Acadia

There is a also a U.S. national park called Acadia National Park.

---

File:Acadia Flag.png

The national flag of Acadia, adopted in 1884.

Acadia (in French Acadie), named after the mythical Arcadia, was the name given by the French to a territory including today's Canadian Maritime provinces and part of modern-day New England stretching as far south as today's Philadelphia (the 40th to 46th parallel). Later, the territory was divided under British rule into American states and Canadian provinces.

The territory's first European colonists, who would later become known as Acadians, were French subjects primarily from the Pleumartin to Poitiers area of France. The first French settlement was established by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, Governor of Acadia under the authority of King Henry IV, on Saint Croix Island in 1604. The following year, the settlement was moved across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal after a difficult winter on the island and deaths due to scurvy. In 1608, many of the settlers followed Samuel Champlain north to found New France in modern day Quebec City.

The French took control of the Wabanahki First Nations territory. In 1654, King Louis XIV of France appointed aristocrat Nicholas Denys as Governor of Acadia and granted him the confiscated lands and the right to all its minerals. British colonists captured Acadia in the course of King William's War but Britain returned it to France at the peace settlement. It was recaptured in the course of Queen Anne's War and its conquest confirmed in the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. On 23 June that year, the French residents of Acadia were given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia.

Following this reverse, the French signalled their preparedness for future hostilities by building Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. The British were alarmed by the prospect of disloyalty in wartime of the French colonists now under their rule.

In 1755, the British burned Acadian homes at the outbreak of the French and Indian War between Britain and France. The Acadians were accused of disloyalty and guerrilla action. Those Acadians who refused to swear loyalty to the British crown suffered the Great Upheaval. Some 6,000-7,000 were expelled to France or the American colonies. Others fled deeper into Canada.

Many expelled Acadians eventually settled in Louisiana, which was then still under French rule. Acadians formed the nucleus of the Cajun population. The name Cajun is derived from Acadia: the word for Acadian in French is acadien, which, said fast, becomes Cajun. After the end of the war, Britain allowed some Acadians to return to Acadia but these were a small minority.

The poem Evangeline by Longfellow tells the story of an expelled Acadian struggling to reunite with her love.

The national anthem of Acadia is Ave Maris Stella.

Contemporary meaning

Today, Acadia refers to regions of Atlantic Canada with French roots, language, and culture. In the abstract, Acadia refers to the existence of a French culture on Canada’s east coast.

See also

• Acadian
• List of Acadians
• Acadian French
• New France
• List of not fully sovereign nations
• Quebec
• New Brunswick
• List of Acadian governors
• A few acres of snow

External link

• National Society of Acadia