XVI.
"French Neutrals"
The
treaty signed at Utrecht in 1713 decreed that the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia who
"are willing to remain there and to be subject to the Kingdom of Great
Britain, are to enjoy the free exercise of their religion according to the
usage of the Church of Rome, as far as the laws of Great Britain do allow
the same." If any of them chose to leave the colony and forgo British rule, the treaty gave them a year to do it.01
At
first, many Acadians gave serious thought to abandoning the colony and moving
to Canada or some other French possession. In the end, however, most of them
stayed, for several compelling reasons.
The
first reason was the confusion created in North America by the Peace of
Utrecht. The
treaty also said that "all of Nova Scotia or Acadia comprised in its
ancient limits, as also the city of Port Royal" now belonged to the
victorious British. A provision of the treaty empowered commissioners
from Britain and France to determine the exact boundaries between the two
nations in the region around the Bay of Fundy. The commissioners
argued for months over what exactly were the "ancient limits" of
Acadia. Did the old French colony include not only peninsula Nova
Scotia but also present-day Maine, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island,
Cape Breton Island, and Newfoundland as well? Such was the view of the
British commissioners. The French commissioners saw things
differently. They conceded to the British only Newfoundland and the
peninsula of Nova Scotia; the rest of old Acadia belonged to France.
In the end, nothing was settled, and the boundaries remained a bone of
contention between the two powers for the next half century. Kept
informed of this dispute by their parish priests, the inhabitants of
Chepoudy, Petitcoudiac and even Chignecto insisted that they still resided in French
territory. The inhabitants of the Minas Basin were confident that,
although they clearly resided in territory awarded to the British, their new
masters in Annapolis Royal would be able to control them no more effectively
than the French officials had done from Port-Royal. Moreover, who
could say that the British would remain in "control" of the
peninsula? They had "ruled" it before and given it
back. Why would
this time be different?02
There was also a
strong psychological reason for the Acadians to remain in British Nova Scotia:
despite the lure of French Canada and the kinsmen who had gone there, they
truly had no place else to go, no other place to call home. This place, no
matter who "controlled" it, remained the heart and soul of their
identity as a people. By 1713, some families had lived in the colony
for nearly three-quarters of a century. The pioneers of Beaubassin had
farmed the Chignecto peninsula for over 40 years. The inhabitants of
Minas had been transforming that incomparable basin into an agricultural
paradise for three decades now, time enough to see their children produce
children of their own. They had expended so much time and energy
wresting their pastures and fields from the bay and its tributaries, why
would they want to abandon their lands simply because of a temporary change
of masters? Queen
Anne, in her final days, had given them incentive to stay. In late
1713, Louis XIV, in a rare fit of compassion, had "emptied France's
prisons of all Protestants jailed because of their religious beliefs.
Queen Anne was so moved that she felt compelled to reciprocate, and she
wrote her new governor in Nova Scotia 'to continue our subjects, to retain
and enjoy their said lands and tenements without molestation, as fully and
freely as our other subjects do or to sell the same, if they shall rather
choose to remove elsewhere.'" A few families, perhaps some of the newer ones, abandoned
the colony, but the vast majority stayed. They would take their
chances with the British, come what may, as they had done many times
before.03
There was a
price to pay for staying, however. After the year of decision was up,
the treaty authorized the British authorities in Annapolis Royal to impose
on the remaining "French Neutrals," as the British called the
Acadians and as they came to call themselves, an oath of allegiance to the new British monarch,
George I, who had succeeded his cousin Anne upon her death in 1714. In
their attempts to compel the Acadians to take this oath, the British
officials learned first hand how stubborn Acadians could be. The Acadians
resisted taking an unconditional oath of allegiance to the British crown as long as they could, playing a
dangerous game of cat and mouse with their foreign overlords. This
game went on for over four decades and was played skillfully by these simple
farmers, until history once again came crashing down on the hapless
Acadians.04
At
first the mouse had certain advantages over the cat. For most of those
four
decades, the
only British presence of any substance in Nova Scotia was the garrison that
occupied the old French fort at Annapolis Royal. ...
Life
in Acadia under British rule--the Acadians as "French
Neutrals." Evolution of the Acadian culture. Remarkable growth of the Acadian settlements
during the 30-year peace under
British domination, including migration to Île St.-Jean and Île Royale. The role of French and Canadian priests in the
maintenance of Acadian culture. Construction of the French fortress at Louisbourg
on Île Royale, 1719. Another war between Britain and France in America,
King George's War, 1743-48. Capture and return of the French fortress at Louisbourg and the British response at
Halifax, 1749. More imperial conflict in the 1750s, including the burning of
Beaubassin by Father La Loutre and his Mi'kmaq Indians. The French and
Indian War begins in the Ohio country, 1754. Braddock's overall
strategy for subduing the French in North America ... including an offensive
by Moncton against the Acadians. Defeat of Braddock, spring 1755,
and the assurance of another long war between the imperial powers.
Charles Lawrence becomes lieutenant governor of Acadia, 1754. The building of Fort
Lawrence on the site of Beaubassin. The British attack on Fort
Beauséjour,
1755. The capture of "French Neutrals" in Beauséjour.
Lawrence's final solution for the Acadian question--his policy of expulsion and
dispersal.
Acadian reactions to this policy.
Commencement of Le Grande Dérangement, 1755. The French in Louisiana,
1682-1766.
Overview of the Acadian exile
experience, focusing on those families who settled in Louisiana and became
the basis of the Cajun culture there,
1755-85. Acadian
assimilation in Louisiana in the upper and lower Bayou Teche valley, in the
prairies around
Opelousas, along the Acadian Coast on the Mississippi River
above New Orleans, and along Bayou Lafourche,
1764-1803.
New settlement patterns. Cultural
influences—Creole
French, Spanish, German, American
Indian, African—on the new
arrivals. Slavery
and the Acadians. The Louisiana
Purchase,
statehood, and the
beginning of the "Americanization" of Louisiana Acadians.
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