L 'acadie Historical Formation of a Concept ch.15 May 2. 1917. Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. Sir:- In the matter of the application of the Sieur de Monts Spring Company, serial No. 90038, I desire to submit the following facts: Said application was refused registration on the ground that the term was geographic. Applicant desires to traverse this for the following reasons: On the ground that the word Acadia has never had place in Eng- lish geographic usage except as a translation from the French and is used in literature and history only, referring to the past: that its English equivalent, as specifically stated in King James' Grant to Sir William Alexander in 1621, was Nova Scotia, or New Scotland, designed to show it as a northward extension of New England, and laid claim to by the English. then and afterward, under that name; that in French the word was Acadie, not Acedia; that after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and the fall of Louisberg in 1758, the name even in its French form ceased to apply to any region, except historically, the English never employing it for any portion of the territory when they acquired it but using other names, as they had done from the be- ginning; that no American or English geography has ever given it as the geographic name of the region which the French used the word l'Acadie, or Lacadia, as spelt in the original usage. to describe, but have used Nova Scotia, New Scotland, Maine or District of Maine, -2- New Brunswick, and Cape Breton instead; that in Maine, the only por- tion of the United States that includes any part of the region call- ed l'Acadie by the French while they possessed it but since then called by them also Nouvelle Ecosse, etc., following the English, the right to the use of the word Acadia as a trade mark for the wa- ter of this spring has been granted since the autumn of 1915. The Shief draughteman has been requested to remove the word "Water" from the drawing. It is believed this places the applica- tion in position for publication, which action is requested. Respectfully submitted, [G.B.DoRR] GBD/K File Until the establishment of Acadia National Park on 1929 the coast of Maine the National Park System was without contact with the sea. Such contact upon an islanded and mountainous coast is one of Nature's great experiences; that allwwho could might share in it was the purpose of this first eastern park's creation. The gathering of the lands that make it, held since 1919 colonial times in private ownership, commenced twenty-one years 1970. ago this summer, the United States owning nothing then but lighthouses along the coast. Formed originally by gift, it is growing still by further gifts. Mount Desert Island, within whose sea-girl bounds the Park has been till recently confined, is the largest rock-built island off our Atlantic shore and owes its existence to a vast dike of granite upheaved, molten, with terrific force into now vanished strata of ancient coastal deposition whose erosion thr ough countless centuries has left the granite standing out to form a singularly bold range of wind-swept peaks, fronting the sea, which forms the dominant landscape feature of the Park. A steel and concrete drawbridge -- a world war memorial connects the Island at the Narrows with the State highway system, a concrete road leading from it to Ellsworth, the County seat, placed midway to Bangor at the head of tidal waters on the Penobscot River. 2. One of the important features of the Park from the motorist's point of view is its easy and beautiful approach from the great motoring centers of Boston and Portland, from the another is White Mountains or Quebec; and 7 the picturesque, historic terri- tory that lies beyond it in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton. From New York east, the New England coast leads on to it with splendid ocean-skirting roads and famous stopping places on the way. Creating an objective worthy of that approach the United States is now building in the Park, under charge of the Federal Roads Bureau, a magnificent motor road to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on our Atlantic coast where from an elevation of over fifteen hundred feet one looks out over "ocean's vast expanse" to the far horizon where it vanishes to sight. Acadia National Park is the only National Park in the United States title to whose deeds goes back to colonial days and royal governments of France and England. The first owner in private right of Mount Desert Island was a soldier and hardy adventurer of old family in France whose name automobiles have carried round the earth, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit. To him the Island, together with two square leagues upon the opposite mainland, was granted in ancient feudal fashion by the Province of Quebec and Confirmed to him by the King of France, Louis XIV. 3. Occasionally one comes in the chain of title by which the United States now holds these lands upon deeds that bear the signature of Cadillac's granddaughter, Marie de Cadillac as she signs herself, to whom and to her husband, coming to these shores shortly after the American Revolution, the General Court of Massachusetts in gratitude to France for her help in the war confirmed the ancient title so far as regards the eastern portion of the Island, that fronting on Frenchman's Bay where Bar Harbor is today and the national park office. It was in the commission given to another nobleman of France, the Sieur de Monts Lord of Mountains in December, 1603, by France's great warrior king, Henry IV, to establish the French dominion in America that the name Acadia first appears, and the King there speaks of it as familiar to him from the accounts of traders and fishermen returning from its shores. It then and for a century after- ward included eastern Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Cape Breton, a noble heritage taken in conjunction with the River of Canada -- the St. Lawrence and its banks --, the Great Lakes and the valley of the Mississippi, which the enterprise of France's hardy mariners and explorers and the devotion of her priests had won and which the ambition of her monarchs lost on European battlefields. 4. The last hundred years mark man's conquest of distance. A century ago, sailing craft, moved by uncertain winds, was still the best means to reach Mount Desert Island or its region. Now, with a high-powered car one can come easily from Boston in a single day, or leisurely in two, spending the night at any one of a number of famous poinsssalong the way and keeping, if one will, within sight of the sea the whole way, or passing inland to the State capital, Augusta, at the head of the long tidal estuary of the Kennebec, All routes are beautiful and the roads are good. Resort to Mount Desert Island has been always from the country over, not local nor mainly from New England. In the days following the Civil War many came from the Confederate states, from Virginia and Pennsylvania and Washington. Now they come by motor car from every state east of the great divide, seeking the cool New England coast from all the hot interior. And in these visitors to the Park one sees how the automobile is welding the nation into a single whole, educating by contact, one section with another, and broadening all horizons. Unlike the great western parks formed from the public domain in/wild and solitary places, Acadia National Park is placed among old and long-established resort communities which furnish the visitors to the Park through private enterprise, controlled by competition, with what is provided by concessioners in other parks. Such enterprise is quick to respond to the demand and all who come can count on being well provided, simply or ex- pensively as their desire may be. (pp. 5-10 not photocopies) Final Revisions to CANP April 11, 2015 Add to Sieur de Monts Pubications: Samuel Eliot Morison in Samuel de Champlain. Father of New France (Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1972), stresses that "as a founder of New France, de Monts was second only to Champlain in importance, and often Champlain's commander, but he has received precious little recognition from French Canadians, or anyone." (p. 148). David Hackett Fischer's Pulitzer Prize winner Champlain's Dream(Toronto: Random House, 2008) echoes the sentiment in Dorr's memories, "For the Sieur de Mons, Champlain and their friends, Acadia was not merely a place. It was an idea, and even an emotion. They thought of it as a place of natural abundance, with many resources in fish, fur, timber, and soil-a place where people could live comfortably. " (pg. 153) Since Dorr was SO well versed in the history of Pierre du Gua, it is probably that he knew of de Monts financial acumen, who raised significant sums for the De Mons Company from investors in several commercial centers. (pg. 154) In 1605 De Monts accompanied Champlain to MDI, he "wanted to study it, and perhaps the restless gentleman-adventurers wished to see the sights." Several days later they sailed for Penobscot Bay. Several of Dorr's photographs are included in volume three of Allan Forbes and Paul F. Cadman's France and New England (Boston: State Street Trust Co., 1929). In this fascinating work, a chapter is devoted to the first Jesuit missionary colony on Mount Desert island where the English attack "was the first act of warfare between England and France for the possession of North America." (pg. 90) Tercentonary of Dellonts Settlement at St. Croix Island MHS, orHand, ME. 1905. "You ask me my name ? o, so many times christened - Names vocal with history, sadness and joy, But in those old days as my anxious ears listened I caught the soft, musical sound of St. Croix. "I claim this for mine : - from the country above me, The Waweig and bay flow from regions apart, And with my own stream whose waves fondle and love me, A cross is described on the water's warm heart. " So this is my name ! In cold history's pages We still read the deeds of de Monts and Champlain, Fleeting their lives, but adown through all ages Though men fail and kingdoms, the cross will remain. "So this is my name, and this is my story The pain and the pleasure, the gain and the loss ; I join earth's great nations, and this is my glory Two flags linked with me in the sign of the cross." Maj.-Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain was then intro- duced and spoke as follows : DE MONTS AND ACADIA. There are things done in the world which by a certain esti- mation are accounted failure, but which belong to an eternal process turning to its appointed ends the discontinuities of baffled endeavor. We have come to this little spot where broken beginnings were the signal of mighty adventure, and restless spirits lured by visions of empire forecast upon the morning clouds, pressed and passed like them. The great action of the times we commemorate was not the result of shrewd calculations of economic advantage; it was largely the impulse of bold imag- ination and adventurous spirit stirred by the foreshadowing of untested possibilities, and knowing no limit but each one's daring or dream. While the motive of pecuniary gain was not absent from even noble minds, yet this was secondary and subordinate. A deeper thought was moving them,- to turn to human good such opening store of rich material and marvellous opportunity; to signalize the valor of their race, the glory of their country and their religion to take a foremost step in the march of civiliza- tion,- the mastery of man over nature. It was akin to the chiv- GEN. JOSHUA L. alry which enjoys personal hazard for a sake beyond self. What 10 generous ambitions, what lofty hopes hovered in these early skies, and since have " faded into the light of common day !" We come here to recognize the worth of a remarkable man, Pierre du Guast, Sieur de Monts,- to commemorate in a material structure more lasting than any of his own the value of his work and the greatness of his ideas. It is moreover a part of the glory of old France of which we come with one heart to celebrate a passage,- - taking this term in both senses of its meaning. Not other than glorious the passing from vision to ideal,- from dream to deed; and although passed are the facts and forms SO vivid and vital in their day, who shall say passed the spirit and power, the living potentiality of good, whose course is by unre- corded ways, and its law of manifestation unsearchable? The early claims of the various European Powers over the New World were large, and their ideas of justification vague. The Pope undertook to confer this jurisdiction upon his two favorites, Spain and Portugal; but France protested and Eng- land smiled. The source of this authority was rather difficult to find. The right to possess these shores and use these waters exclusively was said to be derived from charters given by the respective kings. But the right to grant the charters rested on no sure or determinable basis. The claim to this right was that of first discovery, and might have been well set up by England. But England early announced the principle that discovery with- out possession,- that is, by occupancy,-die not give right. Then the question shifted to the right to occupy. England was not wanting in bold sea enterprise. Almost a century before the discovery of the continent she had a brisk trade with Iceland. In a single snow storm, April, 1419, twenty- five of her vessels were lost on that wild coast. But whether the race instinct of colonization was taking a rest, or because of the absorbing interest in the mythical "north-west passage to Cathay," she made no effort to follow up the discoveries of the Cabots in 1497 by acts evincing intention of permanent posses- sion. Nor were further discoveries encouraged. Henry VIII dismissed Sebastian Cabot into Spain, as "being of no account." Master John Rut did indeed visit these coasts in 1527, and "put his men on land to search the state of these unknown regions," and after that a few roving commissions were granted, but for 11 nearly a century England set up no claim to paramount rights of Cape Breton, and in the stubborn contest over treaty rights anywhere within the sphere of her discoveries. When she did, reserved in the islands of Miquelon. it was under the pressure of private initiative or of jealousy over The inaction of England was practically abandonment of the operations of rival powers. claim. The middle of the sixteenth century saw the new world But it was with express purpose of proceeding to actual occu- in theory, in legal presumption and probable fate, apportioned pancy that France sent out two great exploring expeditions between France, Portugal and Spain. which were not only thorough-going in character but pregnant To us, familiar with the history of modern movement in the of consequences; that of Verrazano in 1524 which gave the world's masteries, it seems strange that the Norman element in name New France to these North Atlantic shores, and that of English blood SO prone to see an opportunity, and some might Cartier ten years later whose remarkable observations and glow- say SO prompt to seize an advantage, did not follow up her ing accounts deepened this nominal interest into the sense and claimed priority of discovery by earliest occupancy of the new pride of ownership. France now asserted her sole right to all Atlantic shores. But knowing also as we do, the audacity of the the region north of Spanish Florida. mingled strains in the old French blood, we do not wonder that Portugal also laid early claim to the vast unbounded region it was this which took the forefront and held on till its last foot- north of the Newfoundland waters, which she named Corterealis hold was drowned in its last red tide. after her great discoverer in the year 1500. The name Labra- But occupancy by settlement was slow. Some enterprising dor, suggestive of workmen,-possibly kidnapped after the fash- spirits in France had endeavored to establish little colonies or ion of those days,- preserves a record of her passing hand. She trading posts on the outer shores of Newfoundland and the lower commenced an occupancy also about the Newfoundland shores, St. Lawrence, but rash tactics or lack of deep moral purpose building a rendezvous or recruiting station for her fishermen, brought all to unhappy issue. England wakened yet more slowly, which lasted for a long time. Portuguese names remain here, but with the deeper thought. Even the best, however, seemed although in disguised form as Cape Race, from Cavo Raso - to be rebuked; noble lives taken as hostage for the coming right, Flat Cape; and Bay of Fundy, replacing the name Baie Fran- or bidden to wait till the human ferment out of which history is coise given by the French fishermen. On the oldest Portuguese evolved had grown stronger, or the times of God's appointment and Spanish maps this is named Rio Fundo, or Hondo,-Deep should be declared. It is curious to observe the attitude of River. The English seem to have adopted the earlier name. England as to this matter in an age otherwise called "golden," England kept up some intercourse with these northeastern in the fact that a petition was made to Queen Elizabeth by Sir coasts in the way of fishing interests, but in this she was far Humphrey Gilbert and others of like stamp to "allow of the dis- exceeded by others. In 1578 the fishing fleet of England here covery of lands in America fatally reserved to England." The numbered fifty; that of Portugal and Spain twice that number; terms are prophetic. "Reserved" indeed but through what freaks that of France three times as much. And think of what strong, of "adverse possession "Fatally" indeed; but by force of what indomitable blood the men of this name were: Norman - race decree! A charter was granted Gilbert in 1578, but it was not of vikings; bold Breton - stern as Druid faith, fitful of mood as until 1583 that he begun a settlement in Newfoundland at what Celtic song; unquenchable Biscayan-that strange Basque he called St. John's. But that high spirit passed out through a blood, fierce to hold all that was its own of old or new, although storm of elements off those headlands, precarious indeed and unre- the home of its lineage and language was as unknown then as it sponding to his prayer except his higher-heard declaration of faith, is undiscoverable still. Strains of these inextinguishable essences " We are as near heaven by sea as by land! With him the soul remain in those who follow the old vocation off those outlying went out of his enterprise, the body soon dissolved, and the claim storm-swept shores, and abiding tokens in the name and character of England through this occupancy did not for a long time emerge. 