What life was like in Acadia after the 1755 expulsion

There was in the province of Nova Scotia one little neglected corner, the country of the neutral French; which having the good fortune to escape the fostering care of both England and France and to have been shut out from the protection and regulations of councils and boards of trade, did in silence and without notice . . . increase to a considerable degree.
- Edmund Burke British House of Commons, Feb. 11,1780
Over the years, more than 200 published works have appeared discussing the plight of the Acadians in 1755. While details of the Expulsion are well known, the return of many of the same Acadians has often been overlooked. This Flashback will trace the Acadian revival in the years following the Expulsion.
By 1755, Acadian settlements on the Tantramar were well established by 18th century standards. We are indebted to a French traveller and visitor to Acadia Sieur de Diereville for his description of the Acadian lifestyle.
Unfortunately he remains something of a "mystery man." Neither his birth nor his death date are known, nor has research revealed his first name. However, we are indebted to his record of travel among the Acadian settlements. The result is an interesting pen portrait of Acadian culture. A few examples will illustrate his keen observations.
Furniture in Acadian homes was, as might be expected, very basic in nature. Logs were split and hewn smooth, then pegged together to form chairs, tables, and beds. Diereville was also impressed with the variety of vegetables and herbs found in Acadian gardens. He discovered beets, onions, carrots, chives, turnip, parsnips and all kinds of salad greens. Herbs both for medicinal use and and food were found. Wheat and other grains along with fish and game were plentiful in the diet of the Acadians.
In addition cattle, hogs and sheep were raised. Milk and dairy products were on the table, as well as cider, supplemented by homemade wine, spruce beer and smuggled rum from the West Indes. This came by way of New England. The latter point is worth stressing. Trade between Acadia and New England was brisk, and Acadians relied on the latter for many of their needs.
On July 11, 1764, an order-in-council was passed by the British government permitting Acadians to legally return to British territories, provided that they were willing to take an unqualified oath of allegiance. In addition, a further law was passed June 21, 1768 "permitting all such of his Majesty's Acadian subjects to have grants . . . of lands in Nova Scotia". These two laws made it possible not only for Acadians to return to Nova Scotia, but also the right to own property. (Note that the province of New Brunswick was not created until 1784.)
The best known of the Acadian migrations "back home" occured in 1767-68 when a group assembled in Boston for this objective. All who were fit to travel numbering about 900 men, women and children, marched through the wilderness along the Atlantic coast to the Isthmus of Chignecto. A number remained behind and eventually settled in today's eastern New Brunswick, while others continued their trek to the St. Mary's Bay area of Nova Scotia.
Soon thereafter, two new townships were formed largely to accomodate the returned Acadians. These were Clare in Digby County and Argyle in Yarmouth County. Later, beyond the Isthmus of Chignecto, 16,000 acres on the Madawaska River near the Quebec border were set aside for returning Acadians.
The decade between 1765 and 1775 was largely a time of consolidation for the Acadian people. However, the outbreak of the American Revolution (1775-1783) brought new pressures to bear. There were two possibilities: should they remain "neutral" during this conflict, or throw support to either the American or British side?
The only exception to the loyalty of the Acadians occured at Fort BeausÉjour (now renamed Fort Cumberland). Here Jonathan Eddy (1726?-1784), a leading American sympathizer, succeeded in enlisting the aid of a small group of Acadians in his efforts to capture the fort in the autumn of 1776. In all, Eddy had the support of approximately 100 men and of these some 40 were Acadians, commanded by Captain Isaiah Boudreau. All attempts to capture the fort were unsuccessful.
A basic question remains: Why did many Acadians lend support to the British cause? At the very least, their stand provides a striking contrast to some of the New England Planters who now occupied their former lands. In the words of one of the pro-American Planters Jeremiah Frost, they were praying "that the British might be confuted [held in check] and confused."
Part of the answer lies in the fact that during the 1770s, the Expulsion was still within living memory for the majority of Acadians.
They were the same people, except for the very young, who once lived at Annapolis, Minas, Pisiquid (Windsor), Cobequid (Truro area), Chignecto and Tatamagouche -- along with numerous other smaller settlements. These were the people who, "overcame conditions and tribulations such as no man should have visited upon him." Furthermore, the Acadians knew full well that New Englanders (for the most part) now occupied the lands they once held. Lastly there was no chance of returning to the communities where they once lived.
Many volumes have been written in an attempt to affix responsibility for the Expulsion. For some the answer is simple - the British were to blame. Yet as more research is undertaken it becomes clear that the answer is, at best, complex.
Nova Scotia historian and novelist Will R. Bird placed the blame elsewhere. "The extremists always picture burly red coats [British] beating old women into boats at the water's edge should examine the record. The truth is . . . except at Annapolis . . . all were blue coated New Englanders."
Meanwhile the province was being inundated by the Loyalist migration which reached its climax in 1784 with the creation of the province of New Brunswick. Within Nova Scotia some further developments were taking place. These were spearheaded by Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1798-1865), then an MLA in the Nova Scotia Legislature.
(See ACADIA on page 14)