Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, March 30, 1999

French document discusses history, future of exiles

by Jim Bradshaw

In 1775, Acadian exiles who were first sent to Virginia were turned away and sent to England. They were held as prisoners of war until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, and then were sent to France.

But the French government did not know much about the Acadians, or what to do with them once they arrived, as can be found in these excerpts from an unsigned "Memoir on the Acadians." It was probably written by the French ambassador in London in February 1763, and is now kept in the Archives Nationales in Paris. It is among documents translated by a team of scholars from the Center for Louisiana Studies at USL and published in the book, "Quest for the Promised Land."

The French Acadians, also known as the neutral French, who settled on the Annapolis River, constituted approximately 3,000 families. Subjected to English rule by the Treaty of Utrecht, they retained their churches, their priests, and the free exercise of their religion. They also maintained the deepest, most tenacious devotion to France. Today, they are victims of this devotion. When they refused to take the oath imposed upon them, England considered them rebels. The terms of the oath directly restricted their religious privileges which had been guaranteed by the treaty. ... Their case was tried without preliminary examination and the order was given to transport the Acadians to various English colonies.

Fifteen hundred disembarked in Virginia, but considered as prisoners of war, they were almost immediately placed aboard the first transports bound for Europe. Upon their arrival in England, they were scattered among the various ports in the realm, where most of them perished of misery and sorrow. Three hundred of them reached Bristol unexpectedly; in fact, they were not expected anywhere. They spent three days and three nights on the city's wharfs, exposed to inclement weather. They were ultimately incarcerated in some decaying buildings, where smallpox eventually killed those who had survived exhaustion and despair.

Twelve hundred of these unfortunate people were sent to Maryland. Arriving there in December, they endured, in the ensuing three weeks, all the harshness of cold weather and hunger. They were subsequently scattered throughout the rural areas, where the able-bodied men became day-laborers, while the others, particularly the old and disabled, lived on charity.

The third group, much larger than the first two, reached Carolina. The residents of Charles Town and the other ports refused to receive the Acadians; they consequently gave them two old boats, a small quantity of inferior provisions and permitted them to go wherever they wished. (The Acadians) boarded these vessels which were shipping water; soon after, these ships ran aground on the coast of Virginia near Hampton, an Irish colony. They were first mistaken for enemies coming to pillage, later for pirates, and finally, for libertines who had to be disposed of. When they were forced to buy a vessel, they could only collect 400 pieces of eight among them. This was the asking price for the vessel which was even less seaworthy than the vessels they had just abandoned. They encountered even greater difficulties when their vessel ran aground a second time along the coast of Maryland.

It would only be fair to state that one of the Virginia magistrates, who was aware of the exploitation of these unfortunate people by the inhabitants of the village of Hampton, had the (villagers) punished; he also dispatched a sloop to fetch the Acadians in order that they might determine the status of their boat.

The remains of the shipwreck were their only hope. They spent two months on a deserted shore repairing the vessel. They finally succeeded. Setting out to sea for the third time, they were fortunate enough to reach the Bay of Fundy. ..They went ashore near the St. John River. Of the 2,000 people who left Acadia, only 900 remained. They are the ones who subsequently outfitted a privateer which harassed English shipping in the area.

Of those transported to England, a large number succumbed to poverty and the diseases it engenders. Those who escaped are now detained in various English ports, particularly Liverpool. They have addressed a petition to ( Louis Jules Barbon Mancini-Mazarini, Duke of Nivernais, chief French negotiator at peace talks in London in 1762 ) to inform him of the persecution they had endured and continue to suffer because of their attachment to France. Moreover, as Frenchmen and as a people in distress, they sought his protection. His Exellency decided most appropriately to dispatch immediately ( Alexandre André Robert d'Hilaire de la Rochette, personal secretary of the Duke of Nivernais ) with the following instructions:

1. To assure the Acadians that the king had been apprised of their sacred devotion to his person as well as the hardships which they had endured as a result of this devotion. Furthermore, whenever peace would be restored, His good and faithful subjects, in any part of the realm in which they would settle.

2. To assure them that they could depend on His Exellency's complete protection, but that, at the moment, it would be inappropriate to publicize it and that circumspection and secrecy in this matter would be presently indispensable.

3. To record the necessary information concerning the Acadians in Liverpool as well as the others who were scattered throughout all the other towns in England.