12 13 Sir Walter Raleigh's vigorous efforts in Virginia in 1584 also the solution of great problems of enterprise. We do not wonder came to nought. And SO at the close of the 16th century there that he had already received special marks of honor from the was not a European settlement north of Florida on the western king He and de Chastes seem to have come together by Atlantic shores. mutual attraction. To him the king gave special charge to But the human ferment was going on, and the times appointed observe carefully and report all he should see. The practical drawing near. The fierce persecution of the Huguenots was charge of the expedition was entrusted to Du Pont Gravé, of tearing asunder social bonds in France. The quarrel over the St. Malo in Bretagne, who had already made a voyage to this succession of King Henry of Navarre had its springs in this bit- region. terness, and the changing play of parties permitted no one to be This expedition explored the St. Lawrence, tarrying some time safe. Earnest minds were moved to seek peaceful homes in the at Tadoussac, at the mouth of the mysterious Saguenay, and wilderness of the New World, where they might find at least free- finally ascending to the site of Montreal. Of this exploration dom of thought and action, and possibly scope for their best there were wonderful things to tell to France; and told by energies. Thus Admiral Coligny sought to plant Huguenot Champlain roused an interest such as nothing had done before. colonies in both South and North America, which soon suc- He came back with high hopes, but found that his generous cumbed to Portugal or to Spain. But the inward pressure patron had passed away, and with him the supporting hand, if prompted outward movement. The newly wakened spirit of not the animating spirit, of the enterprise. adventure and the natural instinct towards material advantage But he found also that the king had given a new charter to a were absorbed in a motive still more personal and powerful,- gentleman of equally high character, and an officer of the king's life unvexed by artificial and arbitrary social demands. Bitterly household, Pierre de Monts, Seigneur of the Commune of Guast manifest as were the differences in the old home, these did not in Santonge, a region of which La Rochelle was the natural cen- seem to prevent association in a common purpose for SO high an ter, and strongly Huguenot in its proclivities, as was the family end. At the accession of King Henry IV a notable company of de Monts. This charter was given November 8, 1603. It had been formed, the chief patron of which was Aylmar de conveyed to de Monts in elaborate terms trading and seignorial Chastes, a gentleman of high standing, governor of Dieppe and rights to the New World territory between the for tieth and forty- a favorite of the king, to carry forward colonization on these sixth parallels of latitude,- those of Philadelphia and Montreal shores in the name of God and the King," in which we may of to-day,-thi territory being designated La Cadie, or Acadia. judge from its composition the motive of realizing these personal With this came the appointment of lieutenant general, and by and human ideas and purposes just mentioned had no small inference vice admiral, of this vast and vaguely known domain place. of Acadia. At this juncture comes upon the scene one of the most remark- With reciprocal personal respect and the sympathy of like pur- able characters of our New World history,-Samuel, Sieur de pose, these two men joined hands and hearts in the enterprise Champlain. Born on the shore of Biscay in a little seaport now more definitely thought out and practically organized than where departing and returning ships bringing stories of wide any before. De Monts had been companion of Chauvin in a and wild adventure quickened into form that vague conscious- former voyage to these northeastern shores, and had the confi- ness of power which stirs in all brave spirits; by nature bold, dence of experience. Champlain again received appointment as chivalrous, romantic; by early experience soldier, sailor, observer special geographer and reporter for the king. They enlisted also and relater; tireless in labor, patient of suffering, large of vision the interest and companionship of Jean de Poutrincourt, Baron of and generous of purpose, genial of spirit and firm of soul, he St. Just in Bretagne, a man of ample means and large of mind and may well be regarded as providentially prepared to be called to heart, pronounced by King Henry "one of the most honorable 14 15 and valliant men of the kingdom." Loyal as he was to the incongruous characters in the ship's forward hold indulged king, he was nevertheless one of those who chafed under condi- their inverted harmonies with catastrophic cadence. tions where the shifting policy of leaders and the fickleness of De Monts, although a Huguenot, was wisely liberal. He made followers made their very loyalty a torment. He now, more than good friends with his over-numbering Catholic comrades. anything else, and more than any of his companions of the While having his own Huguenot ministers, he had yielded to voyage, sought a home amidst the simple or savage elements of the demand on the part of the newly converted king to found a an unknown world. Catholic mission among the natives of his Acadian domain. The Thus was ordained and organized that famous adventure of French Jesuit historian, de Charlevoix, noting this complaisance Acadia, fraught with human hopes as high and fancies as wide or compromise, demurs at its honesty,- which is perhaps remark- as its sequel was to be bright with characters of courage and able criticism considering the ethical maxims of his own society. devotion and stormy with vicissitude and tragedy. Commenting on this liberality, he says de Monts " was in other On the 7th of March, 1604, de Monts gathered his com respects a very honest man." Placed as he was, de Monts had pany for the brave adventure of establishing the little begin- to be, no doubt, something of a politician. Although a Calvinist, nings of a large new life in a vast new world. It was a he was evidently not a Puritan in the matter of conformity. highly and deeply mixed company. With him were gentle- He was not SO tolerant, however, of infringements on his men of all schools of religion and politics, and others whose charter rights of trade. One of the first things he did on his interests did not reach to these abstractions of faith or reason. arrival in these waters was to confiscate the ship and cargo of a Besides such gentlemen as Champlain, Poutrincourt and Bien. fur-trader he found unwittingly dealing in the wares de Monts court son of the latter, were the Sieurs Ralleau, his private believed "fatally reserved" to himself. The harbor, however, secretary, D'Orville, de Beaumont, Fougeray, La Motte Bourioli, in compensation or compliment to the captain of the confiscated and Boulay, one of Poutrincourt's captains in the wars of ship, he named after him,-Rossignol. The romantic name is France. Du Pont Gravé was entrusted with the command since displaced by that of Liverpool,- bird of quite another of a second ship which was to follow. Of less rank there song. Remaining for a month in a neighboring harbor, named were Champdoré, a master-builder, but as it appeared an indif from the circumstance of a sheep falling overboard, Isle au ferent seaman, Captains Timothée and Foulque; two gentlemen, Mouton," - which name remains to-day,- Port Mouton,-per Sourin and Gaveston, as superintendents of building; Master haps from its very insignificance, provoking no rivalries or Simon a metallurgist, and Jean Duval, a locksmith and trouble retaliations. some fellow, who followed Champlain with mutinies and Taking a part of his little fleet around the promontory of treacheries until he found his end at the end of a rope at Nova Scotia to St. Mary's Bay, de Monts with Champlain and Quebec, years after. Of the better part of this company were Poutrincourt made a cursory exploration of the shores of the several skilled surgeons, as also Huguenot ministers and Cath- Baie Françoise, since named Fundy. They recognized the olic priests, each full of their different zeals. attractions of the places since known as Port Royal and St. John, Moreover, de Monts had availed himself of his charter privi- but passing these they finally entered Passamaquoddy Bay and lege of impressing some vagabonds and ex-convicts, to sustain the river they named St. Croix. Finding in all their excursion the lower parts of the unrehearsed drama. Here came into play no place better for their purpose, de Monts betook himself and elements of both comedy and tragedy,- divine comedy," it his company to this little island where we stand to-day; advan- might be called,- for it is said the Huguenot ministers and tageous for his immediate preliminary work, humble in compar- Romish priests enforced their religious arguments with fists ison with the magnitude of his possessory rights and his high and feet,- the performance taking a more tragic shade as the commission, but not too humble for a safe beginning of the 16 17 things he had in vision. Selected mainly, no doubt, for its the falls at Kenduskeag, the site of what was real in the storied favorable position for an advanced military post, surrounded by Norumbega." Thence along the western shores down past the broad waters, commanding a clear view out in all directions, and St. Georges, Pemaquid and Sheepscot Rivers, to the entrance of in its topography well capable of defence, this island justifies the the Kennebec, where bad weather is rather strangely given as wisdom of his choice. He went to work with a promptness and the reason (although it was at the time of what we call the rapidity of progress which show the completeness of his prepa- equinoctial storms, and he was perhaps experiencing the peculiar- rations, the skill of his minor tactics and the vigor of his will. ities of the "chops of the Kennebec"). which led him toab an- With his gun-platforms on the northern and southern extremities don further progress and to make his way back to this little of the island, looking towards the main approaches by river and island of the St. Croix. sea, his barracks and magazines well enclosed, his buildings for Of that winter's dire experience I will not attempt even a living and labor well placed and well constructed, and the chapel half-tone picture. The details are well enough known to hold standing for what was common in their faith conspicuous in the our pitying regard. The story has been told by several wit- midst, the little colony was furnished with the proper elements nesses or near observers, of varying degrees of sympathy with and instrumentalities for the maintenance of a military post the undertaking, or with the master himself. Champlain has which was to herald the advance of civil and social order in the given his clear, straightforward story; and L'Escarbot, the bright wilds of the New World. And why may we not do him the Paris lawyer of poetic and perhaps Huguenot proclivities who courtesy to believe that his observant and far-seeing eye took in came over to Port Royal the year following, has added interest- all the propitious natural conditions on these beautiful shores of ing incidents of this ill-starred overture of Acadia. the St. Croix? This was not merely a military headquarters; It was a winter of unusual inclemency; the temperature and the buildings in their location and structure and appointments, imprisoning ice and snow made sore restrictions, and some priva- and the utensils and furnishment of them, reflected some of the tions are complained of by the historians which seem strange to best usages of civilized life ; and this sojourn might accord us, such as the lack of wood and of water fit to drink, abun- thereto, SO far as it could be either life or civilized without the dant as they were all around on the neighboring shores, which presence and saving grace of womanhood. Noble spirits, bright the thick ice itself might enable them with some ingenuity to minds, firm hearts, holding to their ideals, with nerve and energy procure. Nor can we easily understand the necessity of resort- to preserve discipline among a heterogeneous throng of subordi- ing wholly to salted provisions, in the immediate vicinity of SO nates, and with the force and dignity to command themselves much fish and game from which even the inclemency of winter and brace themselves for further forward movement,-su could not wholly cut them off. But in spite of intelligent super- were the men who stood together for that first trial of cultured, vision, and the skill of accomplished and faithful physicians, that regular life in this wilderness of a promised land. But this soul dread disease, the scurvy (called by the colonists, somewhat of manhood upborne by its high ideals was to be tested on a unaccountably, mal de la terre," whereas, it is more likely to lower range. appear in the privations at sea than those of land laid more Wishing to search seasonably for favorable ground for further than a third of them in unknown graves which the swirling cur- developments, de Monts sent out Champlain in a little shallop of rents have now swept to oblivion. It was a season of trial and sixteen tons, and a crew of ten men with two Indian guides, to suffering for all, in which only those minds which had some make explorations westward. They passed the picturesque resources of stored vitality in themselves, and the power of topography in which they were most impressed with what led throwing off depressing influences by inward energies came out them to name it "Mount Desert," thence following the eastern whole. L'Escarbot tells us that those who survived kept up shore quite thoroughly explored the noble Penobscot as far as their spirits by various pleasantries, among which was the writing 18 19 of spicy pamphlets, and exchange of humorous pranks. Not rocks amidst the treacherous tide-currents. Pont Gravé did not a few took early occasion to go back