The Great Expulsion1755-1762

New HorizonsFrance and England were interested in North

America because of the fur tradeChamplain had settled a colony at Port Royal,

Acadia (now Nova Scotia) in 1604Making this settlement work was difficult and by

1650 there were only 300 settlersBritain had settled in Maine, New Hampshire,

Vermont at the same time and had managed to settle 13 000 settlers

England and France fought throughout the 1600s and this made success in Acadia more difficult for France

Control

During the many years of wars between Britain and France, control of Acadian land changed hands many, many times. Acadian lands were in what we now call Nova Scotia.

In 1713 Great Britain won the war in Europe and that gave them control over what is now Nova Scotia

Early 1700sBy 1713 when Britain took over Acadia it was finally

doing wellThe population had doubled in the past 20 yearsThe long growing season saw plenty of fruits and

vegetables being grownThe Acadians were a very tight groupFamilies were large and everyone helped everyone

elseThey were an “egalitarian” society which means they

believed in equal rights and opportunitiesPriests were the only officialsThey cherished their freedom

Port RoyalWhen the British won against France in Europe they

got Acadia and its main town, Port Royal.

The British now had control over what is now Nova Scotia and along with it 1800 people

They were told that they could leave Acadia but they would lose everything they had worked so hard to get.

The British told them not to worry they could remain Catholic and continue speaking French.

They decided to stay

Port Royal becomes AnnapolisThe British decide to rename Port Royal to

Annapolis after Queen Anne.The Acadians weren’t pleased with thisAt your table group discuss why this would make

the Acadians unhappy

AllegianceIn 1717 Colonel Phillips takes over Nova Scotia

and he believes that all Acadians must pledge allegiance to the British queen

The Acadians did not want to take sides and wanted to be neutral and just continue peacefully as they had always done before.

They were also afraid that the French might return and be angry that they had pledged allegiance to the queen and would take it out on them

The Acadians never believed that the peace between Britain and France would last so they did not want to commit to one side

The Oath“I sincerely promise and swear on my

faith as a Christian that I will be utterly loyal, and will truly obey his Majesty King George the second, whom I recognize as the sovereign lord of Acadia or Nova Scotia. May God so help me.

~the oath of allegiance signed by Acadians

The Colonel Leaves Out Some Information

When Colonel Phillips reports back to the King and tells them that many have sworn allegiance he does not mention the most important thing of all:

Phillips told the Acadians that they could be neutral and still swear allegiance. That meant they did not have to side with the British or French if there was ever another war

Make a prediction: Will this be a problem later?

1744The Acadians were right when they thought

peace wouldn’t lastIn 1744 France and Britain were back at warThe Acadians kept their promise of being

neutral and resisted calls for helpThe British King was not happy especially since

he never knew that they were told that they could be neutral

1749King George says they must pledge allegiance

and they cannot remain neutralThe Acadians refused and asked for permission

to leaveThe British refused because they were afraid

that they would move to French settlements nearby and make those settlements stronger

This would be in French favour if war broke out yet again

1755 War AgainThe French were defeated in what is now New

BrunswickThe British found out that 300 Acadians helped

the FrenchThey were not amusedThe British decide to seek revenge on the

AcadiansAnyone who did not pledge allegiance was

hunted down, their land and cattle were seized, houses and crops burned

Britain Seizing Land and Property

Eight more yearsFrom 1755 to 1763 Acadians who did not

pledge allegiance were hunted down and deported

They were shipped away in horrible conditions where few survived

One group of Acadians claimed the conditions were so bad that they had to take turns lying down

There was no food and no water

Misery and DespairThose who escaped or avoided capture also

sufferedThey lived in the woods or travelled many

kilometres by foot to QuebecPeople that were captured became prisoners of

war if they went to EnglandOthers were sent to France or colonies along the

east coast of what is now the United StatesThe British deliberately tried to separate

Acadians and their families so they could not group together and retaliate

Deportation

What happened?Even if they survived the journey to other

colonies their misery continuedGovernors did not know the Acadians were

arriving and were angry that they had to provide for them

The Acadians lived in poverty for years and were never accepted

Their culture and way of life was ruined

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnpW5IVyWtU

Acadians TodayThe expulsion is considered to be a tragedy,

planned with no regard to the suffering it would cause

The Acadian culture did survive and today 3 million people claim Acadian heritage

Those that survived established communities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

Many live in Louisiana, the roots of Cajun cuisine that is loved everywhere

All of them celebrate their unique past

2003In 2003, Queen Elizabeth acknowledged the

deportation of the Acadians August 15th every year is National Acadian Day

Think about it on an exit ticket: How does this picture represent the history of the Acadians? What images do you see? What symbols do you see that tell the story of the Acadian expulsion?