Mister de la Rochette ... arrived at Liverpool on ( Dec. 31, 1762 ). He visited the Acadians' quarters, and, after introducing himself to the authors of the petition the Duke of Nivernais by showing the said petition, he informed them of this mission.

Despite the precautions that he had taken to engage them to restrain their joy, he was unable to stop them from shouting: "God save the king!" These cries were heard by some Englishmen who were duly scandalized. Tears followed these first outburst of approbation. Crying for joy, the men, the women, and the children exclaimed: "God bless our good king!" Several appeared to be beside themselves clapping their hands, raising them skyward, and throwing themselves uncontrollably against the walls. It is almost impossible to describe the display of emotion exhibited by these good people. They whiled away the night, blessing the king and his ambassador, and congratulating each other on their promising futures.

When they fully recovered from this initial, violent outburst of joy, Mister de la Rochette obtained from the following description of their present situation:

They had been transported from Virginia and for the past seven years had been detained in Liverpool. Several months after their arrival, they were assigned to a certain number of houses in a separate quarter of the city, and the town had become their prison. Persons at least seven years of age received a daily dole of six ( shillings ) while children under seven were given three ... per diem.

Three hundred and thirty-six reached Liverpool, but today their number has dwindled to two hundred and thirty-four persons. During these seven years of incarceration, they were hardly disturbed. Now that peace is at hand, they are continuously subjected to enticements. In early December, Langton , the English commissary responsible for the French prisoners, summoned them. He impressed upon them the fact that, since France had abandoned them for such a long time, the English king would gladly consider them as subjects. He would return them to Acadia and restore their lands and flocks. They responded unanimously, however, that they were French, and that it was up to the French king to decide their fate.

The commissary then proclaimed them rebels, threatening to have them imprisoned and to reduce their dole. Since nothing appeared to intimidate them, and since he knew of their extreme attachment for their religion, he resorted to a measure which, he felt, would insure success.

He recruited a certain priest, a Scotsman who was the Acadians' spiritual director, by promising him the vicar-generalship of all the Catholic villages in Acadia. This man preached such scandalous sermons that, upon hearing them, fifty-four ( Acadians ), mostly elderly men, resolved to return to their homeland. It must be noted, however, that these men would not sign any of the papers presented by the commissary. They subsequently wrote to the Duke of Nivernais, beseeching him to claim rightfully as the kings subjects.

the remaining Acadians, numbering 170 persons, approximately 38 families, had lost their resolve and would have followed ( the elders' ) example for it not had been for a certain Normand  du Plessis, a French naval pilot born at Le Harve and ( held hostage ) in Liverpool. ... Duplessis exhorted the Acadians to present a petition to the Duke of Nivernais before allowing themselves to be trapped by the hypocritical promises of the commissary and the priest. They acquiesced. Since all the letters they write or receive are opened by the commissary, thy sent a messenger to London and each of them contributed 4 guineas to this end. The messenger was an Irish Catholic married to an Acadian. In exchange for his services he will be allowed to follow the Acadians wherever the king will settle them.

The Duke of Nivernais, having been apprised by the Acadians detained in Liverpool that there were nearly 600 of their brethren in Southampton, Penryn, and Bristol, ordered Mister de la Rochette to visit secretly to these three cities.

Mister de la Rochette arrived in Southampton on January 18, 1763. Since he had no means of identifying himself to the Acadians who were already weary of repeated English perfidies, he was unable to convince them of the legitimacy of his mission. ... When he left them, he was gratified by their devotion to the king and was convinced that 

their suspicion stemmed solely from their zeal.  Unlike their brethren, these were living in a city near London which was the meeting place for much of the English nobility.  The Acadians of Southampton had experienced not only very frequent but also very serious threats.  General (John) Mordaunt and, more recently the Duke of York did not consider it beneath their dignity to insist that they renounce their intention of migrating to France.  Moreover, at the time of Mister de La Rochette's visit, they were expecting an answer from the English commissioners who wherein the habit of deceiving them.  They had, therefore, a very legitimate reason for being distrustful.  As a consequence, they resolved to send two representatives to the Duke of  Nivernais to confirm the truth, and today their doubts have vanished.  Of the 340 (Acadians) who reached (Southampton) only 219 remain.