to France. It may be fair like the place much; but Poutrincourt did; and SO de Monts to say the best remained. generously gave it to him, as his charter warranted him to do. Early in the summer, Pont Gravé came with supplies from It was Pont Gravé, however, who on the second winter remained France. But such experience led to inevitable inferences. They in command at Port Royal; for Poutrincourt had gone over to must seek a place of milder temperature and better physical con- France in the interests of the enterprise, and particularly to per- ditions. On the 17th of June de Monts fitted up a small bark, fect his own plans of proceeding. and with Champlain and a number of other gentlemen, and a Under Champlain's vigorous leadership and example quick crew of twenty sailors, having also an Indian guide and his wife, work was made of this removal. The settlement was almost lit- started out for further explorations to find a more fitting abode erally transplanted for the finished work, and even the frames under softer airs. Passing the Penobscot, they explored the of the houses on this island were carried over to Port Royal, and Kennebec, and, for some reason we cannot understand, ignoring set up there with equal excellence and order. But they had a the attractions of Casco Bay, since claimed to be most beautiful hard winter there also, and twelve of the colony went down of "hundred harbored Maine," they drew into the Saco region, under the scourge of the "mal de la terre." This discouraged where they were well received by tribes of Indians new to them, even Pont Gravé, and he was ready to abandon the enterprise and heard of new ways of Indian life among those still westward. and return to France. Just at this juncture, however, in a Coursing then along the Massachusetts coast they tarried a while returning ship comes back Poutrincourt, and relieving Pont at what is now Boston, and then at Marshfield, and finally visited Gravé, allows him to depart without seeming to desert. the place of Pilgrim Plymouth. But they turned back from all Champlain who had meantime been tireless in his explorations these; and more fastidious than Pilgrim or Puritan, or perhaps westward, but with no practical result, planned another voyage overdrawn by loyalty to his first love, maiden Acadia, de Monts to still more southern climes. Taking with him Poutrincourt he betook himself again to this Island of the Holy Cross,- proved retraced his westward path and passed beyond it as far as Vine- to be indeed a cross of suffering. yard Sound. Again, finding nothing which satisfied them of its We will not stop to conjecture what would have been the out- capability to meet their wishes and ideals, they returned to Port come if de Monts had established himself somewhere on these Royal in no very cheerful mood. Here they met more disheart- New England shores where conditions would have been more ening news in a message from de Monts, now in France. He favorable for his immediate purpose, and where if France had had gone thither as soon as the building of Port Royal was well had the heart and nerve to gain firm foothold, some great chap- begun, for the very laudable purpose for a lieutenant-general of ters of history would have run to different conclusions from those looking after his rear and securing his communications. There now written. was great need of this - but he was already too late. The jeal- At this Isle of St. Croix de Monts agreed with his advisers ousy of the traders of Normandy, Breton and Biscay over the that this place could not be maintained for headquarters and monopoly conferred by his charter in a region SO rich and exten- perhaps feeling the importance of keeping within reach of their sive, where they felt that they had natural and almost prescrip- shipping and trading objective about these eastern waters, they tive rights, had become bitterly aggressive. In spite of his high decided to remove across the bay to Port Royal. De Monts had purpose to establish a French colony on these shores for the SO named this from its noble aspect after almost losing some of honor of the French name, in spite of his high character and his ships in a treacherous strait where it is said he 'got his ships connections, his trading monopoly was revoked and his appoint- in one at a time and stern-foremost at that," such were the ten- ment as lieutenant-general annulled. In despair he sent word to der relations between their expansive bulwarks and the too ready Poutrincourt to abandon Port Royal and all he was contemplating 20 21 return to France. He did return, and Champlain also associates at home, more especially upon the looseness of char- ir hold was broken here, and they went forward to different acter and fickleness of purpose of those who ruled France in his 3. day. It was France indeed which lost most by this; for the e Monts remained in France, disheartened at the defeat of revocation of the de Monts charter of 1603 weakened the French generous purposes, and most of all that this was the triumph basis of pretence of right on these shores according to the rule hemies who thinking only of immediate personal advantage then in vogue. The opinion of Lescarbot may be cited in his d not enter into his thought, greater and dearer to him than remonstrance to King Louis in 1618: The revocation of the uch things. He was able, however, to obtain other privi- de Monts charter worked the ruin of a fine enterprise which 3, which were exercised chiefly in supporting two expeditions promised the speedy establishment of a new kingdom in those hamplain to Tadoussac on the St. Lawrence, which led to lands." founding of Quebec. In this new endeavor he struggled yet The new French charters given within the ten years following e years, holding to some remnant of his ideal, and generous left the technical advantage of priority of date to the English noble in its pursuit,- but to see his part in this also fade charter of 1606. And even as it was, France could not have held fail. He went down at last heart-broken, but facing to the good claim to the boundary she did, were it not for the actual t. occupation by de Monts and his immediate successors in these L'homme propose, Dieu dispose" is the French saying; was little beginnings on the St. Croix waters. $ lesson for him this, or the converse of it ? Then too all the developments of succeeding history in this ) passed to dust and ruin this little beginning on the Island region must be regarded as in some true sense the unfolding of e Cross. So passed into broken lights the glory of de Monts' his purpose, not under the same guidance indeed, but under the ning dream. Contemplating this ruin and this baffled pur- momentum of the impulse then and here begun. Although we , must we speak of failure If SO for de Monts personally, cannot see all the connections of the composite forces that deter- case is not singular. All the first leaders had sad experiences, mine life and history, we must think back to de Monts when we ert, Raleigh, Gorges, de Monts, Poutrincourt, Champlain consider the long sharp struggle for possession of these Acadian , and we might also say Columbus himself,-jealousy shores, and the tenacious hold which France maintained for more ity, imprisonment, disgrace barred their sunset sky. But we than a century, and which is not wholly yet unfelt. e the man more by the ideas he quickened into action than For beyond the resistance of nature to be overcome, fiercer he immediate material results he lived to see. Nor is the elements of opposition had to be encountered. England set her- singular in its immediate results. Nearly all the first self in the race, hand and foot. Her ships had coursed the shores npts at colonization on these shores were swept away by west of the Acadian waters from time to time, but for more than 9 lack of adaptation to their surroundings, or by jealous or century since the discoveries of Cabot the only real demonstration ile forces at home or abroad. And for such failure as befell of possession she had made was the attempt of Gilbert in New- work de Monts is not largely chargeable. There may have foundland sixty years thereafter; and this having utterly per- some disintegrating influence in the very extent of the ished, France had to meet no claim of adverse possession. But opoly granted him, trenching as it did upon what might the closer explorations of Waymouth on the coasts of Maine in 1 to others common interests of man, and almost vested rights 1605, and his reports and trophies of the same, awakened a new ugh long use. Minor mistakes of choice he may have made, interest in England, sharpened, no doubt, by knowledge of what he was throughout true to his ideals and to his followers. the French were doing. Immediately follows the charter of main responsibility for what may be accounted failure in his King James, 1606, known as the "great charter of Virginia," k must rest upon the weakness of support rendered by his granting as if under his unquestioned jurisdiction full colonial 22 23 rights to the territory between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth parallels,-that is, from South Carolina to Passamaquoddy. This was immediately followed by attempts at colonization. To define jurisdictions more clearly, issued in 1620 another English charter known as the " Charter of New England," granting to the Coun- cil of Plymouth (in England) proprietary rights between the fortieth and forty-eighth parallels,- - from the latitude of Phila delphia to the Bay of Chaleur. It may be said here that the attempted settlement of Popham and Gilbert at the mouth of the Sagadahock in 1607 and the broken operations following thence along the coast eastward to Pemaquid, and the remarkable grants of the Province of Maine to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 1620-1641, with rights and dignities of quite a medieval order, which came in connection with these charters, being west of the Penobscot did not disturb the Acadian occupancy, nor directly affect the greater issues of title in that territory. But in the meantime ( 1621), King James granted another charter to Sir William Alexander of Scotland, Earl of Stirling, giving him almost vice-regal rights to the entire peninsula named by him Nova Scotia. This was afterwards (1628) extended to include a vast adjacent region, which under color of this right he attempted to control. The terms of his charter gave him from the Gulf of Canada to the Gulf of California, or the Vermillion Sea." It will be seen that English charters thus thrice overlaid the territory covered by the French charter of Acadia; and the immediate consequences of this upon attempts at colonization, it seems a strange use of words to say might have been divined, since the logic of facts would more readily characterize them by terms of quite a contrary derivation. Thus early did England seem to foreshadow a policy which has since been ascribed to her as characteristic,- that of following up with a stronger hand where others had opened a way. Her justification has been in what appears to be the recognized ethics of nations,- the better use of the material advantages, and better treatment of the persons thus brought under domination. When England's purpose ripened, other powers had got ahead of her; but she boldly commenced her strenuous career. Already in the very year of the Nova Scotia charter, Holland had granted 24 to a Company of hers which had been operating about Manhattan Island, exclusive commercial rights to the territory she called New Netherland within the fortieth and forty-fifth parallels; thus covering yet again the ground of several adverse charters. England allowed this tenure but a short term, as she did others in turn. Florida was the only place on the North Atlantic coast which she let alone. Spain was then a power it was not prudent to provoke beyond the existing degree. But in the end, as we know, all came to one. Force of race conquered rights ripened as opportunity opened. England came in late, but took the whole. Dutch, Portuguese, French, Spaniard yielded one by one to her robust persuasions. What she did not, the daughter did. After all the casuistries of claim, the question was settled by the strong hand. At the first it was a matter of intense competition in occupancy. Hence the importance of these little colonies and domiciles,- we can hardly call them settlements, SO unsettled were they in place and personnel by very reason of these contests,- which throw French Cruiser Troude," St. John Harbor such flickering and sometimes all too lurid lights upon the scene of early adventure here. Hence the whole period of a hundred and fifty years offers the repeated spectacle of effort to effect a lodgment of civilized life and order, whether as evidence or as warrant for political jurisdiction, and every such nucleus becom- ing a focus of assault ending in ashes of ruin. The final test of right seemed to be not discovery nor occupation, but conquest, or the power to resist it. Although the original Acadian grant embraced the territory of what is now New England and New York, yet the material and practical application of the name was limited to the region now embracing the eastern British Provinces and a portion of the State of Maine. Sometimes the country east of the Passama- quoddy was called Acadia, and that west of this, Norumbega. But in the long contention between France and England for the domination of Acadia, the right of France was maintained by occupancy to the Penobscot River, while the English claimed by similar tenure eastward to the Kennebec, and on the shoreland to several outlets of the Sagadahock, Sheepscot and St. Georges; Castine being the extreme western outpost of the French, and Pemaquid the extreme eastern outpost of the English. . S. Detroit at St. Croix Island, June 25, 1904 25 Being the frontier between the Old World and the New, not At this juncture comes an episode and alien interruption in the only was Acadia the battle-ground for the great contestants, high-handed work of the Englishman, Argal, who at the order of France and England, but also of the rivalries within each race the governor of Virginia, but without the shadow of right in arising from the strange recklessness in giving charters and con- law or equity, or the common courtesy of honorable combatants, cessions, overlaying each other in territory and authority, with destroyed the feeble Jesuit post at Mt. Desert, swept away the the mischief of being apparently legal and valid, while irreconcil. poor little remnants of the sojourn on this Isle St. Croix, and able in fact and impossible in the nature of things. passed on to overthrow the struggling plantation at Port Royal, When we bear in mind that this country was also the home beating down Frenchmen wherever he could find them. and possession of various tribes of aboriginal Indians deeply sus- The next turn of the kaleidoscope shows Biencourt disappear- ceptible to influences of jealousy and revenge, and that even their ing, having turned over his rights to Charles La Tour, who had own distant tribal feuds often reached over into these eastern come over as a lad of fourteen with Poutrincourt, and had regions and led to warlike combinations with the parties contest. attached himself to the son. The confused accounts of the times ing the domination for themselves, we can form some conception represent him as trying to establish these rights at Cape Sable, of the continuing causes which made this whole shoreland from rather than at Port Royal, and also by some pretence of right, or the Piscataqua to the St. Croix for five generations a scene of by native restlessness, gaining a foothold at Pentagoet, a name of savage forays and pitiless massacres which entitle this even more the Penobscot, but at that time mostly applied to the place since than Kentucky to be called "the dark and bloody ground." famous as Castine. And with all these external and internal dissensions and swiftly In the meantime the French king, coming under the influence succeeding overturns, the region around where we now stand has of Richelieu, had granted virtually all North America, from been the theater of action and passion, of heroism, romance and Florida to the Arctic Circle and from Newfoundland to the tragedy, worthy to be embalmed in the amber of story and borne springs of the St. Lawrence, to a "hundred associates," called