HISTORICAL TIDBITS

The Deportation Order

Many factors have contributed to what is called the "Acadian Identity". Amongst these are: a common experience shared by the first settlers; an independent spirit principally the result of having been left to themselves by their mother country; and a common language and religion that were shared with only a small number of those other settlers who were also discovering the "New World". However, amongst all these factors, none has had as much impact as the forcible expulsion of the Acadians during the years 1755 to 1763. All Acadians, no matter where they live today, see the "great upheaval", or the deportation as the ultimate factor of their common identity.
Source: Centre Acadien, Universit� Sainte-Anne, N.S

The Deportation Order - Painting by Claude Picard

On July 31, 1755 Lawrence sent a letter to Colonel Robert Monckton, commander of Fort Cumberland (Fort Beaus�jour) in which he stated that French deputees from the districts of Annapolis, Minas and Pisiguit appeared before the Council and refused to swear an Oath of Allegeance to His Majesty. Consequently, the Council has resolved that all Acadians be deported outside the province as soon as possible.

Acadian men were assembled at Fort Beaus�jour on August 11, 1755 and at the Church of Grand Pr� on September 2, 1755 where they were taken prisonners. The inhabitants of Cobequid and Pisiguit had already taken refuge in the area of present day New Brunswick. As for Port Royal, where the population was suspicious of the English intentions, it is not known what happened there except that nearly half of the 3000 Acadians of that area escaped. During the embarkation there were some serious problems and many English Soldiers and Acadians were killed during the arrests.

To view the proclamation read by Colonel Winslow in Grand Pr� on September 2, 1755, you are invited to Lucy Leblanc Consentino's Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home

THEY WERE IMMEDIATELY DECLARED TO BE PRISONNERS OF THE CROWN OF ENGLAND

In early October 1755, the Acadians were boarded on the transport ships.

In the panic, family members were separated from their loved ones. Hundreds were squeezed into ships built for half their numbers. During the journey, Acadians had to take turn lying down due to lack of space. Many will not survive.

DESTINATION OF THE DEPORTEES