Great Upheaval

The Great Upheaval (le Grand Dérangement), also known as the Great Expulsion or the Acadian Expulsion, is the eviction of the Acadian population from Nova Scotia between 1755 and 1763, ordered by governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council.

Related Topics:
Acadian - Nova Scotia - 1755 - 1763 - Charles Lawrence

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Though the French initially colonised the area, various treaties traded possession of the region between the British and French through the 1600s and beyond. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 cemented the Acadians as British subjects. They were forced to swear an oath in 1730 giving their allegiance to the British crown but with a caveat that they would not be forced to bear arms against the French or Indians. In 1754, with hostilities growing in the lead-up to the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the U.S.]]), the Acadians were asked to renew their oath — but this time without including any reservation against fighting the French. The majority of Acadians refused.

Related Topics:
French - British - Treaty of Utrecht - 1713 - 1730 - Indians - 1754 - Seven Years' War - French and Indian War

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The British responded by forcing thousands of the French-speaking inhabitants to board ships and sending them south, with most being distributed among the British American colonies, sent back to France, or shipped to British prisons. The largest single group returned to France, but once there were poorly treated and ostracized by French society.

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Over the next several decades, many Acadians moved to Louisiana, which was then controlled by Spain. Spanish authorities welcomed the Catholic Acadians as settlers, first in areas along the Mississippi River, then later in the Atchafalaya Basin and in the prairie lands to the west. During the 19th century, as Acadians established their culture and intermarried with other groups, they evolved into the Cajuns.

Related Topics:
Louisiana - Spain - Mississippi River - Atchafalaya Basin - Cajuns

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The homes and farms around the Bay of Fundy were burned or given to English-speaking Protestant colonists. For example, on 4 June 1760 New England planters arrived to claim land in Nova Scotia taken from the Acadians.

Related Topics:
Bay of Fundy - Protestant - 4 June - 1760 - New England - Nova Scotia

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The following table lists the destinations to which Acadians were deported, together with estimates of how many arrived at each port:

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Table source: R.A. LEBLANC. Les migrations acadiennes, in Cahiers de géographie du Québec, vol. 23, no 58, april 1979, p. 99-124.

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The deportation was commemorated in 1847 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem Evangeline. In December 2003, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, representing Canada's head of state, declared the Crown's acknowledgement (but without an apology) of the event and designated July 28 as "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval."

Related Topics:
1847 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - ''Evangeline'' - 2003 - Governor General - Adrienne Clarkson - Head of state - July 28

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