far and wide on the wings of song. the Company of New France, with the astute and powerful In recognizing the continuing effect of the purpose of de Richelieu at the head. Their attempt to occupy the favorite Monts we must observe, although with rapid glance, the doings Acadia was not agreeable to Sir William Alexander, and he of his successors within that generation, and on-goings which straightway sent out an expedition under Kirke which soon over- must be accounted direct outcome of his enterprise. came the feeble French posts,- excepting, it would seem, that at Poutrincourt on his arrival in France in 1610 managed to get Pentagoet defended by La Tour, who claimed to be holding his concession by de Monts confirmed by King Henry just before directly of the French king. The French occupation being thus his assassination. But returning was for him a hope deferred. subjugated, England now set up the right by conquest to a claim Biencourt, his son, taking his father's place and, it is said, his she had not made good by right of discovery and possession. name, continued the effort in a desultory way to carry forward During this disturbance Charles La Tour's father, Claude, who the original purpose; but his slender occupancy was scarcely had been forced to leave France by the Huguenot persecutions, enough to support his tenure. Two years afterwards the new and had been taken prisoner on the high seas by the English, king, Louis XIII, or rather, the dowager queen regent, Marie de had force of character or influence enough to ingratiate himself Medici, granted to the famous Marchioness de Guercheville a greatly with Sir William Alexander, and now suddenly appeared sweeping charter, apparently to the whole American continent, before his son on the Penobscot with two English ships bringing for the special purpose of turning all into a Jesuit enterprise, from Sir William a baronetcy for them both, and also an exten- Operations under this were zealously begun in the Acadian sive grant of lands about Cape Sable, where succeeding to Bien- region. court, Charles had already held possession of Fort Loméron. All 26 27 this was conditioned, however, upon his turning over to the 1620, finding great obstacles to their occupancy by reason of con- English jurisdiction all his rights and possessions in Acadia. He flicting claims and possessions, decided to surrender their charter; is said to have indignantly rejected the conditions and also the and as a last act of jurisdiction issued letters patent to Sir William baronetcy; but he did accept the grant. This was of consequence Alexander for a "tract of the maine land of New England begin- to him especially, and indeed in itself; for it included the shore ning at St. Croix and thence extending along the sea coast to land on each side of Cape Sable, fifty leagues in extent and fif. Pemaquid," adding thereafter "Long Island in the Sound SO teen leagues inland,- that is, the whole southeastern sea-front named, and all the islands thereto adjacent." This title, what- from Lunenburg to Yarmouth. What was of far more conse ever its value, involving all recognized Acadia, deepened the con- quence to him was the commission of lieutenant-general of fusion and ferment of the conflict. Acadia from the French king, which he had long expected, and Wisely securing a special permission from Sir William to his father with wise regard for the maxim 'to be prepared for occupy, La Tour made things safe at Cape Sable, leaving his either event," had also brought. father there in charge, and now betook himself to the St. John, The wisdom of the son also was soon apparent. For England where he proceeded immediately to found a stronghold. He laid now restored to France by the treaty of St. Germain (1632), all out his plans for defence and development with great skill, and Acadia and all Canada. This put a new complexion on things executed them with vigor, and with command of means. Taking especially on the rights and claims of Charles La Tour. For no advantage of the natural defences about the mouth of the St. sooner had France got this advantage than she gave a special John, he built a formidable stone fort, mounting twenty pieces concession and title to Isaac de Razilly, Knight of St. John of Jeru- of heavy ordnance, with all barracks, store houses, dwelling salem, covering a region twelve by twenty leagues in extent houses and other buildings suiting his far-looking purpose, and around the River and Bay St. Croix, with its middle point at to crown the whole, a chapel. All of which his valiant wife was St. Croix Island." As his lieutenant came his relative, Charles competent to command. de Menou, known as D'Aulnay Charnisay. He was from La In the meantime, through some of the duplex machinery which Rochelle, but devoted to the Jesuit policy, and destined to take surrounded the king, Charnisay had also got a commission as no inconsiderable part in the affairs of La Tour and of Acadia lientenant-general of France, with a grant of La Héve near Razilly dying two years afterwards (1635), Charnisay succeeded Cape Sable), Port Royal and all Acadia west of a north and in one way and another to all his rights and possessions. south line across the middle of the "Baie Françoise," excepting Far from submitting to this grant to Razilly, La Tour had the the fifty square leagues granted to La Tour at St. John. nerve to betake himself to Paris, and the skill to procure from Charnisay does not relish this exception, but keeps up the fight, the Company of New France a grant of the oft-given lands about having warrant from the king, as we are amazed to know, to Cape Sable, together with the office of commander for the Com pursue La Tour and dispossess him of his holdings and if possible pany of New France, and strange as it must seem, that of lieu- capture his fort at St. John. Charnisay proceeds with indifferent tenant-general of France for that post and its dependencies. He success, but is able to cause La Tour such annoyance that he is was somehow able to secure for himself the concession from the fain to apply to the Puritans of Boston for assistance, which Company of an extensive tract,-fifty square leagues,- about the Charnisay manages to countervail. At last, informed by spies mouth of the St. John, where he had already, five years before, and renegades of the absence of the master, Charnisay, on Easter a well-defined and profitable trading post, now confirmed to him Sunday, 1643, attacks the fort at St. John by sea and land, and in this last concession as "the fort and habitation of La Tour." compels its gallant defender, Madame La Tour, to capitulate on It is certainly a curious circumstance that this very year (1635) honorable terms. It is hard to believe that Charnisay, after this, the Council of Plymouth holding the New England charter of could warrant the action of his subordinate in hanging many of 28 29 the survivors of the garrison, or permit the cruel treatment of harasses La Tour. He does not tamely surrender, but promptly the high-minded and heroic defender which brought her to her executes the supposedly rash maneuver of changing front under death in grief and indignation. fire. He hastens to England, shows Cromwell that he had a This exploit of Charnisay's seems to have overjoyed the young great English grant of land in Nova Scotia, and had been com- French king, who thereupon greatly enlarged and reinforced his missioned a baronet of England there, and confidently puts himself authority in Acadia, extending it now from the St. Lawrence to under Cromwell's protection. He got his commission as British Virginia, making him, in fact, a feudal lord of this vast domain, governor of Acadia, with an extraordinary grant of lands, - with all the power of France to support him. three hundred miles inland around the shores of the Bay of It would seem now that La Tour's sun had set, and that of Fundy, - on the condition that none but Protestants should be Charnisay risen upon the earth. allowed to reside there. Surely this is the irony of history. But there are tropics even in the sun's path, and the earth's It would seem that nothing more strange could be added to unrest, by some hidden law, seems magnified in men. Charnisay this phantasmagory of dissolving scenes. But one more look at had brought a wife from over sea, and now proceeded to organ La Tour shows him as governor of Acadia under the Common- ize his plans and establish his colonies at the old points of wealth, establishing the Presbyterian Church there, introducing advantage with some semblance of civilization. For a time Franciscan friars from Aquitame to carry on a mission work things seemed to flourish. But within himself things did not go among the Micmac and Maliseet Indians of his domain, and SO well. Some gloom settled on his spirit. Perhaps he missed achieving for himself and his followers a prosperous career. the stimulus afforded once by fighting the versatile La Tour. His Foreseeing that England could not permanently maintain her vigor waned. And we cannot but be affected by reading the supremacy here, he sold out his principal holdings and betook dull story of his perishing at last (1650), by the sinking of his himself to private life. Forebodings came true, and with strange canoe in which a single Indian was pressing his way amidst coincidence. In 1667 Charles restored Acadia to France, - the ice-bound waters whose sharp edge cut through his canoe, from Pentagoet to the ocean. In the same year Charles and whose death-like embrace he had not the strength to endure. La Tour, on a voyage to visit his son, found a not unfitting grave But La Tour took on new life. He boldly presented himself at in the tumultuous outer waters, off the fateful Cape Sable the French Court, where he made such impression on the Regent, shores. Anne of Austria (Richelieu and Louis having died in 1643), that It is a curious episode that seven years later, the Dutch con- she gave him a new commission as lieutenant-general of Acadia, quered and subdued the Acadian coast, and Cornelius Steenwyck in testimonies of merit and terms of favor altogether surprising was appointed governor of all the territory east and north from An equally remarkable exploit is his persuading Suzanne, sister the River Pentagoet. This right was virtually annulled by of Charnisay, to bequeath to him the landed property she had the treaty of Westminster, 1677, which operated to strengthen received from her brother. To complete the romance, he returns the never abandoned pretence of England against France. to Acadia and manages to make the widow of Charnisay marry The baldest statement of the facts of this infinite series of him and endow him with all her worldly goods. It is the Tropic reprisals and counterplay, of which even the official records are of Capricorn. incomprehensible, offers glimpses of a bewildering spectacle of But trouble arises in a new quarter and again with strange vital dynamics, whose improbabilities the most reckless writer of complexity. A Protestant Frenchman who held mortgages on fiction would not presume to offer to human credulity. Charnisay's property for moneys advanced in fighting La Tour, So follows the spectral train of de Monts. The shadows of now appears armed with judgments of the French courts, and great movement rise dim before our eyes : forms and phantoms with this prior lien levying on Charnisay's old holdings, greatly pass: characters masked and unmasked play their part ahd go: 30 31 waking the undertones of that deep human interest with which fact of the fifteen thousand of their descendants, good citizens of they were once SO vitally charged. our northern Maine, retaining the old simplicity of life, and Champlain, beset by every enemy in unregenerate nature, skil- unforgiving traditions of the expulsion: in the large settlement ful to avoid, brave to resist, loyal to his faith, unconquerable in at St. John and Port Royal, of the banished "loyalists" of the his purpose, steadfastly moving on through darkened waters and American Revolution, who made themselves Acadians because boding skies, towards his sunset glory in the west where his determined to build up the new liberty without renouncing the Quebec stood as in the balconies of heaven, beneath which he at old sovereignty: in all these passages of human struggle and last found rest. probation, we of the Eastern States hold a common interest with Poutrincourt, heroic in his passing. Strange counterplay of you French and English of Acadia old and new. And we bear wish and will, of faith and fate! The man who sought these in mind also that the right and wrong of many of these things is wild shores for a home of peace from the tumults and treacheries held in silence or abeyance, to be forgotten, or charged to the of his native land, going back to gather up his treasures, quickly account of God's ways in history. summoned to die in the quarrels of his king. One singular dignity this island "settlement" of de Monts has Saturnine and deep-toned Charnisay,- and over against him come to hold. After long lost identity and earnest searching, Charles La Tour, sanguine, agile and adroit; both from La these ruins were discovered and admitted to be the proper mark Rochelle, but apart as the poles in religious profession; the one for the boundary line between two great nations, England and first love and lover of Marie Jacqueline Bernon, strangely com- the United States of America. Such value had this broken missioned to destroy her husband La Tour in the wilds of Acadia, enterprise in the minds of men and councils of nations. Without but destroying only his early beloved stoutly defending her the identifying of this spot the language of treaties was in vain, absent husband's rights; then suddenly going down himself; the and bounds of nationalities in confusion. other, dispossessed and proscribed, by some freak of French for But this little relic is not the measure of the man. The narrow tune not only recovering his own rights but gaining the rights and compass of this island does not bound his thought, nor the dim titles of his rival, and marrying his widow in reprisal; both to fragments of his doings that have taken earthly form around us pass under the cold waters of the seas they claimed. compose his record. The measure of him is his purpose and ideal. And this same Marie Jacqueline herself,- noble, brave and The blood and brain of France that once led the civilization of true; loveliest picture on the manifold Acadian page; livingly Europe, has not perished from the earth. The thought of those portrayed for us in the too forgotten story, Constance of great minds of France, for France, is not extinguished. It has Acadia." entered into the on-going of human welfare, and the vision, the Let our vision rest in this, while the long train passes on prayer, the hope, that went SO high and far, may find answer in through eventful years. visible forms of power even beyond the early dream. Of the vicissitudes of Acadia in later times we have clearer Consequences are not in one line alone, but in many lines. knowledge, and much reason for remembrance. In the opera- When a living thought is projected into ideal, we cannot trace tions of English domination in Nova Scotia at Annapolis and its course, nor foresee its end. God's ways are on mighty orbits, Grand Pré), in which our ancestors were made actors: in the and their real tending is often lost to human sight; but the story of Louisburg and Cape Breton, in which the part of the times appointed" will arrive, and the end crown the work. men of New England commands admiration more on military One thing we may be sure of all these vicissitudes of life, all than on moral grounds: in the tragedy of the expulsion of the these toils and struggles, these seeming defeats as well as seeming Acadians, held warm in our interest not only by the thrilling victories, are overruled for some final good for man,- for tenderness of Longfellow's Evangeline," but also by the material every man who has borne himself worthily in them. 32 33 So we greet in spirit to-day him who three centuries ago saw in visions of his soul what for man could be wrought on these treasured shores. The work is going on,- - but by other hands; the dream is coming real,- but to other eyes. The thought is his; and the fulfillment, though different, is of his beginning. What world would he think himself in, if he