Under the French Regime 19

FRANCE

Most of the Acadian colonists came from this region of France.

Several years later, in 1755, Governor Charles Lawrence decided to force the Acadians, once and for all, to take the unconditional oath of allegiance. He expressed his intention to deport them from their homeland if they refused. The Acadians tried to change his mind, but to no avail. In the fall of 1755, Lawrence’s troops, aided by those of Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, carried out the orders to expel the Acadians. Of the estimated ten thousand Acadian inhabitants about six thousand were exiled to the colonies of New England.

And so ends the first chapter in the history of the Acadians who colonized the mainland. The political instability of the colony, due partly to its strategic position, its isolation with regard to New France, the common geographic origin of the settlers and the way they adapted to their surroundings were all factors that contributed to the formation of a distinct people.