Acadie and the Acadians

Acadie

In 1604, a group of French settlers move into the Sainte-Croix island, situated between what is now known as New Brunswick and Maine. After a rough winter, they resettle in Port-Royal in 1605. This will be the starting point of Acadie, which will soon designate the territory that will become Nova Scotia. Little by little, pioneers coming mainly from France start settling in Acadie and form tigh knit communities.

In 1713, the treaty of Utrecht puts an end to the French reign in Acadie, which then becomes a British colony. But the Acadians, catholics and French-speaking, refuse to swear the oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Even though they want to stay neutral in cases of conflict between the two European countries, the new British rulers fear, amongst other things, that the Acadians would side with France. In 1755, the Acadian people are systematically deported to the American colonies, England and France.

This deportation will last until 1763, when Acadians get the right to come back to the old Acadian territories as long as they settle in little groups. That is why Acadians spread out across the Maritime provinces, and gathered in small communities. Along the coastline of north eastern New Brunswick we now find many of those Acadian communities formed by those who managed to escape the deportation or by those who came back to live near their original settlements. This is the Acadian Peninsula.

Through the years, the people living in those communities in various provinces such as New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (and, to a smaller degree, Quebec and Newfoundland) will keep their language, their customs, their history and their traditions. This explains why we often tend to designate the Maritime provinces as the hotspot of modern Acadie. But above all, Acadie lives on in the hearts of Acadians and they can be found everywhere: in Canada, in the United States, in France...

Acadians

When defining what is an Acadian, the first obstacle is the absence of a geographical territory exclusively inhabitated by them. They are often described as being francophones living in the Atlantic provinces (North eastern, north western and south western New Brunswick, a few regions of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland). But the Acadian diaspora stretches into a few regions of Quebec, as well as Louisiana.

Acadians are often confused with Quebequers, both being French-speaking Canadians. But Acadians do have a separate culture, history, language, cuisine and customs from the ones of other francophones in America.

Acadians are proud of their heritage and are very attached to their national flag, which can be found proudly displayed everywhere. The famous Tintamarre of August 15th, where they parade in the streets making as much noise as possible, is the perfect example of the strong presence of Acadians who still strive to be heard. It is particularly important for them to show that they still exist, as they are a French-speaking minority in a predominantly English-speaking environment.

Today, we prefer using identity and culture to define Acadians, rather than genealogy alone. In other words, we may identify ourselves as Acadians if we share any of the main characteristics of the Acadian people, which are its language, its culture and its history. And so, an Acadian is anyone who primarily identifies himself or herself as such.