Prelude to War: Acadia Pages 106 - 109 Chapter 5 pt 2 Prelude to War: Acadia Pages 106 - 109

Focus Question: Why did the English expel the Acadians from their land in Nova Scotia? By 1710, Acadia was firmly under British control. Acadians had developed a unique identity because they had been cut off from the rest of New France for so long. Britain changed the colony’s name to Nova Scotia and it allowed the Acadians to live in peace. An Acadian is a Francophone citizen of Acadia.

The Acadian Way of Life By 1750, more than 10000 people lived in Acadia along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Many had married into the families of their Mi’Kmaq trading partners and they were mainly French speaking Catholics. Their way of life was based on fishing and unique system of farming.

Caught in the Middle As tensions between France and England grew, the British began to fear the Acadians would side with the French in times of war. The Mi’kmaq and Maliseet had trade and family relationships with the Acadians. Over the years, they had captured hundreds of British ships and refused to swear to the British crown. In 1755, Charles Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, gave the ultimatum (a threat or serious penalties): swear loyalty or lose your land. Acadians did not want to fight or get involved. They wanted to remain neutral. They promised not to take up arms against the English but they also refused to swear to their king.

The Expulsion of the Acadians: Was There Any Other Way? The Great Deportation – Le Grade Derangement Governor Lawrence was convinced the British would not be safe in Nova Scotia with the Acadians living among them. He thought he found proof of this when British troops captured Fort Beausejour from the French in 1755. They found 300 armed Acadians defending the fort and to Lawrence this meant the Acadians were disloyal. On the governor’s orders, British soldiers fell upon the Acadian villages. They rounded people up at gunpoint. They broke up families and forced them to board ships to distant places. They burned everything – churches, homes, farms and drove away animals.

Consider the Following What does it mean to swear allegiance to the king? It mean to promise service and loyalty to the king, and to not take up arms (fight) against the king’s army. Why did the Acadians not want to pledge their allegiance? The Acadians wished to remain neutral; they did not want to fight. Why did the British want to expel the Acadians? The British did not trust that the Acadians would remain neutral and were worried they would take up arms against them; Britain wanted to populate Nova Scotia with Anglophones.

How It Ended Most of the Acadians were deported by ship to the New England colonies. Some were sent to the Caribbean, France, or England. A few escaped and went into hiding in the woods. Many made their way to New Orleans, Louisiana, still part of New France. Today this community is still thriving, and they call themselves Cajuns. Most Acadians did not survive the deportation. About 55% of them died of starvation, disease or drowning. Seeing what happened to the Acadians, the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet abided by the wishes of the British.

Consider the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnpW5IVyWtU

A Lasting Identity In 1763, the war between France and England was over. The Acadians were free to come home. Some people returned to the Bay of Fundy, but many chose to settle in what would become New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, because their original farms in Nova Scotia had been destroyed. Today, about 300000 French speaking Acadians living in Atlantic Canada. In New Brunswick, about a third of the people speak French as their first language. It is the only province in Canada that is officially bilingual, Acadians have their own schools, music, plays, novels and flag.

Acadian flag The Acadian flag was chosen in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island in 1884, during the second National Acadian Convention.  It was proposed by Reverend Marcel-François Richard from Saint-Louis, New Brunswick The Tricolour represents the Motherland of the Acadians. The yellow star, the Stella Maris, is the symbol of Mary, Acadian national symbol and patron of the mariners. It is set on the blue stripe, because blue is the colour of Mary. The yellow colour of the star represents the Papacy.