The Acadian Expulsion (1755–1764) was the forced deportation of the citizens of Acadia (an area that was spread out across modern day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) by British soldiers. Although it was part of the British military campaign against France during the Seven Years’ War, the expulsion was the result of long-term hostility between the two sides. Approximately 10,000-11,500 Acadian refugees fled to Louisiana, New France, the English colonies, and some went as far as Europe or the Caribbean. Thousands died of starvation, disease, or from drowning and those who survived weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms.
So how exactly did British colonial government justify their actions? This post looks at the different positions on the Expulsion from both the British and Acadian points of view.
Acadia’s history stretched all the way back to when the French first arrived in the area in 1604. French settlers began to fill the rich farmland and overtime began to develop their own distinct culture due to the influence of the Mi’kmaq Nation and their isolation from France. Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, Acadia became a site of great turmoil as it not only endured six colonial wars but control over Acadia shifted back and forth between the French and the British.
1713 was a pivotal year. Although the Acadians were allowed to keep their land, the end of the War of Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utretcht brought Acadia under British rule. The Acadians refused to pledge their allegiance to the British, instead they signed an oath of loyalty in 1727 on the basis of neutrality. They would remain neutral so long as they did not have take up arms against the French or the Mi’kmaq. British officials begrudgingly accepted the compromise. At the time, they lacked the military means in the region to force the Acadians to pledge allegiance. This agreement lasted for about three decades. However, when the Seven Years’ War broke out in the Ohio River Valley in 1754, the uneasy neutrality between the two sides became impossible to maintain.
Acadia’s history stretched all the way back to when the French first arrived in the area in 1604. French settlers began to fill the rich farmland and overtime began to develop their own distinct culture due to the influence of the Mi’kmaq Nation and their isolation from France. Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, Acadia became a site of great turmoil as it not only endured six colonial wars but control over Acadia shifted back and forth between the French and the British.
1713 was a pivotal year. Although the Acadians were allowed to keep their land, the end of the War of Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utretcht brought Acadia under British rule. The Acadians refused to pledge their allegiance to the British, instead they signed an oath of loyalty in 1727 on the basis of neutrality. They would remain neutral so long as they did not have take up arms against the French or the Mi’kmaq. British officials begrudgingly accepted the compromise. At the time, they lacked the military means in the region to force the Acadians to pledge allegiance. This agreement lasted for about three decades. However, when the Seven Years’ War broke out in the Ohio River Valley in 1754, the uneasy neutrality between the two sides became impossible to maintain.
Explanation:
