22 Facts About Acadians

Acadians are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The settlers whose descendants became Acadians primarily came from the southwestern region of France, known as Occitania, such as the rural areas of Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaine.

Some Acadians were deported to England, some to the Caribbean, and some to France.

In time, some Acadians returned to the Maritime provinces of Canada, mainly to New Brunswick.

Acadians speak a variety of French called Acadian French, which has a few regional accents.

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The Acadians lived mainly in the coastal regions of the Bay of Fundy; they reclaimed farming land from the sea by building dikes to control water and drain certain wetlands.

Over a period of 74 years, six wars took place in Acadia and Nova Scotia, in which the Wabanaki Confederacy and some Acadians fought to keep the British from taking over the region.

Acadians took part in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.

Many Acadians might have signed an unconditional oath to the British monarchy had the circumstances been better, while other Acadians would not sign because it was religious oath which denied the Catholic faith because the British Monarch was Head of the Church of England.

Acadians had numerous reasons against signing an oath of loyalty to the British Crown.

Acadians believed that if they signed the oath, they might put their villages at risk of attack by the Mi'kmaq.

The Acadians were deported to separated locations throughout the British eastern seaboard colonies, from New England to Georgia, where many were put into forced labour or imprisoned.

British conducted a second and smaller expulsion of Acadians after taking control of the north shore of what is New Brunswick.

Many Acadians gradually returned to British North America, settling in coastal villages that were not occupied by colonists from New England.

Acadians's established 28 July as an annual day of commemoration, beginning in 2005.

Ethnic Acadian descendants still live in and around the area of Madawaska, Maine, where some of the Acadians first landed and settled in what is known as the St John Valley.

Acadians who settled in Louisiana after 1764 became known as Cajuns for the culture they developed.

Acadians are a vibrant minority, particularly in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, and in Louisiana and northern Maine, United States.

On that day, the Acadians celebrate by having a tintamarre, a big parade and procession for which people dress up with the colors of Acadia and make a lot of noise and music.

The national anthem of the Acadians is "Ave Maris Stella", adopted in 1884 at Miscouche, Prince Edward Island.

Flag of the Acadians is the French tricolour, with the addition of a golden star in the blue field.

In 2004 New England Acadians, who were attending Le Congres Mondial Acadien in Nova Scotia, endorsed a design by William Cork for a New England Acadian flag.