102 THEISLAND ACADIANS

Most of our legislators and magistrates, all our doctors and lawyers, and even our priests are of foreign races, and if there are any small positions vacant in Acadian parishes, they are immediately filled by Englishmen. [. . .]

One of the main reasons we are still behind is the lack of education resulting from the unfair treatment of our forefathers. But, Sirs, it is now time to rise up... (TR)?

The young leaders of the time realized that a recovery meant that they would have to break through the cultural isolation that had been reinforced by previous generations. But how could Acadians be encouraged to move out of their isolation into the dominant anglophone culture and society, and at the same time not lose their own language and culture?

This question appears to have divided the members of the Aca- dian governing class on the Island. Some maintained that a certain degree of anglicization was necessary in order for the Acadian people to catch up with the rest of the Island population’. Others, without opposing the idea of learning English as a means of social advancement, insisted that the French language and culture be preserved intact.

These divergent positions are typical of this period in Acadian history. As a matter of fact, it was at this time that a strong current of Acadian nationalism was developing on Prince Edward Island and elsewhere in the Maritime Provinces. However, this nationalism which obviously stressed the value of Acadian culture came up against the growing anglicization of French-speaking Islanders. In fact it was during these last decades of the nineteenth century that the Acadians lost control of their French-language educational system. This explains to a great extent the trend towards anglicization. It was a gradual process. First the government forced Acadian schoolteachers to obtain a teacher's certificate in English, and then it proceeded to almost totally anglicize the curriculum in Acadian schools.

The training in English which was forced upon Acadian teachers undoubtedly influenced the conduct of many members of the Acadian elite. It should be pointed out that on the whole these leaders were teachers or former teachers who had moved on to better paid and often much more influential careers. Some had become merchants, civil servants, politicians, lawyers or priests. A few of these educated men had married English-speaking women, much to the disapproval of their more nationalistic compatriots*. In some Acadian localities,