THE ACADIAN STORY

“Welcome to Cajun Country” is a phrase you have probably heard often. But who are Acadians and how

did they become Cajuns? How did this group end up in Louisiana? Where did their story begin? We will

answer a few of those questions as we learn more about “The Acadian Odyssey” and the roots of that

legacy.

Photo by Theresa Hardy

The Acadians, who would later become known as “Cajuns” began their

journey from the rural areas of the Vendee

region of western France.

Around 1604, some French men and women

began settling in “Acadie,” (now Nova

Scotia, Canada) and they were called Acadians.

Nova Scotia Map (Wikipedia

Phase 1

Vendee Region of France

Acadie (Nova Scotia)

About sixty French families were established in this area during the seventeenth century. The group learned about hunting and fishing techniques from the Aboriginal Mi'kmaq. (Native American people who lived around Canada's Atlantic Providence)

Wikipedia Photo

For the most part, the Acadians lived mainly in the coastal regions. Farming and fishing were important to the Acadians.

Acadians often found themselves on the front lines in conflict between French and British powers who were fighting for control of North America.

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After the French Acadians settled in “Acadie,” ownership of the colony changed hands between the English and French several times. The Acadians tried to remain neutral and were called “French Neutrals.”

Each wanted ownership of the area. After a century, in 1713, Great Britain acquired permanent control of “Acadie.” A group of Acadians moved to other areas controlled by France, but most remained as British subjects.

The British felt compelled that to establish their sovereignty in the Canadian region. They felt a need to colonize the area with British subjects.

So expulsion of French Acadian people was what the British believed needed to be done. The forced removal of Acadians was cruel and is now called

ethnic cleansing or genocide.

Photo courtesy of the Acadian

Museum .

After being in “Acadie” for 150 years, the Acadians were faced with a cruel and major upheaval.

On July 28, 1755, Charles Lawrence, the British governor of “Acadie” ordered what many call the “The Great Upheaval” Other terms used are Great Expulsion, The Deportation, the Acadian Expulsion, or to the deportees, Le Grand Dérangement.

Photo courtesy of the Acadian

Museum .

The British began the forced removal of the Acadians from

their homeland in 1755. To prevent their return, houses and

farms were burned.

Acadians were taken into custody by British officers and then herded onto British ships

and were exiled. Some Acadians escaped led by

Joseph Beausoleil Broussard. They mounted a guerilla war

campaign against the British. The Joseph Beausoleil Broussard Portrait was painted by Robert Dafford

. Photo courtesy of the Acadian Museum .

Le Grand Dérangement dispersed the Acadians to British colonies along North America’s eastern coast. Some groups refused to receive them and they were sent to England.

Acadian families were separated and shipped to various destinations including seven British American colonies:

Connecticut New York Pennsylvania Maryland Massachusetts South Carolina Georgia

After the war, some were sent to French Caribbean (Antilles, Martinique, St. Domingue), while others went back to France.

Map from Wikipedia

Many families were separated as men and boys were imprisoned. Many Acadians under twenty-one years old were made servants to farmers in Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania. Others were shipped to South Carolina and Georgia. Of those sent to South Carolina, reportedly only one in ten survived.

Exiled Acadians numbered more than 12,000. Some historians estimate that close of fifty percent of these people died as a direct consequence of the expulsion, also called the Diaspora.

Some exiled groups were unhappy and decided to move.

Of those, some found their way to south Louisiana and began settling in the rural areas west of New Orleans.

By the early 1800’s, nearly 4,000 Acadians had arrived and settled in Louisiana.

Acadian settlement locations included:

St. John Parish St. James Parish Attakapas region (St. Martin Parish) St. Gabriel, Louisiana Vidalia (old location) Natchitoches (settlers relocated to Opelousas) Bayou Lafourche area

St. James Parish

St. Martin Parish(Attakapas Region)

St. John Parish

Bayou Lafourche

NatchitochesRelocated to Opelousas

OpelousasSt. Landry Parish

St. Gabriel

Vidalia (Concordia Parish)

Early Acadian Settlement in

Louisiana

River/Bayou Settlements Spanish land grants along the

Mississippi River were the first settlements for the Acadians in Louisiana

Later Acadian arrivals were given land on Bayou Lafourche and Bayou Teche

These Acadians used the rich soil for farming cotton as a cash crop

Wetland Settlements Lived on swamp levees like

in the Atachafalaya River basin

Made a living by hunting and fishing; eventually lived on house boats

In the marshes Acadians realized they could graze cattle in the winter months

Once settled, Acadians picked up their former life styles. They farmed, fished, built self-sufficient homes, retained their French language.