could behold this spectacle ! this concourse representing the noblest life of the Old World and the New,-this shining scene, where the smile of womanhood stands out upon the shadows of the past, reminding us of what sustaining power was missing in those earlier homes. and in that lack what loss these calm, expressive waters: flick ering foreground of white-winged carriers of peace and love deeper moored concordant warships of approving nations; high over us the flag he bore, once thrilling hearts with love or dread the broad blue field sown with golden fleurs-de-lis, and quartered by the great white cross whose meaning he knew SO well ; and closer the flag of France, the flag of England, and a strange new flag, of stars and stripes, emblems he also might well divine, bending above the remembrance of this lost hope of his, and the thunder of the guns of their power sweeping the skies, making his requiem a pean And you, happy dwellers in this St. Croix Valley, who have inaugurated these memorials, how would his heart turn to you, fulfillers of his dream ! Perchance he saw already the smiling homes that beautify these shores perhaps anticipated the nobility of life that marks the manhood and womanhood reared within them. He was large hearted enough to rejoice in these, even if his name had no place among you. But your river still holds the name he gave it, and perchance this island may hold his own. Better is his later fame than his early fate. For the place you give him to-day is with a whole-hearted sympathy beyond that accorded in his time; and the minds which revive these memo- rials of him are of those who enter into the largeness of his thought. To him who, SO grandly moved, strove through such means and limitations as he met, to set up here the beginnings of a 'New France" of her regenerated life and purpose for the good of man, here to-day, great France, great England and great 34 America mingle their honors; and across the seas,- across the centuries, - across the blood of races, we dedicate this monument of recognition and testimony,-manhood to manhood, thought to thought, nor wanting the tribute of tears to tears 1 General Chamberlain was followed by M. Klecz- kowski, the consul-general of France in Canada. He said he felt deeply moved by all he had seen and heard. Something of old France seemed to remain in this spot to this day. One fact was brought out to him in reading the history of Champlain and de Monts : they were always pledged to an ideal and never to a per- sonal interest. No fame was to come to them from their efforts. Success is not the measure of a man's worth. The real measure is his sacrifice and devo- tion to a noble idea. M. Kleczkowski thanked the Society for its kindness and attention and thought that the lesson to be derived from all this celebration is that a lofty mission, carried out by venerable hands, never fails to blossom. Mayor Teed then called for three cheers for the French consul, which were heartily given by the assemblage. Mr. James Vroom, secretary of the committee, pre- sented the following resolution, in the name of the mayor of St. Andrews Resolved : That this company, composed of citizens of the United States of America, subjects of His Majesty King Edward VII., residing in British North America, and visitors from abroad, being assembled to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the discovery and settlement of the island on which the Sieur de Monts and his compan- JAMES VROOM ions passed the winter of 1604-5, and to which the discoverers gave the name of Saincte Croix, deplore the use of later names for the island, and desire that as a mark of honor to de Monts and Champlain it be hence forth known by the name of St. Croix Island. 35 TERCENTENARY OF DE MONTS' SETTLEMENT AT ST. CROIX ISLAND JUNE 25, 1904 PORTLAND MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1905 Volume 1, Issue 9 Winter 2017-18 Maine Acadian Maine Acadian Heritage Council Heritage Council Conseil d'héritage acadien du Maine Preserving Winter 2018 Acadian Culture, Language, and History of Acadie II History in the St. John Valley Where does the name "Acadie" come fishermen, fishing for cod along the Pont, the other by de Monts himself. from? Atlantic coast of the New World, After much traveling and researching, Pour préserver la The history of Acadia starts in 1524, at began trading with the Indians for Champlain settled on the site of the culture, la langue a time when France, Portugal, and furs. The furs, especially beaver pelts, first permanent colony: Saint Croix Spain were hoping to discover a found a ready market in France, and Island, in Passamaquoddy Bay, that et l'histoire des western route to Asia. The Italian official interest in the New World today divides New Brunswick from Acadiennes et des navigator Giovanni Verrazano (1485- picked up in direct relation to the Maine. De Monts left Champlain and Acadiens de 1528) embarked on this quest in 1524 value of the fur and fish trade. In 80 other men on the island, then la vallée du for the king of France. Verrazano 1588, realizing an opportunity for sailed back to France. He promised to traveled along the Atlantic coast, from profit, the French monarchy began to return in the spring with new supplies. Haut St-Jean Florida to Cape Breton, thereby grant fur-trading monopolies to groups The first snow fell on October 6. By In this issue: proving the continuity of the littoral of merchants. December 3, ice floes began to cut off and the inclusion of Newfoundland to In the Fall of 1603, King Henry IV the Frenchmen from the mainland the North American continent. When gave Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts, a garden, woodlots, and water. A bitter History of Acadie II he arrived in Washington in April, he Protestant merchant, a 10-year wind blew constantly from the Michael Hillard found the area so lush that he named monopoly on trade "on sea and land in northeast, making it impossible to it "Arcadie", after the ancient Greek La Cadie, Canada and other parts of keep warm. Food froze hard, then -Grants paradise. Later in the XVIIth Century, New France between 40° and rotted. Scurvy began to take its toll. the name was written without the "r" 46°." His domain ran roughly from Thirty five of the 80 men who -Land In Between and describes the lands situated in the Philadelphia to Newfoundland. His originally settled on the island were continental Nova Scotia, Prince grant required that he establish a dead by the time De Monts finally Top O' Maine Edward Island and New Brunswick. settlement of at least 60 men in North returned the following July. He Trade Show (Landry, Nicolas et Nicole Lang, America. decided to move the colony across the Histoire de l'Acadie Septentrion 2001) On April 7, 1604, De Monts set off Bay of Fundy to a place he named Port 1604: Saint Croix Island: First from France with Samuel Champlain Royal. Permanent Settlement in North and Jean de Biencourt, Sieur de -Lise Pelletier Maine Acadian Heritage America Poutrincourt, a Catholic. One ship was Maine Acadian Heritage is By the middle 1500s, French commanded by Francois Gravé du published four times a year by the Maine Acadian Heritage litera Council. This newsletter is designed to provide information on efforts to preserve and promote the Sources: Acadian culture. language and history in the St. John Landry, Nicolas and Nicole Lang. His- Valley and beyond. Submissions are subject to toire de l'Acadie. Septentrion 2001 editing. For details, contact Kim Deschenes at http://cyberacadie.com/ 207-728-6826. cyberacadie.com/index.html In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws -Faragher, John Mack. A Great and Noble and in pursuing its own goals of pluralism, the Maine Scheme The Tragic Story of the Expul- Acadian Heritage Council shall not discriminate on the sion of the French Acadians from their grounds of race, color, American Homeland. WW Norton Co. religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or 2005. citizen status, age, disability, or veteran status in all areas. -Copy of L'Habitation by Champlain: A Logis du Geur de Mons. I La cuifinc. R Logis ou logeoid les Gears B Mailon publique ou l'on L lardinages. de Geneftou, Sourin & au- http://chapiteaux.free.fr/Bellesaintonge/ patfoit le temps durant la M Autres Lasdins. tres artifans. MAHC President Lise Pelletier TXT_DUGUA-CHAMPLAIN.html pluie. N La place où au milieu ya T Logis des fleurs de Beau- Vice President C Lemagaiin. VD arbre. mont,la Motte Bourioli & Ken Theriault D Logement des fuilles. o Palifiade. Fougeray. Secretary Chad Pelletier E Laforge. P Logis des ficurs d'Oruille, V Logement de nottre cust. Treasurer Anne Roy F Logement deschatpentiers Champlain & Chandote. x Autter jardinages. Office Manager Kim Deschenes G Le puis. Logis du Geur Boulay, & Y La riviere qui entoure H Le four ou I'on failoit le autres attifans. l'ifle. pain. Volume 1, Issue 11 Fall 2018 Maine Acadian Maine Acadian Heritage Council Heritage Council Preserving Conseil d'héritage acadien du Maine Acadian culture, Fall 2018 language, and history in the St. John Valley History of Acadie III Pour préserver la The surviving members of the expedition On April 1st, 1636, the Saint-Jehan ramifications upon the relationship culture, la langue to Ste Croix Island in 1604 crossed the arrived at La Heve, Acadie, with 300 between Acadia and the English colonies. et l'histoire des Baye Française (Bay of Fundy) in 1605 passengers. Although some returned to In February 1651, Louis XIV, King of Acadiennes et des and founded Port Royal (today Annapolis France after having worked for three or France, reestablishes La Tour as governor Acadiens de Royal). Along with Samuel de Champlain, four years as craftsmen or farmers, these and lieutenant-general of Acadia. The la vallée du there was Marc Lescarbot, who was families became the founding generation Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes of Haut St-Jean trained as an attorney, but who became of the Acadians: Pierre Lejeune and wife the University of Maine at Fort Kent has the first historian of North America with and three young children; Jean Thériot in its collections, the original commission In this issue: the publication of "Stories of New and Perrine Rau; Vincent Brun and (or a copy thereof) signed by Louis XIV France" (1609), its first playwright "The Renée Breau with two infants; Jean (his regent). It not only appoints Charles History of Acadie III Theater of Neptune" (1606) and its first Gaudet and his three children; Martin de Saint-Etienne de la Tour governor and 2018 MAHC Grants poet "Muses of New France" (1606): Aucoin, his wife Marie Sallé and their lieutenant-general of the French colony of Annual Meeting four children; Michel Boudrot; Robert Acadia, but more importantly it confirms Scanning Project Prepare for France a flourishing Empire Cormier and his wife Marie Péraud; an earlier appointment for those positions NPS Awards In this New World, where ages will inspire François Gautrot; Abraham Dugas; made by Louis XVI's father, Louis XIII, in The immortal fame of de Monts and of thee, Antoine and Etienne Hébert; François 1631. It also exonerates La Tour for his Maine Acadian Under the puissant reign of great Henri. Savoie; François Girouard; Daniel actions during the civil strife in Acadia Heritage Leblanc; Michel Dupuis; Pierre Comeau; between 1635 and 1645, and it goes Antoine Belliveau; Vincent Breau; further to criticize La Tour's rival Maine Acadian Antoine Babin and Pierre Thibodeau. By d'Aulnay for having prevented La Tour Heritage is published four times a year by 1650, some fifty families were living and from exercising his lawful authority by the Maine Acadian farming at Port Royal. Charles D'Aulnay favoring "enemies and accusations and Heritage Council. reported that there were 200 people suppositions that were not able to be This newsletter is under his care, without counting their verified and of which the said Saint- designed to provide wives and children, nor the Capucin Étienne was absolved on the sixteenth of information on efforts Fathers nor the Indian February last" (nine days prior to the to preserve and children." (Faragher p44) issuance of the commission). As noted promote the Acadian above, La Tour had been originally culture, language and Civil war in Acadie Lescarbot wrote about L'Ordre de Bon appointed governor and lieutenant- history in the St. John Temps (The Order of Good Cheer) In 1632, Acadie had two legitimate general of Acadia in 1631 by Louis XIV's Valley and beyond. Submissions are instituted by Champlain. "For the next governors recognized by Louis XIII: Isaac father, Louis XIII, during the closing subject to editing. For three months the leading men of the de Razilly and Charles de la Tour. After phases of a period of warfare between details, contact Kim outpost - Hébert, Pontgravé, Champlain, Razilly's death in December 1635, the France and England and, of course, their Deschenes at 207-728- and Poutrincourt, took their turn as King of France names Charles de Menou respective North American possessions. d'Aulnay as Razilly's successor while (Acadian Archives MCC 00142 finding 6826. maître d'hotel, assuming responsibility for providing game and fish for the entire enjoining him to maintain good relations aid for more information): https:// In complying with the company." An ingenious and delicious with La Tour. The problem lay in the internal.umfk.edu/archives/findingaids/ letter and spirit of opportunity to while away three months geography the king had assigned to each mcc142.pdf applicable laws and in of winter. The illustration below depicts man. Louis XIII gave d'Aulnay authority pursuing its own goals Membertou, a Mi'kmaq leader partaking over much of the northern shore of the of pluralism, the in the meal. According to Yale history Gulf of Maine and the Baie Française (Bay Maine Acadian professor, Dr. John Mack Faragher, of Fundy) but not its fort at the mouth of Heritage Council shall author of A Great And Noble Scheme - the St. John River. La Tour was given the Sources: Griffiths, Naomi: From migrant not discriminate on The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the present-day peninsula of Nova Scotia, but to Acadian: a North-American border the grounds of race, French Acadians from Their American not Port Royal. Both men had claims in people, 1604-1755. Montreal, 2005. color, religion, sex, Homeland: "L'Ordre de Bon Temps" was each other's territory. Thus, for the next sexual orientation, national origin or a French variant on a Micmaw custom, yet twelve years, until d'Aulnay's death in John Mack Faragher, A Great And Noble citizen status, age, another marker of the extensive 1650, the two men fought continuously. Scheme - The Tragic Story of the disability, or veteran intercultural exchange taking place at Port (Griffiths From Migrant to Acadian p57) Expulsion of the French Acadians from status in all areas. Royal. This civil war would have significant their American Homeland, New York, The Acadians, Their Culture The History Fournal MOIHS and Their Influence on Mount Desert Edited by Anne Mazlish* V.2(1998).25-38. Origins of Acadia There are two theories regarding the origin of the name "Acadie" or "Acadia." One attributes it to the explorer Verrazano, who in 1524 named the coastline of the present-day Middle Atlantic states "Arcadie," in remembrance of a land of beauty and innocence celebrated in classical Greek poetry. The name "Arcadie" (with an "r") appears on various sixteenth-century maps of the east coast of North America and has been accepted by many historians as being the origin of the name "Acadie." The romantic associations of the term "Arcadie" likely explain why this theory has been widely published and is even found in recent scholarly works. The more plausible theory is that "Acadie" derives from a Micmac word rendered in French as "cadie," meaning a piece of land, generally with a favorable connotation.