32 THEISLAND ACADIANS 
     
    
   
   
    
     responsible for welcoming, housing and provisioning the Acadian im- 
     
     migrants. Immigration increased beginning in 1749: 151 people in 
     
     1749, 860 in 1750, 326 in 1751 and 27 in 17527’. Newly arrived 
     
     Acadians settled amongst the earlier colonists but they also founded 
     
     numerous other settlements including Pointe Prime (Point Prim), 
     
     Anse a Pinette (Pinette), Grande Anse (Orwell Bay), Bedeque, Riviére 
     
     des Blonds (Tryon), and Riviére 4 la Fortune (Fortune River)’*. 
     
    

    
     As a result of the sudden immigration, the population of the 
     
     Island tripled within the space of four years which gave rise to serious 
     
     problems. On the one hand, administrators were unable to house 
     
     and feed all of the immigrants properly; on the other hand, because 
     
     there was no surveyor the colonists could not obtain titles for their 
     
     properties. They felt insecure not only because of their lands, but 
     
     also with regard to the effectiveness of the military protection. Located 
     
     in Port LaJoie, the garrison was in fact too distant from the main 
     
     settlements. To make matters worse, the French government forced 
     
     the colonists to devote themselves exclusively to farming. Only the 
     
     inhabitants of Havre Saint Pierre and Tracadie retained their fishing 
     
     rights. This policy was aimed at turning fle Saint Jean into a granary 
     
     for Louisbourg. 
     
    

    
     In 1751, the engineer Louis Franquet arrived on fle Saint Jean to 
     
     study the situation of the colony with a view to drawing plans for 
     
     fortifications. Over the course of his visit he had the opportunity to 
     
     hear grievances from a large number of settlers. Franquet’s recommen- 
     
     dations to the French authorities provide information about the con- 
     
     cerns of the Island inhabitants. He recommended in particular: 1) 
     
     that the principal ports on the Island be protected by a garrison and 
     
     that land communications be improved; 2) that three new religious 
     
     parishes be created; 3) that the inhabitants be allowed to fish, although 
     
     without neglecting farming; 4) that a surveyor be sent to the Island 
     
     in order to finally settle the problem of the land grants; 5) that the 
     
     administration of the Island be independent of Louisbourg; 6) and, 
     
     finally, that direct communication be established between fle Saint 
     
     Jean and France”’. Unfortunately, Franquet’s report attracted little 
     
     attention since the tiny colony did not constitute a priority for the 
     
     French government. 
     
    

    
     A flood of Acadian immigrants arrived in the fall of 1755. Indeed, 
     
     it was at this time that Governor Charles Lawrence decided to carry