Expulsion of the Acadians

Historical Context and the Acadian Neutrality

The British gained control of the Acadian peninsula in 1710 with the capture of Port Royal, a conquest confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The treaty ceded the territory to Great Britain but allowed the Acadians to keep their lands. The Acadians consistently refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to the British Crown. They feared such an oath would commit their men to fight against France and would be seen by their Mi'kmaq neighbours and allies as an acknowledgment of British sovereignty, potentially inviting attacks on their villages. Instead, they negotiated a conditional oath that promised neutrality. This stance created a persistent tension with British authorities, who viewed the Acadians' loyalty to France and their alliance with the Wabanaki Confederacy, particularly the Mi'kmaq, as a direct military threat. Over the 75 years following the British conquest, the Wabanaki Confederacy and Acadians fought against the British in six wars, including Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War, demonstrating a long history of resistance to British occupation.

The British Decision and Strategic Rationale

By 1755, the strategic situation had intensified with the global outbreak of the Seven Years' War. In North America, French forces had seized the Ohio Valley, leading to clashes with British colonial troops led by figures like George Washington. In Acadia, the primary British objectives were to defeat the French fortifications at Beauséjour and Louisbourg and to prevent attacks on the northern New England border. Governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council viewed the Acadians not as neutral civilians but as active participants in the conflict. They believed Acadians had provided intelligence, sanctuary, and logistical support to French and Mi'kmaq forces during Father Le Loutre's War, a period where British civilians had not been spared. Following the British capture of Fort Beauséjour in June 1755, Lawrence and the Council made the decision on July 28, 1755, to deport the entire Acadian population. This decision was made without differentiating between those who had taken up arms and those who had remained neutral. The strategic goal was twofold to eliminate the Acadian military threat and to weaken the French fortress of Louisbourg by cutting off the supply lines the Acadians provided.

The Bay of Fundy Campaign and Initial Deportations

The first wave of the expulsion, the Bay of Fundy Campaign, began on August 10, 1755. British forces moved systematically from Chignecto to Grand-Pré, Piziquid (present-day Windsor), and Annapolis Royal. The standard procedure involved rounding up Acadian men and boys, imprisoning them, and then destroying their communities. At Grand-Pré, Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow read the deportation order to hundreds of imprisoned Acadian men on September 5. Their homes, barns, and crops were burned to prevent return and to deprive any resistance of resources. On November 17, 1755, Major George Scott took 700 troops to Memramcook, where they attacked twenty houses, arrested remaining Acadians, and killed two hundred head of livestock. Families were forcibly separated and loaded onto waiting transport ships. These ships were destined for the various Thirteen Colonies, from Massachusetts to Georgia. The conditions on these vessels were dire, with overcrowding and poor sanitation leading to outbreaks of disease that killed many before they even reached their unwelcoming destinations.

Military Resistance in the Bay of Fundy Region

The deportation was met with immediate and determined resistance. Many Acadians fled the initial roundups, escaping to the St. John, Petitcodiac, and Miramichi rivers. In the Chignecto region, Acadian and Mi'kmaq forces achieved a significant victory at the Battle of Petitcodiac on September 2, 1755. Guerrilla warfare continued for years. In the spring of 1756, a wood-gathering party from Fort Monckton was ambushed and nine men were scalped. In April 1757, Acadian and Mi'kmaw partisans raided Fort Edward and Fort Cumberland, killing and scalping two men and taking two prisoners. On July 20, 1757, Mi'kmaq fighters killed 23 of Gorham's rangers outside Fort Cumberland. In March 1758, forty Acadians and Mi'kmaq attacked a schooner at Fort Cumberland, killing its master and two sailors. The resistance was not limited to land. In the early hours of April 4, 1759, Acadians and French fighters in canoes captured a British transport vessel and later attacked the ship Moncton, chasing it for five hours down the Bay of Fundy, killing one crewman and wounding two.

