The Acadian and francophone community of
Nova Scotia

The Acadians and their history

In the beginning
In 1604, Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, as well as Samuel de Champlain, crossed the Atlantic, explored the shores of Acadia (now Nova Scotia), and became the first Europeans to settle in North America. They spent the winter on St. Croix Island, but in the spring of 1605, they crossed the French Bay (Bay of Fundy) and settled in Port Royal. Due to wars in Europe, it was not until the 1630s that France made efforts to settle Acadia, with women and children as well as men. In the 1650s, about 50 families were living at Port Royal. These families laid the foundations for the Acadian people. Very little immigration occurred after that period.

Acadia was a strategic territory that changed hands several times between France and England. After the conquest of Port Royal in 1710, Acadia (Nova Scotia) became a British colony. The Acadians were able to live in relative peace for a few decades. In 1755, there were some 13,000 Acadians living in Nova Scotia.

The Great Upheaval - The Deportation
The conflicts began to heat up as France and Great Britain both sought to gain control of North America. In the 1740s and 1750s, the two empires increased their military presence in the region, which was now the Maritime provinces. In 1749, the British founded Halifax to establish Protestant settlers in Nova Scotia. Halifax was built to counterbalance the French fortress in Louisbourg, on Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island). The Acadians now found themselves caught between two great empires.

Despite the fact that the Acadians had promised to remain neutral and had signed conditional oaths of allegiance, British authorities did not always trust them. The decision to deport the Acadians was made by members of the Council in Halifax on 28 July 1755.

From 1755 to 1763, some 10,000 Acadians living in Nova Scotia, on St. John's Island (PEI) and Isle Royale (Cape Breton Island) were deported. Depending on where they lived, they were deported to the colonies along the Atlantic coast (not Louisiana, which was not a British colony), to England or to France. Some families managed to find refuge in the colony of Canada (now Quebec and Ontario), and in other places such as the Magdalen Islands. Many Acadians died on these overcrowded ships where disease was easily transmitted.

In the early 1760s, the fertile lands along the Bay of Fundy, which the Acadians had farmed for more than a century, were given to Protestant settlers from New England, known as Planters. On 20 September 1764, members of the Council in Halifax received instructions from the King allowing the Acadians to return to Nova Scotia provided they took an oath of allegiance and settled in small groups in isolated areas.