Acadian Exodus
Encyclopedia
The Acadian Exodus happened during Father Le Loutre’s War (1749–1755) and involved almost half of the total Acadian
population of Nova Scotia
deciding to relocate to French controlled territories. The three primary destinations were: the west side of the Mesagoueche River in the Chignecto region
, Ile-Saint Jean (Prince Edward Island
)and Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island
). The leader of the Exodus was Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre
, whom the British gave the code name “Moses
”. A prominant Acadian who transported Acadians to Ile St. Jean and Ile Royal was Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
. The overall upheaval of the early 1750s in Nova Scotia was unprecedented. Present-day Atlantic Canada witnessed more population movements, more fortification construction, and more troop allocations than ever before in the region. Along with Acadians, Mi’kmaq and Foreign Protestants
joined in the Exodus from Nova Scotia. The greatest immigration of the Acadians between 1749 and 1755 took place in 1750. Primarily due to natural disasters and British raids, the Exodus proved to be unsustainable when Acadians tried to develop communities in the French territories.
in 1710, Acadia was dominated by Catholic Acadians and Mi’kmaq. For over forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians both threatened to leave Acadia and were threatened with expulsion at various times. (The first deportation of the Acadians happened when they were expelled from present day Cape Breton after the Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
.) Acadians left peninsula Nova Scotia to protest Edward Cornwallis
’ demand that they take an unconditional oath.
(Fort Edward
); Grand Pre
(Fort Vieux Logis
) and Chignecto
(Fort Lawrence
). (Of course, a British fort already existed at the other major Acadian centre of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
. Cobequid remained without a fort.) The British also established forts at the various Protestant communities they were establishing in Nova Scotia: Halifax, Bedford, Lawrencetown, Lunenburg and Dartmouth.
, along the Bay of Fundy and up the St. John River. This route is also the pathway many Acadians took to leave the Bay of Fundy to go to Baie Verte and on-ward to Ile St. Jean or Ile Royale. To protect this vital gateway, at the beginning of 1749, La Galissoniere strategically constructed three forts within 18 months along the route: one at Baie Vert (Fort Gaspareaux
), one at Chignecto (Fort Beausejour
) and another at the mouth of the St. John River (Fort Menagoueche
). When La Jonquiere reached Quebec, he instructed Le Loutre and the Mi’kmaq to support the migration of Acadians to Chignecto, which would protect the corridor between Quebec City
and Louisbourg. Acadia would revive with an instant population while the British would be deprived of hard-working and productive farmers. The French policy promised Acadians the means and support to relocate to French territories. On some occasions, in conjunction with the French policy, Le Loutre and the Mi’kmaq had to force some reluctant Acadians to join the exodus.
. The Acadian village of Beaubassin was burned to prevent Lawrence from establishing a fort in the major Acadian village. More han 2000 moved to Chignecto and the Shepody Basin area.
, they made numerous attacks on Dartmouth
, numerous attacks on peninsular Halifax, and engaged in various conflicts at Fort Lawrence (Chignecto). There was also a rebellion against the British by the Foreign Protestants in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
, which was likely supported by Le Loutre. (See Father Le Loutre’s War). To guard against attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were immediately erected in Halifax, Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, Bedford, and Lunenburg.
’s priest Jacques Girard was arrested. This action precipitated Doiron leaving Noel, Nova Scotia
for Point Prime, Ile St. Jean in the spring of 1750.) The British eventually forbade all assemblies of the Acadians, and they were ordered to supply the British commanders with provisions and offer their labor on demand, at prices set by regulation. Not surprisingly, many Acadians refused to supply the British, and by the summer of 1750 Acadians by the hundreds were in flight from the province.
, the British raided Chignecto destroying the dykes and ruining hundreds of acres of crops. Acadians began to defect from the Exodus and made application to return to the British colony. As a result of the conditions of the Acadian refugees, in 1753-1754, Le Loutre temporarily stopped pressing Acadians at Minas to evacuate to his new settments. Instead, he encouraged them to grow more grain, which they did in record quantitites sufficient to support the large French, Acadian, and Native populion otherwise occupied in the service of France.
