How did we get to be

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How did we get to be
Cajun
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It all began in the small settlement of Acadia
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Originally these settlers came from France in the
early 1600s as France tried to strengthen her
political and economic position in the New World
through colonization
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In 1630 the Sieur Isaac de Razilly received such
a commission to start a settlement on the
southern shore of Acadia (now Nova Scotia). Among
the people he bought over from France were tenant
farmers from inland agricultural areas and
fisherman from places on the coast of France. The
settlers numbered about 300 men and 12 to 15
women.
l'Acadie
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Although the Acadians were remarkably
self-sufficient there were some things they could
not make or grow themselves, for these they
established trade with New England. Molasses,
cooking pots, board axes, clay pipes, gunpowder,
fabrics, and rum were bartered with New England.
They obtained cottons, thread, lace, firearms and
religious items from France. The Acadians got
most of their clay pipes came mostly from
England.
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Like many people isolated by circumstances, the
Acadians had a strong sense of community and
performed many tasks together. One, which was
much enjoyed, occurred when a young couple
married. The whole village would gather to help
clear land and to build a house for them. It
became an occasion for work, fun, food and
celebration. Music on these occasions was often
provided by fiddles. For more than a hundred
years the Acadians were able to maintain their
self-contained lifestyle, enjoying their large
families and peaceful communities, strengthened
by a firm sense of religion. They lived on
friendly terms with their immediate neighbours,
the Mi'kmaq Indians, and profited from their
trading links with New England, England, and
other French settlements.
ACADIE
ENGLAND
FRANCE
NEW ENGLAND
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In the spring of 1755, events progressed rapidly
toward deportation. The British authorities in
Halifax continued to ban Acadians from using
their guns and canoes and in the late summer the
plan was put into motion. On Friday, September 5,
1755 Colonel John Winslow ordered that all males
aged 10 years and up in the area were to gather
in the Grand-Pré Church for an important message
from His Excellency, Charles Lawrence, the
Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. The promise
made to the Acadians that families were not to be
divided during the process were not kept.
L'Acadie
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After the Acadians were forced boarded on ships
orders were given to destroy homes and to round
up livestock. In this way Acadians who had
escaped, or were planning to, would not have
their former homes to run to nor would they have
their cattle and sheep to rely on. Today, the
very site of the first deportation, at Grand-Pré
is marked by a cross.
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Acadian men and boys were held prisoners in the
church of Grand-Pré for over a month waiting on
more ships. The Deportation had already begun
with Acadian women and girls.
The Deportation was read in English, a language
the men could not understand. Men and women ended
up separated throughout the east coast from Mass.
to Georgia.
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Over the next several decades, many Acadians
moved to Louisiana, then controlled by Spain.
Spanish authorities welcomed the Catholic
Acadians as settlers, first in areas along the
Mississippi River, then later in the Atchafalaya
Basin and in the prairie lands to the west, a
region later renamed Acadiana. During the 19th
century, as Acadians established their culture
and intermarried with other groups, they evolved
into the Cajuns. The table lists the destinations
to which Acadians were deported, together with
estimates of how many arrived at each port
Area/Population Connecticut 666 New York
249 Maryland 810 Pennsylvania 383 North Carolina
280 Georgia 185 Massachusetts 1043 Nova Scotia
1249 Quebec 2000 England 866 France
3500 Louisiana 300 TOTAL12,000
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That's how we got to be
Cajun