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Who are the Cajuns?
"Cajuns" are the descendants of a group of French people who were exiled from the Acadia region of Nova Scotia for political
reasons, starting in 1755. The first Acadians were French Catholics who made a living fishing, farming and trapping. They settled the Acadian Peninsula in modern day Nova Scotia in the early 1600s.
In 1713, Acadia was ceded to Great Britian by France. The Catholic, French-speaking Acadians did not submit well to British rule.
The British tried to impose their Protestant religion on the Acadians, who were not receptive. The religious and political persecution continued. Many Acadians secretly left Nova Scotia between 1713 and 1755. They
headed west into French teritories.
In 1753, the notoriously cruel Charles Lawrence took over as governor of Acadia. In 1755, Lawrence rounded up the French
Acadians at gun point and shipped them to ports along the Eastern Seaboard. In all, approximately 10,000 Acadians were arrested, imprisoned and deported over an eight-year period, starting in 1855.
The Protestant, English-speaking British colonists along the East Coast were not receptive to the French Acadians.
Therefore, many of the Acadians headed for Louisiana, which was populated largely by French and Spanish people. Fifteen years after the Acadian exile began, approximately 1,500 to 1
,600 exiles had settled in Louisiana. This group was later joined by another wave of exiles in 1785.
Once in Louisiana, the “Cajuns” found peace, prosperity and an abundance of fish and wildlife to turn into the down-home
cooking they are famous for. Their music , dialect and culture are counted as treasures of the South.
 Music courtesy of “The Accordion Man” --
Thanks Andy! |