Le Loutre immediately sought help from Quebec and then France to support re-building dykes in the area. He returned with success in 1753 and work began on the grand dyking project on riviere Au Lac (present day Aulac River, New Brunswick
). Unfortunately, the following year storm tides broke through the main cross-dike of the large-scale reclamation project, destroying nearly everything the Acadians had accomplished in several months of instense work. Again some Acadians tried to defect to the British.
Acadians, Mi’kmaq and the French lost in the Battle of Beausejour. (Le Loutre was captured and imprisoned by the British until the end of the war.) After the fall of Beausejour, the British began expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign.
. (Despite the hardships they faced, most Acadian refugees had some validation of their choice to leave the British colony of Nova Scotia once the deportation began.) Of course, with the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, the Acadians who left for the French colonies were deported as well.
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
population of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
deciding to relocate to French controlled territories. The three primary destinations were: the west side of the Mesagoueche River in the Chignecto region
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
, Ile-Saint Jean (Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
)and Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
). The leader of the Exodus was Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society...
, whom the British gave the code name “Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
”. A prominant Acadian who transported Acadians to Ile St. Jean and Ile Royal was Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair, Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair, Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair, (b. 1689 at Rochefort, France, d. 1752 at Port-La-Joie (Fort Amherst, P.E.I.) was a merchant trader and a leader of the Acadian militia who participated in war efforts against the British...
. The overall upheaval of the early 1750s in Nova Scotia was unprecedented. Present-day Atlantic Canada witnessed more population movements, more fortification construction, and more troop allocations than ever before in the region. Along with Acadians, Mi’kmaq and Foreign Protestants
Foreign Protestants
The "Foreign Protestants" were a group of immigrants to Nova Scotia in the mid-18th century and the ethnonymical basis behind the name "New Brunswick", as well as support behind naming "Prince Edward Island" for a representative of the Braunschweiger dynasty....
joined in the Exodus from Nova Scotia. The greatest immigration of the Acadians between 1749 and 1755 took place in 1750. Primarily due to natural disasters and British raids, the Exodus proved to be unsustainable when Acadians tried to develop communities in the French territories.
Historical Context
Despite the British Conquest of AcadiaSiege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
in 1710, Acadia was dominated by Catholic Acadians and Mi’kmaq. For over forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians both threatened to leave Acadia and were threatened with expulsion at various times. (The first deportation of the Acadians happened when they were expelled from present day Cape Breton after the Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
.) Acadians left peninsula Nova Scotia to protest Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis
Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...
’ demand that they take an unconditional oath.
British Fortification of Nova Scotia
The Acadian Exodus began in 1749 primarily because the Acadians were resisting the British firmly taking control of peninsula Nova Scotia through establishing Halifax and, within eighteen months, building fortifications in the major Acadian communities: present-day WindsorWindsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
(Fort Edward
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
); Grand Pre
Grand Pre, Nova Scotia
Grand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin, framed by the Gaspereau...
(Fort Vieux Logis
Fort Vieux Logis
The site of Fort Vieux Logis is in present-day Hortonville, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The site of the fort is on the field where the Acadian Cross and the New England Planters monument...
) and Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
(Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
). (Of course, a British fort already existed at the other major Acadian centre of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
. Cobequid remained without a fort.) The British also established forts at the various Protestant communities they were establishing in Nova Scotia: Halifax, Bedford, Lawrencetown, Lunenburg and Dartmouth.
French Policy
Along with the desire of many Acadians to leave peninsula Nova Scotia in protest, withdrawing the Acadians to French-held territory was also the official French policy after 1748. The French were invested in having Acadians migrate to the Chignecto region, in part, to protect the only land route between Louisbourg and Quebec. The land route went through ChignectoIsthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
, along the Bay of Fundy and up the St. John River. This route is also the pathway many Acadians took to leave the Bay of Fundy to go to Baie Verte and on-ward to Ile St. Jean or Ile Royale. To protect this vital gateway, at the beginning of 1749, La Galissoniere strategically constructed three forts within 18 months along the route: one at Baie Vert (Fort Gaspareaux
Fort Gaspareaux
Fort Gaspareaux was a French fort at the head of Baie Verte near the mouth of the Gaspareaux River and just southeast of the modern village of Port Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada, on the Isthmus of Chignecto...