² The word "-cadie" is found in many present-day place names such as Tracadie and Shubenacadie in the Canadian Maritimes and Passamaquoddy, an English corruption of Passamacadie. Virtually all French references to Acadia from the time of the first significant contacts with the Micmacs use the form without the "I," "Acadie." The cartographic use of "Arcadie" for various parts of the east of eastern North America may have prepared the way for the acceptance of "cadie" from its Micmac source.3 Maine Acadian identity has evolved over several hundred years in response to changing political, economic, and social circumstances. While some aspects of their heritage are shared with other Acadian groups in North America, Maine Acadians maintain a distinctive ethnic culture of their own. The early history of "Acadie" was dominated by 150 years of conflict between French and British colonial forces, and by interaction with native peoples. As the colonial battles began to unfold, the Micmacs occupied present- day Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé peninsula of Québec, and eastern New Brunswick. The watershed of the St. John River was occupied by Maliseet, while the Passamaquoddy people inhabited the area around the St. Croix River. The date of the arrival of the first Europeans in the Micmac homeland is unknown. Throughout the sixteenth century, hundreds of small fishing vessels * Adapted with permission from the article, "The Roots of Maine Acadian Culture," 1993, by Bruce Jerobson and Rebecca Joseph for internal use of the National Park Service. The Acadians, Their Culture came to the coast of Newfoundland and to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in search of and Their Influence on Mount Desert cod. They not only fished offshore but gradually established fishing stations where they cured their catch.4 Consequently, the northeast coast of North America Edited by Anne Mazlish* was well known in the seaports of France, Spain, the Basque country, Portugal, and West Country England long before the founding of the colony of Acadia in "New France." The French claim to North American lands dates from three Origins of Acadia voyages of Jacques Cartier (1534-1542), particularly the raising of a cross with the royal arms on the Gaspé peninsula in 1534.5 There are two theories regarding the origin of the name "Acadie "Acadia." One attributes it to the explorer Verrazano, who in 1524 named The King of France, Henry IV of Navarre, began to grant North American coastline of the present-day Middle Atlantic states "Arcadie," in remembra fur trade monopolies in 1588 to finance colonization. Pierre du Gua de Mons of a land of beauty and innocence celebrated in classical Greek poetry. (a.k.a. Sieur de Monts), a Huguenot and friend of the king, received a trade name "Arcadie" (with an "r") appears on various sixteenth-century maps of monopoly over territory between the 40th and 60th parallels with the east coast of North America and has been accepted by many historians as be understanding that he establish a colony. On April 7, 1604, Pierre du Gua sailed the origin of the name "Acadie." The romantic associations of the term "Arcad from Havre-de-Grace in France with 120 men and settled on a small island near likely explain why this theory has been widely published and is even found the mouth of the St. Croix River in present-day Maine. They named it lle Sainte- recent scholarly works. The more plausible theory is that "Acadie" deri Croix (holy cross). In August, Pierre du Gua sent his main fleet back to France from a Micmac word rendered in French as "cadie," meaning a piece of la and began preparations for the winter with the remaining 78 members of the generally with a favorable connotation.² The word "-cadie" is found in ma expedition, including the explorer and navigator Samuel Champlain. Nearly present-day place names such as Tracadie and Shubenacadie in the Canad half of the men died of illnesses during the first winter, and many more became Maritimes and Passamaquoddy, an English corruption of Passamacadie. Virtu dangerously sick. Consequently the colony was moved to a more favorable site all French references to Acadia from the time of the first significant conta at Port Royal on the Bay of Fundy, in present-day Nova Scotia. There the settlers with the Micmacs use the form without the "r," "Acadie." The cartographic cleared and cultivated land and appeared to be making progress. However, of "Arcadie" for various parts of the east of eastern North America may h Pierre du Gua's monopoly was revoked in 1607 for religious reasons following prepared the way for the acceptance of "cadie" from its Micmac source.3 the assassination of Henry IV. The colony was abandoned, and the settlers returned to France. A new attempt to settle at Port Royal was launched in 1610, Maine Acadian identity has evolved over several hundred years and a rival colony was established in 1613 in present-day Maine at St. Sauveur response to changing political, economic, and social circumstances. While so on Mount Desert Island. Later that year, both settlements were destroyed by aspects of their heritage are shared with other Acadian groups in North Amer British colonists from Virginia. Maine Acadians maintain a distinctive ethnic culture of their own. The conflict between the British and the French over St. Sauveur and The early history of "Acadie" was dominated by 150 years of conf Port Royal was merely one of a long series of encounters. As Jean Daigle has between French and British colonial forces, and by interaction with nat observed, "Acadia, within the colonial context of North America, was a border peoples. As the colonial battles began to unfold, the Micmacs occupied prese colony. Positioned between the two rival settlements (New France in the north day Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé peninsula of Québec, and New England in the south), the area around the Bay of Fundy was repeatedly eastern New Brunswick. The watershed of the St. John River was occupied the subject of dispute and the scene of military engagements.``7 Maliseet, while the Passamaquoddy people inhabited the area around the Croix River. St. Sauveur--Mount Desert The date of the arrival of the first Europeans in the Micmac homel The Acadian toehold on Mount Desert was brief, one might almost say is unknown. Throughout the sixteenth century, hundreds of small fishing ves premature, and indeed came well before the development of a distinct Acadian culture farther north in the Port Royal area. According to George Street in his Adapted with permission from the article, "The Roots of Maine Acadian Culture, 1993 history of Mount Desert, published in 1905, the story of the St. Sauveur settlement Bruce Jerobson and Rebecca Joseph for internal use of the National Park Service. is the following. Most of the territory of what came to be known as Acadia, 4/21/2015 The First Acadians Acadian Culture in Maine Acadian Culture in Maine Cultural Identity Acadian Roots The Land Valley Traditions Conservation Partners Home The First Acadians Le Grand Dérangement Settling The Valley Catholic Church Acadian Roots The First Acadians The First Acadians The early history of "Acadie" is dominated by 150 years of conflict between French and British colonial forces, and by interaction with native peoples. As the colonial battles began to unfold in the 1600s, the Micmacs occupied present-day Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé peninsula of Québec, and eastern New Brunswick. The watershed of the St. John River was occupied by the Maliseet, while the Passamaquoddy people inhabited the area around the St. Croix River. The date of the arrival of the first Europeans in the Micmac homeland is unknown. Throughout the 16th century, hundreds of small fishing vessels came to the coast of Newfoundland and to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in search of cod. They not only fished offshore, but gradually established fishing stations where they cured their catch (Clark 1968: 75). Consequently, the northeast coast of North America was well known in the seaports of France, Spain, the Basque country, Portugal, and West Country England long before the founding of the colony of Acadia in "New France." French claim to lands in North America date from three voyages of Jacques Cartier (1534-1542), particularly the raising of a cross with the royal arms on the Gaspé peninsula in 1534 (McInnis 1969: 20). There are two theories regarding the origin of the name "Acadie" or "Acadia." One attributes it to the explorer Verrazano, who in 1524 named the coastline of the present-day Middle Atlantic states "Arcadie," in remembrance of a land of beauty and innocence celebrated in classical Greek poetry. The name "Arcadie" (with an "r") appears on various 16th-century maps of the east coast of North America, and has been accepted by many historians as being the origin of the name "Acadie." The romantic associations of the term "Arcadie" likely explain why this theory has been widely published and is even found in recent scholarly works (Daigle 1982). The more plausible theory is that "Acadie" derives from a Micmac word rendered in French as "cadie," meaning a piece of land, generally with a favorable connotation (Clark 1968: 71) The word "-cadie" is found in many present-day place names such as Tracadie and Shubenacadie in the Canadian Maritimes, and Passamaquoddy, an English corruption of Passamacadie. Virtually all French references to Acadia from the time of the first significant contacts with the Micmacs use the form without the "r", "Acadie." The cartographic use of "Arcadie" for various parts of the coast of eastern North America may have prepared the way for the acceptance of "-cadie" http://acim.umfk.maine.edu/first_acadians.html 1/4 4/21/2015 The First Acadians - Acadian Culture in Maine from its Micmac source (Clark 1968: 71). The King of France began to grant North American fur trade monopolies in 1588 to finance colonization (Daigle 1982b: 18). Pierre du Gua de Mons (a.k.a. Sieur de Monts) received a trade monopoly over territory between the 40th and 60th parallels with the understanding that he establish a colony. On April 7, 1604, Pierre du Gua sailed from Havre-de-Grace in France with 120 men and Click for caption/enlargement settled on a small island near the mouth of the St. Croix River in present-day Maine. They named it Ile Sainte-Croix (holy cross). In August, Pierre du Gua sent his main fleet back to France and began preparations for the winter with the remaining 78 members of the expedition, including the explorer and navigator Samuel Champlain. Nearly half of the men died of illnesses during the first winter and many more became dangerously ill. Consequently the colony was moved to a more favorable site at Port-Royal on the Bay of Fundy, in present-day Nova Scotia. There the settlers cleared and cultivated land and appeared to be making progress. However, Pierre du Gua's monopoly was revoked in 1607, the colony was abandoned, and the settlers returned to France. A new attempt to settle at Port-Royal was launched in 1610, and a rival colony was established in 1613 in present-day Maine at St. Sauveur on Mount Desert Island. Later that year, both settlements were destroyed by British colonists from Virginia. A map showing the major 17th-century settlements and outposts of Acadia appears below. The conflict between the British and the French over St. Sauveur and Port-Royal was merely one of a long series of encounters. As Daigle (1982b: 24) has observed, "Acadia, within the colonial context of North America, was a border colony. Positioned between the two rival settlements (New France in the north and New England in the south), the area around the Bay of Fundy was repeatedly the subject of dispute and the scene of military engagements." Port-Royal was occupied by the British throughout the 1620s, but the colony was returned to France by treaty in 1632. The French established several small settlements over the next few years, including a number of tiny outposts along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the Lower St. John River area. By 1650 Acadia had over 400 French inhabitants, including 45-50 families in the Port- Royal and La Héve areas. These families are considered to be the founders of the Acadian population (Roy 1982: 133). Click for caption/enlargement There has been much speculation as to the possible origins in France of the founding families of Acadia. Since the publication of Les parlers français d'Acadie--Enquéte linguistique (Massignon 1962), most authors have accepted the hypothesis that a great number of http://acim.umfk.maine.edu/first_acadians.html 2/4 4/21/2015 The First Acadians - Acadian Culture in Maine families were drawn from Charles D'Aulnay's estate at La Chaussé near Loudun in the province of Poitou. D'Aulnay had recruited families for colonization as lieutenant general of Acadia. While it does seem likely that a sizable proportion of Acadia's 17th-century immigrants were natives of the western provinces of Poitou, Aunis, Angoumois, and Saintonge, recent research also indicates that many came from the northern provinces (D'Entremont 1991: 128-143). They were therefore not a homogeneous group at the outset. At the time of the first census of Acadia in 1671, the population of the colony was reported to be 392, and may have been slightly greater (Roy 1982: 134-135). The number rose by 2,500 by 1714, less than 50 years later. From the first seat of population at Port-Royal, settlers spread along the shores of the Bay of Fundy and in surrounding river valleys. Outlying trading posts and Atlantic seaports such as La Héve remained sparsely inhabited, while settlements around the Bay of Fundy grew rapidly. This settlement pattern is explained by the fact that the Acadians concentrated their agricultural activities on tidal flats, which they diked by adapting techniques brought from Poitou. From 1670 onward, Acadians Click for caption/enlargement were attracted in large numbers to the vast expanses of marshland found in the Minas Basin, and at Beaubassin, at the head of Shepody Bay (Clark 1968: 139-141). In 1654 British forces seized Port-Royal and held Acadia for the next 13 years, until France regained the territory by treaty. Port-Royal fell to the British for the final time in 1710, and Acadia became a permanent British possession as a result of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. As the colony had no fixed boundaries, the French developed a strategy aimed at giving up as little territory as possible. They claimed Acadia consisted only of what is now peninsular Nova Scotia, and they began to erect fortifications on Ile Royale (Cape Breton Island), Ile Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), and in present-day New Brunswick. The French settlers who remained in the British territory had learned to adapt to changing political conditions and had become accustomed to coexistence with the English. They had adapted their French agrarian lifestyle to the local environment and had become a people separate Click for caption/enlargement from the French in the mother country. The British established a military government at Port-Royal, which they renamed Annapolis Royal. Rather than putting the Acadians under military rule, they established a system of representation by delegates, where any request from British officials at Annapolis Royal was transmitted to the inhabitants through men chosen by their villages as representatives (Griffiths 1992: 40-41). http://acim.umfk.maine.edu/first_acadians.html 3/4 4/21/2015 The First Acadians - Acadian Culture in Maine Following the Treaty of Utrecht the Acadians enjoyed a 30-year period of peace, the longest since the founding of the colony. Due to a very high birth rate and a low death rate, the population rose to over 10,000 by the late 1740s (Roy 1982: 134). The renewal of hostilities between the British and French in 1744 marked the end of what has been called the "golden age" of Acadia. While the war of the Austrian succession was fought both on European and North American fronts, the Acadians' desire to remain neutral did not keep them out of the conflict. The war was brought to their doorstep first by the taking of the French fortress of Louisbourg on Ile Royale by a British force sent by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, and then by the 1747 French Click for caption/enlargement victory over a Nova Scotia garrison at Minas, in the heartland of Acadia (Daigle 1982b: 42-43). Peace was restored by treaty in 1748, but life did not return to normal for the Acadians. Both the British and French increased their military presence in the area, the former establishing the fortified town of Halifax, and the latter founding Forts Beauséjour and Gaspereau in what is now New Brunswick. The Governor of Massachusetts was infuriated when the fortress of Louisbourg was restored to the French as the outcome of the peace negotiations. The rich farmlands of the Bay of Fundy area had long been coveted by the New Englanders who wished to expand their settlements to the north. The British colonial administrators in London, wishing to appease the New Englanders, changed their policy toward Acadians and began to insist upon the latter signing an unconditional oath of loyalty. Some Acadians responded by moving from Nova Scotia into territories held by the French, but the majority remained in their original settlements, maintaining that the conditional oaths they had signed earlier were still valid. The renewal of hostilities in 1754 hastened the end of the standoff. What followed was the tragic deportation that effectively destroyed Acadian society as it had existed until then. Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page Copyright © University of Maine at Fort Kent. All rights reserved. Summary References Maps http://acim.umfk.maine.edu/first_acadians.html 4/4 4 The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Maine History Documents Special Collections 1929 Acadia National Park: Random Notes on the Significance of the Name William Otis Sawtelle Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistory Part of the History Commons Repository Citation Sawtelle, William Otis, "Acadia National Park: Random Notes on the Significance of the Name" (1929). Maine History Documents. Paper 83. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistory/83 This Monograph is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections at DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine History Documents by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. 6/23/15 8/11/2019 Xfinity Connect Question Printout RONALD EPP 8/11/2019 8:44 PM Re: Question To ANDREA WILDER Hi, You have encountered in pursuit of L'Acadie a typical problem. I would refer you to David Hackett Fischer's Champlain's Dream (2008), an exceptional piece of scholarship by a summer resident of MDI, and Brandeis U. Pulitzer prize winning historian. "For the sieur de Mons, Champlain, and their friends, Acadia was not merely a place. It was an idea, and even an emotion. They thought of it as a place of natural abundance, with many resources. a place where people could live comfortably. a place where Catholics and Protestants could live in harmony--a vision that came from the king [Henry IV] himself." (p. 153) More to your point, Fischer says "L'Acadie referred to land on both sides of what we call the Bay of Fundy. [and]it included the coasts of today's Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and part of downeast Maine. An example was the Lavasseur map in 1601, which labelled that area as the 'coste de Cadie.'" (p. 152) This is a MUST read for anyone taking on the challenge of understanding L'Acadie. The formidable Joshua L. Chamberlain also wrote a little read article called "De Monts and Acadia," for the Tercentenary of De Monts' Settlement at St. Croix Island which appeared in 1905 from the Massachusetts Historical Society. A 25-page article which may have been used by Dorr when researching Acadia; his essays are in the Bar Harbor Historical Society Dorr Papers. Therein Dorr writes that "it was in the commission given to the Sieur de Monts in December 1603, by France's great warrior king, Henry IV, to establish the French dominion in America that the name Acadia first appears, and the king there speaks of it as familiar to huim from the accounts of traders and fishermen returning from its shores " 8/11/2019 Xfinity Connect Re_ Question Printout Google "Acadian Culture in Maine" and read the essay on "The First Acadians." Good luck! Yours, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 7 Peachtree Terrace Farmington, CT 06032 603-491-1760 eppster2@comcast.net On August 11, 2019 at 3:36 PM ANDREA WILDER wrote: Hi Ron, I have named my paper "L'Acadie," meaning the French colony in what became New England. I THINK "L'Acadie" is OK used in this context, I have roamed around wikipedia and can't find an exact match. Ideas? I could call the Canadian (or French?) Consul General in general in Boston, maybe you have a solution. Thanks a million. 11/11/2019 Xfinity Connect Epp response to Brian Kevin Printout RONALD EPP 11/11/2019 8:47 PM Epp response to Brian Kevin To editorial@downeast.com Hi Brian, I appreciated our conversation on Saturday and wanted to help clarify the issue surrounding the naming of Acadia National Park; I have also included Annie Stoltie's response to my proposal in the hope that the topic might interest Downeast readers. Historically no original source material exists supporting the notion that the daughters of Mrs. Leeds were hostile to the name Acadia. This view has appeared anecdotally over the decades though nowhere does Dorr affirm this in both published and unpublished documents. He was able to finally secure their approval following "an unforeseen complication which needed patience and no slight amount of tactful handling to overcome," as well as "some yielding" on the part of the Hancock County Trustees who acted as intermediary in the gifting the National Park Service. All of this is reported in the second section of The Story of Acadia National Park which was added by Dorr's executors after his death, assembled from papers that were not completed during his lifetime. Nowhere does he mention that Lady Lee's sister objected to the name Lafayette and even if she did, this does not imply that she generalized this to hostility of all things French. Without evidence, I chose not to reference the alleged hostility of Moore's daughters in my biography (pp. 237-38). But why abandon Lafayette's name which had served the park SO well for the last decade? To be sure, the reasons for applying it in 1919 diminished over time and general understanding of the genesis and breadth of the term "Acadie" had grown. Though the issue was not settled, one theory was that the word derived from a Micmac word meaning a piece of land, a place with favorable attributes; the other account attributed the name to the Italian explorer Verrazano who explored the New England northern coastline in the 16th century, describing it as "a land of beauty and innocence celebrated in 11/11/2019 Xfinity Connect Epp response to Brian Kevin Printout classical Greek poetry" (online "The First Acadians-Acadian Culture in Maine"). In a nutshell, my own view is that if Dorr confronted resistance to the use of any term even remotely associated with French influence, he would have ignored nationalistic associations and stressed the archaic roots of Acadia as a conceptual derivative of Arcadian. Furthermore, he would emphasize the romantic early history of the region, its potential as a wild-life sanctuary, and the opportunity presented to the sisters to preserve what has been inherited from the past--to hand it forward undiminished for the sake of future generations. Dorr lays out this vision in a "Circular of General Information Regarding Acadia National Park, Maine" published by the Interior Department in 1930. I hope this helps. See below as well. Best, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 7 Peachtree Terrace Farmington, CT 06032 603-491-1760 eppster2@comcast.net Original Message From: Annie Stoltie To: RONALD EPP Date: September 3, 2019 at 1:44 PM Subject: Re: Manuscript proposal: Epp Hi, Dr. Epp. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. This is fascinating, but it isn't quite right for Adirondack Life. Have you been in touch with Brian Kevin at DownEast magazine? Perhaps that's a better home for a piece like this. All best, Annie Chebacco 18 (2017):100-121 Yet while the English were present for decades, Americans centuries, and Wabanaki for millennia, only a handful of Frer people lived on Mount Desert Island fo, r more than a few mont Why did the park's founders so emphatic ally curate a theme of Frer colonization, writing it into park place nimes and architecture, wl the actual extent of French exploration and settlement on Mou Desert Island was limited?) This article describes the extent of 1 actual French presence during those Solonial years, the ways t history was recalled in local tradition, and how influential peo made it a central historical theme of the park. H What Was the French Presence, Really? Explorers like Giovanni da Verra ano in 1524 and Jacq Real and Imagined France in Acadia National Park Cartier in 1534 saw Mount Desert Island from a distance (if they S it at all) while probing the edges of the By Tim Garrity continent for a passagev to China. They were part of an expand ng wave of Europeans W ventured into the Atlantic world during an era of discovery.3 Avec le temps, la fable se grossit, & la vérité se perd. During the sixteenth century, comptition among European With time, the fable is enlarged, and the truth is lost. fishermen around the Grand Banks dove some French fishern -Voltaire farther west into the Bay of Fundy an the Gulf of St. Lawren where they increasingly traded with Indians, exchanging me Introduction goods, like axes, knives and pots, fT animal furs for mass Hear the echoes of France in the place names of Acadia National profit. Realizing they could make mug more money from bea Park-Sieur de Monts, Lafayette, Saint Sauveur, Huguenot Head, pelts than cod, French entrepreneurs loved farther up rivers a Jesuit Spring, and Frenchman Bay. See the shadows of the Ancien entered into commercial partnership Wih Indians. From their pc Régime in the carriage road gate lodges at Brown Mountain and on North American rivers, French lerchants, military office Jordan Pond, their architecture designed to resemble buildings on government officials, and missionaries ained access to the inter the estates of seventeenth-century French nobility. of the immense North American contient.4 George B. Dorr intended that Acadia's mountains, its "noble Religion also inspired the French 0 explore and conquer n granite masses," would be "true historic documents that will record the lands. As Father Pierre Biard explaind, missionaries wanted forever to succeeding generations the human background [of] make a Garden out of the wilderness" d "introduce the order a Park."2 By emphasizing the era when France sought a foothold in the New World, Dorr and his fellow park founders meant to infuse Thanks to Michele Hiltzik Beckerman, Brad En rson, Flo Gillich, Willie Gransi the island's dramatic land and seascapes with a sense of historical Mel Johnson, Earle Shettleworth Jr., Hannah evens, the reviewers of this arti and especially Lynn Boulger, who introduced romance. language. Together, we have liked the Tour d e to French literature, food, Mom Blanc, biked for a weel Above: Detail from the title page of Andre lievet's 1555 when of maps titled Paris with Maps for fatafel in the Marais andiemamese food near the Fran Mitterrand Library and backpacked for 306 Informelle selon les Navigateurs Time Andens que Modernes," from viles in the soulh along "/r Bai the de In Méditerrance We have inst begun to disper the riches of French history 11/11/2019 Xfinity Connect Epp response to Brian Kevin Printout RONALD EPP 11/11/2019 8:47 PM Epp response to Brian Kevin To editorial@downeast.com Hi Brian, I appreciated our conversation on Saturday and wanted to help clarify the issue surrounding the naming of Acadia National Park; I have also included Annie Stoltie's response to my proposal in the hope that the topic might interest Downeast readers. Historically no original source material exists supporting the notion that the daughters of Mrs. Leeds were hostile to the name Acadia. This view has appeared anecdotally over the decades though nowhere does Dorr affirm this in both published and unpublished documents. He was able to finally secure their approval following "an unforeseen complication which needed patience and no slight amount of tactful handling to overcome," as well as "some yielding" on the part of the Hancock County Trustees who acted as intermediary in the gifting the National Park Service. All of this is reported in the second section of The Story of Acadia National Park which was added by Dorr's executors after his death, assembled from papers that were not completed during his lifetime. Nowhere does he mention that Lady Lee's sister objected to the name Lafayette and even if she did, this does not imply that she generalized this to hostility of all things French. Without evidence, I chose not to reference the alleged hostility of Moore's daughters in my biography (pp. 237-38). But why abandon Lafayette's name which had served the park so well for the last decade? To be sure, the reasons for applying it in 1919 diminished over time and general understanding of the genesis and breadth of the term "Acadie" had grown. Though the issue was not settled, one theory was that the word derived from a Micmac word meaning a piece of land, a place with favorable attributes; the other account attributed the name to the Italian explorer Verrazano who explored the New England northern coastline in the 16th century, describing it as "a land of beauty and innocence celebrated in 11/11/2019 Xfinity Connect Epp response to Brian Kevin Printout classical Greek poetry" (online "The First Acadians-Acadian Culture in Maine"). In a nutshell, my own view is that if Dorr confronted resistance to the use of any term even remotely associated with French influence, he would have ignored nationalistic associations and stressed the archaic roots of Acadia as a conceptual derivative of Arcadian. Furthermore, he would emphasize the romantic early history of the region, its potential as a wild-life sanctuary, and the opportunity presented to the sisters to preserve what has been inherited from the past--to hand it forward undiminished for the sake of future generations. Dorr lays out this vision in a "Circular of General Information Regarding Acadia National Park, Maine" published by the Interior Department in 1930. I hope this helps. See below as well. Best, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 7 Peachtree Terrace Farmington, CT 06032 603-491-1760 TERCENTERNARY OF Do MONTS' SETTLEMENT AT ST. CROIX ISLAND AVERED Publication of the Maine Historical Society, 1905. On Saturday, June 25, 1904, occurred the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the landing of de Monts at St. Croix Island Anchored north of the ialand were the U.S.S. Detroit, Captain Dillingham, the French cruiser Troude, Captain Aubry, the British cruiser Columbine, Captain Hill Hon. Charles E. Swan, of Calais, presided. His address was in part as follows: By invitation of the Maine Historical Society and a committee of the citizens of the St. Croix Valley, we have gathered here today to commemorate events which transpired upon this island three hundred years ago; events which, though futile for the purpose for which they were designed and even disastrous to those engaged in them, had in the aftertime such a dominating influence in settling grave issues of boundary between England and the United States, as to render them of signal historic importance. The story of the ill-starred venture of the brave Siour de Monte and his colony, and their stay upon this island, will be told to us to-day by gentlemen well versed in all its details, and it will be one of absorbing interest. of the Maine Historical Society, an organization now vener- able in years and which took the initiative in organising this commemoration, permit me to say that it has so well performed the work of historic research, to which in its beginning it dedicated itself, as to entitle it to the gratitude of our State and all lovers of veritable history. By painstaking, personal effort it has culled the facts from tradition and gathered to its storehouse a mass of historic material which will be of priceless value to the future historian of Maine. Mr. Teed, Mayor of St. Stephens. Three hundred years ago de Monts and his brave followers landed on the little island we now are on and planted the seeds of European civilization, from which sprang all the progress and advance of that splendid and wonderful civilization that has spread over this North American continent, which at that time was one vast and unbroken wilderness. To the French belongs the honor of planting that