Acadiens (French) | |
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![]() Modern Acadian flag adopted 1884 | |
Total population | |
~500,000 – 2,000,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States 901,260 Canada 305,175[1] to more than 500,000[2] France 20,400 | |
Louisiana, United States | 815,260 |
New Brunswick, Canada | 108,375 |
Quebec, Canada | 83,945 |
Nova Scotia, Canada | 49,205 |
Ontario, Canada | 34,125 |
Maine, United States | 30,000 |
Alberta, Canada | 10,115 |
Prince Edward Island, Canada | 8,260 |
British Columbia, Canada | 7,025 |
Brittany | 3,000 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 3,000 |
Manitoba, Canada | 1.470 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 1,100 |
Languages | |
Acadian French (a variety of French with over 300,000 speakers in Canada),[3] English, or both; In southeastern New Brunswick and other areas speak Chiac; those who have resettled to Quebec typically speak Quebec French or Joual. Franglais | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Roman Catholicism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
French (Poitevin-Saintongeais and Occitans), Cajuns, French-Canadians, Mi'kmaq, Métis |
Part of a series of articles on the |
French people |
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The Acadians (French: Acadiens [akadjɛ̃], Acadian French: [akad͡zjɛ̃]) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Today, most descendants of Acadians live in the Northern American region of Acadia, where descendants of Acadians who escaped the Expulsion of the Acadians (aka The Great Upheaval / Le Grand Dérangement) re-settled. Most Acadians in Canada continue to live in majority French-speaking communities, notably those in New Brunswick where Acadians and Francophones are granted autonomy in areas such as education and health. In some cases Acadians intermarried with Indigenous Peoples, in particular, the Mi'kmaq. [4][5]
Acadia was one of the five regions of New France. Acadia was located in what is now Eastern Canada's Maritime provinces, as well as parts of Quebec and present-day Maine to the Kennebec River. It was ethnically, geographically and administratively different from the other French colonies such as the French colony of Canada. As a result, the Acadians developed a distinct history and culture.[6] The settlers whose descendants became Acadians primarily came from the centerwestern region of France, such as the rural areas of Poitou-Charentes.[7]
During the French and Indian War, (known in Canada as The Seven Years' War[8]) British colonial officers suspected that Acadians were aligned with France, after finding some Acadians fighting alongside French troops at Fort Beauséjour. Though most Acadians remained neutral during the war, the British, together with New England legislators and militia, carried out the Great Expulsion (Le Grand Dérangement) of the Acadians between 1755 and 1764. They forcefully deported approximately 11,500 Acadians from the maritime region. Approximately one-third perished from disease and drowning.[9] In retrospect, the result has been described as an ethnic cleansing of the Acadians from Maritime Canada.[10][11]
Acadians speak a variety of French called Acadian French, which has a few regional accents (for example, Chiac in the southeast of New Brunswick, or Brayon in the northwest of New Brunswick). Most can also speak English. The Louisiana Cajun descendants tend to speak English, including Cajun English, and/or Louisiana French, a relative of Acadian French from Canada.
Estimates of contemporary Acadian populations vary widely. The Canadian census of 2006 reported only 96,145 Acadians in Canada, based on self-declared ethnic identity.[12] However, the Canadian Encyclopedia estimates that there are at least 500,000 of Acadian ancestry in Canada, which would include many who declared their ethnic identity for the census as French or as Canadian.[2]
A note on interpretation: With regard to census data, rather than going by ethnic identification, some would define an Acadian as a French-speaking person living in the Maritime provinces of Canada. According to the same 2006 census, the population was 25,400 in New Brunswick; 34,025 in Nova Scotia; 32,950 in Quebec; and 5,665 in Prince Edward Island