🍁 Chapter 2: Who We Are
2.3.2 The Acadians
2 paragraphs · 4 questions
The Acadians descend from French colonists who started to settle in 1604 in the area we now call the Maritime provinces. Over generations they built their own villages and their own way of living. Acadian culture is thriving again today and forms a lively part of French-speaking Canada. You can hear it, for example, in the fiddle music played in the village of Grande-Anse, New Brunswick. Their long presence in eastern Canada goes back further than most European settlement in the country.
Key Facts
- Acadians descend from French colonists who settled from 1604
- They settled in what are now the Maritime provinces
- Acadian culture is lively today, e.g. fiddling in Grande-Anse, NB
Britain and France went to war, and between 1755 and 1763 the Acadians paid a heavy price. Over two-thirds of them were forced out of their homeland and deported. This mass expulsion is remembered as the “Great Upheaval”. The Acadians came through the ordeal. They held on to who they were, kept their language and traditions alive, and rebuilt their communities. Their survival is one of the strongest stories in the history of French-speaking Canada.
Key Facts
- Acadian deportations took place between 1755 and 1763
- Over two-thirds of Acadians were forced out
- The expulsion is known as the “Great Upheaval”
- Acadians survived and kept their own identity
Test yourself on this topic
4 practice questions from “The Acadians”, each with the answer explained.
- Who are the Acadians descended from?
- In what year did French colonists begin settling in today's Maritime provinces?
- What was the "Great Upheaval"?
- What fraction of the Acadian people was expelled between 1755 and 1763?
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