civilization on this continent N 9 pp. Acadia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 7 Acadia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article details the region of northeastern North America. For other meanings of the term, see Acadia (disambiguation); for the Acadian people and culture, see Acadians. Acadia (in the French language l'Acadie) was the name given to a colonial territory in northeastern l'Acadie North America that included parts of eastern Acadia Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day New England, stretching as far south as Philadelphia. Division of New France The actual specification by the French government for the territory refers to lands bordering the Atlantic 1604-1713 - coast, roughly between the 40th and 46th parallels. Later, the territory was divided into the British colonies which were to become Canadian provinces and American states. Contents 1 Etymology Flag 2 Geography 3 History 3.1 Great Upheaval 4 Government 5 Demographics 6 Economy 7 Contemporary Acadia 8 See also 9 Footnotes 10 References 11 External links Acadia (1754) Capital Port-Royal Etymology History The origin of the name Acadia is credited to the - Established 1604 explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano (1480-1527), who, - English conquest 1713 on his sixteenth century map applied the Greek term "Arcadie", meaning the proverbial land of plenty, to the entire Atlantic coast north of Virginia. Another theory is that Acadia is derived from the Mi'kmaq term akadi, still found in place names like Tracadie and Shubenacadie (or, in the related Maliseet language, the term quoddy, seen in Passamaquoddy Bay), both meaning a "fertile place". The Dictionary of Canadian Biography says "Arcadia," the name Giovanni gave to Maryland or Virginia 'on account of the beauty of the trees," made its first cartographical appearance in the 1548 Gastaldo map and is the only name to survive in Canadian usage. It has a curious history. In the 17th http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia 3/16/2008 Acadia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 2 of 7 century Champlain fixed its present orthography, with the 'r' omitted, and Ganong has shown its gradual progress northwards, in a succession of maps, to its resting place in the Atlantic Provinces." Geography The Acadian peninsula was a series of coastal lowlands ringed by salt marshes. The area is subject to very high tides - regularly as much as 25 feet in change. The interior of the peninsula was heavily wooded and crisscrossed with creeks, lakes, and bogs. [1] Acadia was very geographically isolated, [2] as transportation overland was difficult and the peninsula was not near the shipping lanes to Quebec or Boston. [3] Median temperatures in January and February were often 15 to 20 degrees colder than western France, where many of the settlers were from. [4] History Early European colonists, who would later become known as Acadians, were French subjects primarily from the Pleumartin to Poitiers in the Vienne département of west-central France. The first French settlement was established by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, Governor of Acadia under the authority of King Henry IV, on Saint Croix Island in 1604. The following year, the settlement was moved across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal after a difficult winter on the island and deaths due to scurvy. In 1607 the colony received bad news: King Henry had Port Royal circa 1609 revoked Sieur de Monts' royal fur monopoly, citing that the income was insufficient to justify supplying the colony further. Thus recalled, the last of the Acadian left Port Royal in August of 1607. Their allies, native Mi'kmaq nation, kept careful watch over their possessions, though. When the former Lieutenant Governor, Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just returned in 1610, he found Port Royal just as it was left. [5] The French took control of the Abenaki First Nations territory. In 1654, King Louis XIV of France appointed aristocrat Nicolas Denys as Governor of large portions of Acadia and granted him the confiscated lands and the right to all its minerals. British colonists captured Acadia in the course of King William's War (1690-97), but Britain returned it to France at the peace settlement. It was recaptured in the course of Queen Anne's War (1702-13), and its conquest was confirmed in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). On June 23 that year, the French residents of Acadia were given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia. In the meantime, the French signalled their preparedness for future hostilities by beginning the construction of Fortress Louisbourg on Isle Royale, now Cape Breton Island. The British grew increasingly alarmed by the prospect of disloyalty in wartime of the Acadians now under their rule. Great Upheaval In the summer of 1755, the British attacked Fort Beauséjour and burned Acadian homes at the outbreak of the French and Indian War between Britain and France (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War), accusing Acadians of disloyalty (for not having taken the oath) and guerrilla action. Those http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia 3/16/2008 Acadia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 3 of 7 who still refused to swear loyalty to the British crown then suffered what is referred to as the Great Upheaval when, over the next three years, some 6,000-7,000 Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia to France or the lower British American colonies. Others fled deeper into Nova Scotia or into French- controlled Canada. The Quebec town of L'Acadie (now a sector of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) was founded by expelled Acadians. [6] After 1764, many exiled Acadians finally settled in Louisiana, which had been transferred by France to Spain before the end of the French and Indian War. The name Acadian was corrupted to Cajun, which was first used as a pejorative term until its later mainstream acceptance. Britain allowed some Acadians to return to Nova Scotia, but these were forced to settle in small groups, and were not permitted to reside in their former settlements such as Grand-Pré, Port Royal, and Beaubassin. Government Acadia was located in territory disputed between France and Great Britain. England controlled the area from 1654 until 1670 and permanently regained control in 1713. Although France controlled the territory in the remaining periods, French monarchs consistently neglected Acadia, failing to contribute much, if at all, to its defence, development, colonization, or administration, leaving the colonists to rely on themselves. [7] The government of New France was located in Quebec, but it had only nominal authority over the Acadians. [8] Landlords owned wide swaths of the land, and while they sometimes collected dues from the settlers, they exercised no other legal powers. [9] With no strong royal authority, the Acadians implemented village self-rule. [10] Even after Canada had given up its elected spokesmen, the Acadians continued to demand a say in their own government, as late as 1706 petitioning the monarchy to allow them to elect spokesmen each year by a plurality of voices. In a sign of his indifference to the colony, Louis XV agreed to their demand. [9] Male elders of the community settled internal disputes and spoke to the government on behalf of their neighbours, sometimes with the help of the priests. [11] Most of the immigrants to Acadia were French peasants whose oppression by the noble landholders had left them with a deep suspicion of those in authority. This suspicion was transplanted to those in authority in Acadia as well, be they French or English [12] Acadians regularly protested the actions of local administrators and clergymen to higher authorities in Quebec and France. If their appeals failed, which they usually did, the Acadians would procrastinate or resort to passive resistance techniques, including subterfuge, to continue defying the authorities. [7] Administrators complained of constant in- fighting among the population, which filed many petty civil suits with colonial magistrates. Most of these were over boundary lines, as the Acadians were very quick to protect their new lands. [13] Demographics After a 1692 visit, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, described the Acadian men as "'well- built, of good height, and they would be accepted without difficulty as soldiers in a guards' regiment. [They are] well-proportioned and their hair is usually blond. [They are] robust, and will endure great fatigue; [they] are fine subjects of the king, passionately loving the French of Europe''' [14] Most Acadians were illiterate, and many of the records, including notarial deeds, were destroyed or scattered during the Great Expulsion. For a time, Port Royal did have schools, but these were closed when the British excluded Roman Catholic religious orders from operating in Acadia. [14] While Acadia was under http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia 3/16/2008 Acadia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 4 of 7 French rule, all settlers were required to be baptised in the Roman Catholic faith. [15] Despite their nominal faith, Acadians often worked on Sundays and religious holidays. [14] Before 1654, trading companies and patent holders recruited men in France to come to Acadia to work at the commercial outposts, most of which were concerned with fishing. [16] The original Acadian population was a small number of indentured servants and soldiers brought by the fur-trading companies. Gradually, fishermen began settling in the area as well, rather than return to France with the seasonal fishing fleet. [7] The majority of the recruiting took place at La Rochelle. Between 1653 and 1654, 104 men were recruited at La Rochelle. Of these, 31% were builders, 15% were soldiers and sailors, 8% were food preparers, 6.7% were farm workers, and an additional 6.7% worked in the clothing trades. [16] Fifty-five percent of Acadia's first families came from the Centre-Ouest region of France, primarily from Poitou, Aunis, Angoumois, and Saintonge. Over 85% of these (47% of the total), were former residents of the La Chausée area of Poitou. [13] Many of the families who arrived in 1632 with Razilly shared some blood ties; those not related by blood shared cultural ties with the others. [13] The number of original immigrants was very small, and only about 100 surnames existed within the Acadian community. [7] Some of the earliest settlers married women of the local Micmac tribe who had converted to Roman Catholicism. [7] The French immigrants accepted and worked closely with the natives, whose black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin were similar to those of the Mediterranean peoples near France. [17] A Parisian lawyer, Marc Lescarbot, who spent several months in Acadia in 1606, described the Micmac as having "courage, fidelity, generosity, and humanity, and their hospitality is SO innate and praiseworthy that they receive among them every man who is not an enemy. They are not simpletons. So that if we commonly call them Savages, the word is abusive and unmerited. [18] Most of the immigrants to Acadia were peasants in Europe, making them social equals in the New World. The colony had limited economic support or cultural contacts with France, leaving a "social vacuum" that allowed "individual talents and industry [to supplant] inherited social position as the measure of a man's worth. ,[2] Acadians lived as social equals, with the elderly and priests considered slightly superior. [9] Unlike the French colonists in Canada and the early English colonies in Plymouth and Jamestown, Acadians maintained an extended kinship system, [2] and the large extended families assisted in building homes and barns, as well as cultivating and harvesting crops. [4] They also relied on interfamily cooperation to accomplish community goals, such as building dykes or reclaiming tidal marshes. [19] Marriages were generally not love matches but were arranged for economic or social reasons. Parental consent was required for anyone under 25 who wished to marry, and both the mother's and father's consent was recorded in the marriage deed. [20] Divorce was not permitted in New France, and annulments were almost impossible to get. Legal separation was offered as an option, but was seldom used. [21] The Acadians were suspicious of outsiders, and did not readily cooperate with census takers. The first reliable population figures for the area came with the census of 1671, which noted fewer than 450 people. By 1714, the Acadian population had expanded to 2,528 individuals, mostly from natural increase rather than immigration. [7] Most Acadian women in the 18th century gave birth to living children an average of eleven times. Although these numbers are identical to those in Canada, 75% of Acadian children reached adulthood, many more than in other parts of New France. The isolation of the Acadian communities meant the people were not exposed to many of the imported epidemics, allowing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia 3/16/2008 Acadia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 5 of 7 the children to remain healthier. [22] Immigrants from Europe tended to be less fertile, probably due to their diet in France. In the 18th century, some Acadians migrated to nearby île Saint-Jean (now Prince Edward Island) to take advantage of the fertile cropland. In 1732, the island had 347 settlers but with 25 years its population had expanded to 5000 Europeans. [23] Economy Most Acadian households were self-sufficient with families engaged in subsistance farming supplemented with meat caught through fishing and hunting. [24] In the early days of the colony, Acadia was an "economic backwater", with few trade goods and little money to attract merchants. Acadia was not near the sea lanes which brought ships to Quebec and Boston, and transportation within the peninsula was difficult. [3] Farms tended to remain small plots of land worked by individual families rather than slave labor. [25] Farmers grew wheat, peas, cabbage, turnips, and apples, and raised maize as a secondary crop. Barley, oats, and potatoes were also planted as feed for the livestock, including cattle, pigs, and poultry. These animals provided a steady supply of meat to the Acadians, which they supplemented with fish. [21] After 1630, the Acadians began to build dykes and drain the sea marsh above Port Royal. The high salinity of of the reclaimed coastal marshland meant that the land would need to sit for three years after it was drained before it could be cultivated. [4] The land reclamation techniques that were used closely resembled the enclosures near La Rochelle that helped make solar salt. [7] As time progressed, the Acadian agriculture improved, and Acadians traded with the British colonies in New England to gain ironware, fine cloth, rum, and salt. During the French administration of Acadia, this trade was illegal, but it did not stop some English traders from establishing small stores in Port Royal. [14] Under English rule, the Acadians often smuggled their excess food to Boston merchants at Baie Verte and to the French at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. [26] Many adult sons who did not inherit land from their parents settled on adjacent vacant lands to remain close to their families. [27] As the best land was taken, some moved further north of Port Royal, into the Upper Bay of Fundy settlements, including Mines, Pisiquid, and Beaubassin. Many of the pioneers into that area persuaded some of their relatives to accompany them, and most of the frontier settlements contained only five to ten interrelated family unites. [28] Contemporary Acadia Today, Acadia has been used to refer to regions of Atlantic Canada with French roots, language, and culture, primarily in northern and eastern New Brunswick. [29] In the abstract, Acadia refers to the existence of a French culture on Canada's east coast. (See also Acadians.) The French language has gradually returned to modern Acadia, and from 1951 through 1986 over 58% of the Acadian population spoke French as their maternal tongue. [29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia 3/16/2008