In 1755 the Acadians were torn from their homeland during the Great Expulsion. It followed a long history of exile. Eighty years before, the Dutch had moved in on the village of Pubnico that Philippe Muise d'Entremont had founded, motivating him to uproot and move to Port Royal.
Many European powers had tried to settle parts of North America. Many of these colonizers had been enemies in Europe. In particular, the bitter rivalry between the French and the English colonizers was a crucial factor in the fate of Acadia. The colony had been passed back and forth from English to French control many times in its history. Finally, after the war of the Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Acadia rested in the hands of the English(1).
England didn't initially make great efforts to establish a presence in Acadia. But it did demand of its conquered subjects that they take oath of unconditional loyalty. The Acadians agreed only to an oath of neutrality, promising that if war broke out they would not take up arms against either France or Britain. Initially, the Acadian position was accepted. But it was a sticky point(2).
Read Full Article »