The Campaigns in Annapolis Royal and Lunenburg

Resistance and deportation efforts extended to the Annapolis Royal region. Here, Acadian and Mi'kmaq forces were victorious at the Battle of Bloody Creek in 1757. In a dramatic act of defiance, Acadians being deported from Annapolis Royal on the ship Pembroke rebelled, overpowered the British crew, took control of the vessel, and sailed it to safety. Those who escaped deportation often joined ongoing raids. Approximately 55 Acadians who escaped Annapolis Royal made their way to the Cape Sable region, from where they participated in raids on the Lunenburg settlement. Over a three-year period, Lunenburg was raided nine times. The first raid, ordered by French Officer Boishebert, occurred in 1756. A second raid in 1757 killed six members of the Brisson family. In March 1758, a raid at the Northwest Range killed five people from the Ochs and Roder families. The intensity of these attacks forced most settlers on the Lunenburg Peninsula to abandon their farms and retreat to the town's fortifications by May 1758, losing an entire planting season.

The Cape Sable and Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaigns

British forces systematically targeted Acadian communities outside the Fundy region. The Cape Sable campaign aimed to remove Acadians from present-day Shelburne and Yarmouth counties. In April 1756, Major Jedidiah Preble's New England troops raided a settlement near Port La Tour, capturing 72 Acadians. In the late summer of 1758, Major Henry Fletcher led a larger expedition that cordoned off the cape. While about 100 Acadians and a priest surrendered, roughly 130 Acadians and seven Mi'kmaq escaped capture. All prisoners were taken to Georges Island in Halifax Harbour. In September 1758, as part of the St. John River campaign, Major Roger Morris was sent with 325 soldiers to deport more Acadians from the area. On October 28, the women and children were sent to Georges Island, while the men were forced to help troops destroy their own village before also being deported to Halifax. In the spring of 1759, Joseph Gorham's rangers captured the remaining 151 Acadians from the region.

The Second Wave Île Saint-Jean and Île Royale

The fall of the French fortress of Louisbourg in July 1758 marked a turning point and began the second, often more lethal, phase of the expulsion. With the primary French naval stronghold captured, the British turned their attention to the remaining Acadian populations on Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island). The deportation from Île Saint-Jean resulted in the largest percentage of deaths. The campaign was catastrophic, highlighted by the sinking of two overcrowded transport ships in late 1758. The Violet sank with about 280 Acadians aboard, and the Duke William sank with over 360 people. These maritime disasters represent the single greatest loss of life during the entire expulsion. By this time, the British had abandoned their initial policy of relocating Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies. Instead, they began deporting Acadians directly to France or Britain, where they were often held in poor conditions. Hundreds of Acadians from Île Royale fled to refugee camps south of Baie des Chaleurs, established by French Officer Boishebert, in a desperate attempt to avoid capture.

The Petitcodiac and St. John River Campaigns

Concurrent with the Gulf campaigns, British forces conducted ruthless operations to clear Acadians from river valleys that had become refugee centres. The Petitcodiac River Campaign lasted from June to November 1758, led by rangers like Benoni Danks and Joseph Gorham. On July 1, 1758, Danks' Rangers ambushed about 30 Acadians led by Joseph Broussard (dit Beausoleil) near present-day Moncton. The Acadians were driven into the river, where three were killed and scalped. Danks falsely reported the scalps as Mi'kmaq to receive payment. The St. John River Campaign in February 1759 was a major military operation led by Colonel Robert Monckton, with 1,150 soldiers and rangers. They moved up the river, destroying settlements at Kennebecais, Managoueche (Saint John), Grimross, and Jemseg, finally reaching Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas (Fredericton). There, Lieutenant Moses Hazen's Rangers engaged in what became known as the 'Ste Anne's Massacre.' They burned 147 buildings, two churches, and a large storehouse filled with food. They also killed 212 horses, five cows, and a large number of pigs, deliberately destroying the community's means of survival.

