Horton High School's Canadian
History 12 Web Page and Student
Resource
Chapter 10 - The Acadians
roots of the Acadian presence in
Nova Scotia dates back to 1604, when Champlain wintered along the Bay of
Fundy. After the construction of the habitation ar Port Royal, small French
communities were built. These people came to be known as the Acadians.
this land came to be known as Acadie
by the French, and its inhabitants the Acadians. By the 1630s Acadie was
almost ruined, due to English invasions and declining French interest in
the area. The people of the area stayed and developed, and traded with
the local Native population. The Acadians were excellent farmers and dyke
builders.
In 1632, the Governor of Acadie,
de Razilly, died, leaving the colony in a state of confusion. A civil
war of sorts broke out, whereby leading Acadian families warred with each
other. This settled down soon after.
1670 - English took control of Acadie,
and the Acadians tended to get along with the English.
by this time the Acadians had developed
their own dialect, culture and customs.
lack of war and disease allowed the
Acadian population to grow to over 500 by 1670. Most had families of 10-12.
the largest settlement was at Port
Royal, with others being near present-day Truro, Amherst and Wolfville.
traded with the Colony of Massachusetts,
which helped open up goods from throughout the world to the Acadians. Nonetheless,
when at war with New France, Massachusetts invaded Acadie. In 1690, Phips
took Port Royal on his way to Quebec. It was returned to the French in
1697.
after the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713,
Acadie was given to the English for good, and was henceforth called Nova
Scotia.
an English minority now ruled the
Acadians. The English tried to encourage English settlement, but this was
slow to happen and few in number. The question of allegiance became an
issue. This became more of an issue when it was learned that the
French in Isle Royale [Cape Breton] were aggressively seeking out stronger
ties to the Acadians. The English halted Acadian migration to Isle Royale,
as they did not wish to lose the agricultural goods produced by the Acadians.
the English thus required all inhabitants
in Nova Scotia to declare an oath of allegiance, which the Acadians had
already refused five times. They wished to be truly neutral and refused
to fight for either side.
1730 - an agreement was made. The
Acadians were allowed to remain Catholic and they were allowed to keep
their military alliance with the Natives. They were also allowed to remain
neutral. The Acadians agreed to this oath.
soon after, a number of English and
German Protestant settled in Nova Scotia. The English began to have conflicts
with the Mi’kmaq over hunting grounds.
1749 - Governor Cornwallis of Nova
Scotia founded the city of Halifax, and in 1750-51 Lunenburg wa settled
by Germans. In response to increased conflicts with the natives, Cornwallis
sought to issue a bounty on the heads of all natives, and money would be
given for their scalps. The Crown stopped this from happening, yet this
showed Cornwallis’ views towards the aboriginal population.
he also grew wary of the Acadians,
allies of the Mi’kmaq. He demanded a new oath be taken by the Acadians,
with no conditions or benefits, such as Catholic worship.
after some limited skirmishes, and
the Acadian refusal to take another oath, the British deported some 10,000
Acadians at Grand Pre.