), one at Chignecto (Fort Beausejour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
) and another at the mouth of the St. John River (Fort Menagoueche
Fort Menagoueche
Fort Menagoueche was a French fort at the mouth of the St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada. French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot built the fort during Father Le Loutre's War and eventually burned it himself as the French retreated after losing the Battle of...
). When La Jonquiere reached Quebec, he instructed Le Loutre and the Mi’kmaq to support the migration of Acadians to Chignecto, which would protect the corridor between Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and Louisbourg. Acadia would revive with an instant population while the British would be deprived of hard-working and productive farmers. The French policy promised Acadians the means and support to relocate to French territories. On some occasions, in conjunction with the French policy, Le Loutre and the Mi’kmaq had to force some reluctant Acadians to join the exodus.
The Exodus
With demands for an unconditional oath, the British foritication of Nova Scotia, and the support of French policy, a significant number of Acadians made a stand against the British. On 18 September 1749, a document was delivered to Edward Cornwallis signed by 1000 Acadians from all the major centres. The document stated that they would leave the country before they would sign an unconditional oath. Cornwallis continued to press for the unconditional oath with a deadline of 25 October. In response, hundreds of Acadians began the exodus from Nova Scotia. In fact some Acadians had begun to leave prior to hearing Cornwallis response. Among the first to depart was a group of about 100 from the Chebucto region. They went to Baie des Espagnoles on Ile Royal (Sydney, Cape Breton). Groups from both Beaubassin and Annapolis Royal also requested Governor-General La Jonquiere at Quebec to support in leaving for the St. Lawrence River.Ile St. Jean
By the end of 1749 several hundred Acadians had made their way to Baie Verte , where they went over to Ile St. Jean. The French made considerable efforts to transport refugees to Ile Saint-Jean and by early October six or seven hundred had arrived there. Most of the 1000 Acadians at Cobequid vacated their lands, along with a very large part of Pisiquid, several hundred, went to Ile Saint-Jean. By 1752, the number of Acadians on Ile St. Jean was 2223, double the amount in two years. On one occasion en route to Ile St. Jean, a British naval patrol intercepted Acadians in a vessel and an Acadian passenger declared "they chose rather to quit their lands and estates than possess them upon the terms propos'd by the English governor."Chignecto
Acadians migrated from the east to the west side of the Missaguash river during the Battle of Chignecto (1750)Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
. The Acadian village of Beaubassin was burned to prevent Lawrence from establishing a fort in the major Acadian village. More han 2000 moved to Chignecto and the Shepody Basin area.
Raids on British Settlements
Under the direction of Le Loutre, Mi’kmaq and Acadians supported the Exodus by raiding the new British fortifications in the Acadian centres and the new Protestant settlements. During this period, Mi’kmaq and Acadians attacked on Vieux Logis (Grand Pre)Siege of Grand Pre
The Siege of Grand Pre happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and was fought between the British and a militia made up of Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Acadians. The siege happened at Fort Vieux Logis, Grand Pre...
, they made numerous attacks on Dartmouth
Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on May 13, 1751 when an Acadian and Mi’kmaq militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers...
, numerous attacks on peninsular Halifax, and engaged in various conflicts at Fort Lawrence (Chignecto). There was also a rebellion against the British by the Foreign Protestants in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
, which was likely supported by Le Loutre. (See Father Le Loutre’s War). To guard against attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were immediately erected in Halifax, Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, Bedford, and Lunenburg.
British Response to Exodus
The British response to the Acadian exodus accelerated it. Cornawallis ordered, for example, Captain John Handfield and two companies of troops to Fort Vieux Logis in Grand Pre with instructions to patrol the roads to prevent Acadians from leaving. Patrols also happened throughout the Cobequid. (On one such patrol, Noel DoironNoel Doiron
Noel Doiron was a leader of the Acadians, renown for the decisions he made during the Deportation of the Acadians. Doiron was deported on a vessel named the Duke William . The sinking of the Duke William was one of the worst marine disasters in Canadian history...