Many lived in the bayou country where they hunted, fished, trapped, and lived off the Mississippi River.

Photo courtesy of the Acadian

Museum .

Some moved beyond the Atchafalaya Basin onto southwest Louisiana’s prairies to raise cattle and

rice. Through the years, the French language changed as did their architecture, music, and food.

Cajuns today are renowned for their unique culture, music, food, and traditions.

Wikipedia Photo

Prairie Settlements Developed in two areas differently Eastern Lifestyle - the rich soil supported

crops (cotton was the main cash crop) and the area quickly became densely settled

Western Lifestyle - was at first characterized by small towns and cattle ranches

Life changed in the western prairies with the introduction of the railroad, rice farming, the discovery of oil, and agricultural mechanization

Over time the Acadians in Louisiana became known as “Cajuns” (which is an English word) as they adapted to their new home and its environment.

The immigration to Louisiana of different cultures created a different culture; however the Cajun culture remained dominant.

Cajuns are credited for starting the cattle industry. Cajuns had the first cattle brand registered in Louisiana's official brand book.

During 1785 on seven ships, the next major wave of 2,000 Acadians arrived in Louisiana from France.

By 1785, three Catholic parishes had been established for Cajuns.

In 1843, Alexander Mouton was elected the first Acadian governor of

Louisiana.

He was Louisiana’s 12th Governor.

Alexander Mouton

Wikipedia Photo

Cajun subsistence rice cultivation grew into one of Louisiana's main industries.

In 1867, Cajuns established the first shrimp canning operation. Shrimp continue to be the Cajun's major

fishing industry.

Photo by Theresa Hardy

Alexandria

Cameron

Bayou Lafourche

Acadian TriangleThis map represents the area of Louisiana with the largest concentration of Acadian settlements and their living descendents. The area is officially designated as the Acadian Triangle and has its own Acadian flag.

The gold castle (or tower) on the red field represents the Spanish kingdom, who allowed and even assisted the Acadians in settling

their new homeland.

The three fleur-de-lis on the blue field

represent the French heritage.

The fleur-de-lis is a symbol of the kings

of France.

The gold star on the white background

represents the Virgin Mary, (Our Lady of

Assumption), Patroness of the Acadians. This

represented their Catholic faith.

Another interpretation is that the star is a reminder of the efforts of

the Acadian volunteers in removing British from areas adjacent to the Spanish Louisiana boarder (Baton Rouge, Mobile, Pensacola) under

Louisiana Governor Galvez.

Language Difficulties

1915 – Banned French to be spoken

1918 – German could not be spoken

1921 – All languages except English was prohibited

1955 – Language acts repealed

In 1990, Warren Perrin, a Louisiana Attorney and a Cajun descendant of Acadian exiles, delivered a petition to the British government seeking from Queen Elizabeth II an official apology for what had been done to the Acadians. After 13 years of negotiations, on December 9, 2003, the Royal Proclamation was singed, an official acknowledgment of responsibility by the Crown of England.

Photo from The Acadian Museum in Erath, Louisiana

So who are Cajuns?

Cajuns are an ethnic group of the

descendants of Acadian exiles.

Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion

of south Louisiana's population. Their

Cajun and Acadian legacy has

undoubtedly had an impact the state's

culture.

Acadiana

Many changes have occurred through the

journey of this group, but the one

constant of the Acadian heritage has been a true pride in

their roots. A legacy that will forever lie in

their ancestor’s struggles for survival.

Photo by Theresa Hardy

Acadiana Region in Louisiana (Wikipedia Map)The

End

Acadians resettled in small numbers in cities across the Eastern seaboard, and Evangeline searches each for her love. She eventually gives up, settles in Philadelphia, becomes a nun and works at a hospital.  After many years, she finally encounters Gabriel once again—now a sick old man.  He dies in her arms, she soon follows him to the grave.

A Mrs. Voorheis said that she was the adoptive mother of a girl named Emmeline Labiche –whose story that Longfellow heard, and who renamed her Evangeline, presumably for creative effect. In his version, the lovers reunite not in Philadelphia but in St. Martinville, under a Live Oak tree that stretches its branches towards the chocolate brown waters of the Bayou Teche. They embrace passionately and all was well until Gabriel (actual name: Louis) suddenly remembered that he had remarried in the years that passed. Evangeline later goes insane and dies.