Acadia

Originally these settlers came from France in the early 1600s as France tried to strengthen her political and economic position in the New World through colonization

In 1630 the Sieur Isaac de Razilly received such a commission to start a settlement on the southern shore of Acadia (now Nova Scotia). Among the people he bought over from France were tenant farmers from inland agricultural areas and fisherman from places on the coast of France. The settlers numbered about 300 men and 12 to 15 women. l'Acadie

Although the Acadians were remarkably self-sufficient there were some things they could not make or grow themselves, for these they established trade with New England. Molasses, cooking pots, board axes, clay pipes, gunpowder, fabrics, and rum were bartered with New England. They obtained cottons, thread, lace, firearms and religious items from France. The Acadians got most of their clay pipes came mostly from England.

Like many people isolated by circumstances, the Acadians had a strong sense of community and performed many tasks together. One, which was much enjoyed, occurred when a young couple married. The whole village would gather to help clear land and to build a house for them. It became an occasion for work, fun, food and celebration. Music on these occasions was often provided by fiddles. For more than a hundred years the Acadians were able to maintain their self-contained lifestyle, enjoying their large families and peaceful communities, strengthened by a firm sense of religion. They lived on friendly terms with their immediate neighbours, the Mi'kmaq Indians, and profited from their trading links with New England, England, and other French settlements. ACADIE ENGLAND FRANCE NEW ENGLAND

                                                                                          

In the spring of 1755, events progressed rapidly toward deportation In the spring of 1755, events progressed rapidly toward deportation. The British authorities in Halifax continued to ban Acadians from using their guns and canoes and in the late summer the plan was put into motion. On Friday, September 5, 1755 Colonel John Winslow ordered that all males aged 10 years and up in the area were to gather in the Grand-Pré Church for an important message from His Excellency, Charles Lawrence, the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. The promise made to the Acadians that families were not to be divided during the process were not kept. L'Acadie

After the Acadians were forced boarded on ships orders were given to destroy homes and to round up livestock. In this way Acadians who had escaped, or were planning to, would not have their former homes to run to nor would they have their cattle and sheep to rely on. Today, the very site of the first deportation, at Grand-Pré is marked by a cross.                                                                                           

Acadian men and boys were held prisoners in the church of Grand-Pré for over a month waiting on more ships. The Deportation had already begun with Acadian women and girls. The Deportation was read in English, a language the men could not understand. Men and women ended up separated throughout the east coast from Mass. to Georgia.

Area/Population Connecticut 666 New York 249 Maryland 810 Pennsylvania 383 North Carolina 280 Georgia 185 Massachusetts 1043 Nova Scotia 1249 Quebec 2000 England 866 France 3500 Louisiana 300 TOTAL12,000+ Over the next several decades, many Acadians moved to Louisiana, then controlled by Spain. Spanish authorities welcomed the Catholic Acadians as settlers, first in areas along the Mississippi River, then later in the Atchafalaya Basin and in the prairie lands to the west, a region later renamed Acadiana. During the 19th century, as Acadians established their culture and intermarried with other groups, they evolved into the Cajuns. The table lists the destinations to which Acadians were deported, together with estimates of how many arrived at each port:

That's how we got to be Cajun