’s priest Jacques Girard was arrested. This action precipitated Doiron leaving Noel, Nova Scotia
Noel, Nova Scotia
Noel is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipal District of East Hants, which is in Hants County, Nova Scotia . The community is most well known for being named after its most prominent resident Noel Doiron and for ship building in the nineteenth century...
for Point Prime, Ile St. Jean in the spring of 1750.) The British eventually forbade all assemblies of the Acadians, and they were ordered to supply the British commanders with provisions and offer their labor on demand, at prices set by regulation. Not surprisingly, many Acadians refused to supply the British, and by the summer of 1750 Acadians by the hundreds were in flight from the province.
French Policy
The Acadian migration to Chignectio helped to protect the corridor between Quebec and Louisbourg. During the winter of 1749-1750, Louis La Corne was dispatched from Quebec and arrived at the settlements near the Isthmus of Chignecto, along the rivers Petitcodiac, Chipoudie, and Memoramcook. La Corne asked the Acadians to affirm their allegiance to the French king, which they did. Some men, perhaps most joined the militia companies. By early 1751, over 250 Acadians had joined the French militia. These Acadians and Mi’kmaq fought in the attempts to prevent Fort Lawrence from being built (1750) and eventually served in the defence of Fort Beausejour (1755).Ile St. Jean
The conditions of the refugees who fled to Chignecto and to Ile St. Jean were very difficult. While the condition of those who went to Ile Royale prior to the Expulsion of 1758 is not well documented. Those that made it to Ile St. Jean also suffered from numerous natural disasters. There were a series of plagues that stuck the island. In 1749, swarms of black field mice destroy that years’ crop. A plague of locusts followed the year. And the year after that a blistering drought.Chignecto
The 1500 who went to Chignecto suffered from overcrowding. They survived on rations waiting for the dykes to be built. Acadians from Minas were a constant support in providing provisions and labour on the dykes. In retaliation for the Acadian and Mi’kmaq Raid on Dartmouth (1751)Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on May 13, 1751 when an Acadian and Mi’kmaq militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers...
, the British raided Chignecto destroying the dykes and ruining hundreds of acres of crops. Acadians began to defect from the Exodus and made application to return to the British colony. As a result of the conditions of the Acadian refugees, in 1753-1754, Le Loutre temporarily stopped pressing Acadians at Minas to evacuate to his new settments. Instead, he encouraged them to grow more grain, which they did in record quantitites sufficient to support the large French, Acadian, and Native populion otherwise occupied in the service of France.
Le Loutre immediately sought help from Quebec and then France to support re-building dykes in the area. He returned with success in 1753 and work began on the grand dyking project on riviere Au Lac (present day Aulac River, New Brunswick
Aulac, New Brunswick
Aulac is a Canadian community in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.Aulac is situated upon the Aulac Ridge, a prominent rise running west-east across the Tantramar Marshes on the Isthmus of Chignecto, approximately 2 kilometres west of the Missaguash River which forms the southern part of the...
). Unfortunately, the following year storm tides broke through the main cross-dike of the large-scale reclamation project, destroying nearly everything the Acadians had accomplished in several months of instense work. Again some Acadians tried to defect to the British.
Acadians, Mi’kmaq and the French lost in the Battle of Beausejour. (Le Loutre was captured and imprisoned by the British until the end of the war.) After the fall of Beausejour, the British began expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign.
Expulsion Delayed
The Acadian Exodus spared most of the Acadians who joined it - particularly those who lived in Ile St. Jean and Ile Royal – from the British deportation of the Acadians in 1755Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
. (Despite the hardships they faced, most Acadian refugees had some validation of their choice to leave the British colony of Nova Scotia once the deportation began.) Of course, with the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, the Acadians who left for the French colonies were deported as well.