Human Toll, Diaspora, and Eventual Return

The cumulative human toll of the nine-year expulsion was devastating. Of the estimated 11,500 Acadians deported, approximately 5,000 died from disease, starvation, exposure, or drowning. Those who survived the journeys faced rejection and hardship in the American colonies, England, and France. A census in 1764 recorded that about 2,600 Acadians remained in Nova Scotia, having successfully evaded capture or returned secretly. The British government officially ended the mass deportations with an order-in-council on July 11, 1764, which permitted Acadians to return to British territories in small, isolated groups provided they swore an unqualified oath of allegiance. A significant diaspora was created. Today, Acadians are concentrated in eastern New Brunswick, with significant populations in parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and northern Maine, a direct result of the slow return from exile and the settlements of those who avoided deportation.

Commemoration and Historical Significance

The Expulsion of the Acadians is designated a National Historic Event by the Government of Canada. Parks Canada officially commemorates its significance, notably at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site, which interprets the events of the Bay of Fundy Campaign. The expulsion is widely regarded by historians and the public as a grave injustice and a crime against humanity. Scholarly debate continues regarding whether the event meets the modern legal definition of genocide. The deportation entered the broader cultural consciousness through Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1847 narrative poem, Evangeline, which romanticized the Acadian plight and spread awareness of the history. Modern media, such as the 2026 Heritage Minute film titled 'The Acadian Deportation,' continue to educate new generations. The event fundamentally reshaped Atlantic Canada, clearing Acadian lands for new British and New England settlers and embedding a profound sense of loss and resilience at the core of Acadian identity and collective memory.

Questions about Expulsion of the Acadians

What was the main reason for the Expulsion of the Acadians?

The primary reason was the British perception of the Acadians as a military threat during the Seven Years' War. British Governor Charles Lawrence and his council believed the Acadians, who had refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance, were aiding the French by supplying fortresses like Louisbourg and supporting Mi'kmaq resistance. The expulsion was intended to permanently eliminate this threat and secure British control over the region by removing the Acadian population and redistributing their land to Protestant settlers. Historians note the British sought to cut the supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg, which was seen as key to weakening French power.

How many Acadians were deported and how many died?

Historical estimates indicate that of an approximate Acadian population of 14,100, around 11,500 people were forcibly deported between 1755 and 1764. It is believed that about 5,000 of those deported died as a direct result of the expulsion. The causes of death included diseases like typhus and smallpox on overcrowded ships, starvation, exposure, and drowning in shipwrecks. The Île Saint-Jean Campaign was particularly lethal, with the sinkings of the Violet and Duke William in 1758 accounting for hundreds of deaths. A 1764 census recorded only 2,600 Acadians remaining in Nova Scotia.

Where were the Acadians sent during the deportation?

The Acadians were deported to multiple destinations in two main waves. Initially, from 1755 to 1758, most were sent to the Thirteen British Colonies along the Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts to Georgia. After the fall of Louisbourg in 1758, the British began deporting Acadians directly to Europe, primarily to port cities in England and France. Many of those sent to France later migrated to Spanish Louisiana, where they became known as Cajuns. Some Acadians were also transported to the Caribbean. Over the following 13 years, approximately 7,000 Acadians were sent to numerous points along the Atlantic coast of North America.

Did any Acadians manage to avoid the deportation?

Yes, a significant number of Acadians evaded capture. Many fled into the wilderness of present-day New Brunswick, to the northern parts of Acadia, or to remote coastal areas like Cape Sable. They often lived in refugee camps south of Baie des Chaleurs and continued to resist British forces through guerrilla warfare. According to a 1764 British census, approximately 2,600 Acadians remained in Nova Scotia. Others found temporary refuge on Île Saint-Jean and Île Royale until those too became targets of deportation campaigns in 1758. Some, like those who overpowered the crew of the ship Pembroke in 1757, escaped directly from deportation vessels.

How is the Acadian Expulsion commemorated in Canada today?

The expulsion is officially recognized as a National Historic Event by the Government of Canada. Parks Canada commemorates its national historical significance at several sites, most notably the Grand-Pré National Historic Site in Nova Scotia. The story is taught in schools and featured in media like the 2026 Heritage Minute film on the Acadian Deportation. The tragic history is a central pillar of modern Acadian identity and is remembered through cultural events, museums, and academic study across the Maritime provinces. The poem Evangeline remains a well-known cultural reference to the event.

Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Novello Desserts desk. Last updated 2026-10-20.