In the 1750s, the French people were evicted from Nova Scotia and sent to the east coast of what would be later the United States.

The Acadians were separated into two groups, men and women and children and shipped to different areas of the east coast. This was done to reduce the chance of them reuniting. During the voyage, over half the people died on the ships or soon after reaching landfall. When they reached land, they were not accepted by the British people who had already settled there. Some of the British settlers felt that they were rescuing the children and took them into their homes but forced the rest to migrate further South until they reached Louisiana. The promise of a place to settle drew large numbers to the area in hopes of being accepted by settlers that had already settled there.

When they arrived in South Louisiana, the hope of the present settlers was that the Acadians would chase out the Native Americans that were living in the area. Pg 81In 1762, Spain took over control of Louisiana and the areas to the north. The Acadians were again faced with the threat of being forced out of their land. However, the Spanish were tolerant of the Acadian people and wanted to complete settling the land.

The Spanish offered to transport the Acadians to any area that they wanted to go. Some went south to New Orleans and the rest settled in the areas all the way up to the central area of Louisiana, known as “Cajun Country or Acadiana”. Pg. 81