From Southampton, Mister de La Rochette traveled to Penryn, where he arrived on January 25.  There, he found 159 Acadians in a most deplorable state.  Since late November 1762, the government had discontinued their dole.  Those who have no trade lived on borrowed money, while widows and orphans beg for alms.  Together, they owe over 250 guineas to the townspeople.  ...The Acadians in Penryn are not lodged in separate quarters; they are scattered among various urban residences.  Several of their children have been apprenticed to English craftsmen.

As a result, they have acquired certain disinclinations which are not very French; it is therefore, probable, that the secrecy demanded by Mister de La Rochette has not been as closely observed here as in other cities.  It must also be noted that, many among them have put little faith in the assurances given them (and they) have not always been unanimously well disposed (toward the French).

Mister de La Rochette reached Bristol on Jan. 31.  There he found 184 Acadians who placed themselves entirely under the king's protection.  Since they had seen the two messengers from  Southampton who were seeking the Duke of Nivernais, they did not hesitate to place their trust in Mister de La Rochette.  (But) an atmosphere of suspicion pervades the Acadian community.  The many reasons for this distress follow:

1. Their brethren who were transported to France at the beginning of the war did not receive any help for many months.  They were afraid of suffering the same fate if they were to go to (France).
2. They were afraid of being separated or transported to (Saint-Domingue, where some other Acadians had been forced to work cutting timber to carve a naval base from the jungle).
3. Their current priests, who are either English or Scottish and who are convinced that they will become their parish priests in Acadia, are unceasingly exhorting them to renounce France.  They are depicting it as a country abandoned by God.
4. They still believe that they will return to Acadia and will be able to enjoy religious freedom under the king's protection.  Even those who are in France, at Boulogne, St-Malo and Rochefort, persist in this belief, and have written about it to the Acadians in England.
5. They fear that the king will forsake their brethren scattered throughout the British colonies on the North American continent.  These people constitute a majority (of the exiles), since they number more than 10,000 who are starving to death.  A few occasionally escape to Europe.  Two weeks ago, two such unfortunate families from Boston arrived in Bristol.  The English, however, are removing them (from Canada) daily.  when the Chevalier de Ternay seized Newfoundland, (the English) transported 700 of them, who were still at (Halifax) and its environs, to New England.

Assuming that the king cannot have all the scattered Acadians released, either by claiming them as his subjects, or by ransoming them as captives, it is nonetheless certain that a great many of them could still be rescued.  This can be done by secretly assuring those who would escape that they would receive the same treatment as that currently enjoyed by Acadians in Europe.  With regard to this treatment, I would like to propose an idea which I believe to be suitable, since it would reconcile the interests of the state with those of the Acadians and would serve the interests of the justice.  Before submitting the idea, I would like to provide some background information.

It must be remembered that the Acadians were primarily farmers and fishermen, both physically demanding occupations.  Their lands required a steady cultivation of the soil. They were continuously occupied with the construction and maintenance of dikes in order to prevent the sea from flooding their lands.  Whenever they could find some spare time, they made line and wool cloth or went fishing.

The Acadians, although living at the 44th degree of latitude in a rugged climate, enjoyed very pure air and knew little about disease.  During their exile in Europe, more than 600 died of smallpox alone, a disease they had never experienced in their own country.  If we were to settle them in our southern islands, we undoubtedly would lose more than half of them.  Moreover, these islands are not for poor settlers.  Sugar, coffee, indigo, and coffee plantations required wealthy settlers, and all of the Acadians are on the dole.  The colony of Cayenne (French Guiana) appears to be the only colony where they could be settled to some advantage.  Barred, therefore, from the sugar and indigo plantations because of their indigence, they would have to depend for their livelihood solely on the cocoa plantations.  It would take years before they could generate some commerce.  Since the climate, the crops, and the industry of our southern colonies are not suitable for the Acadians, and, moreover, since the Acadian people appear prejudiced (against tropical conditions) and are reluctant to settle there, it would appear necessary to try a different tact, one which I shall explain below, viz:

1. For quite some time now in France there has been talk about the utility of clearing the moors of (the French seaside provinces of) Guyenne and Gascony;  no one doubts the benefits which would accrue to the state.  If the Acadians were to establish themselves in this wasteland they could turn it in to a useful settlement, and we could benefit from their presence and their industry.  The climate of Guyenne is truthfully quite different from that of Acadia.  It is nevertheless a salubrious climate, and it would seem that the new settlers could get used to it without any danger.  Moreover, we should be careful in placing the Acadians in the coastal areas so they can build some ports.  In a very short time, they could establish a coastal trade which provide new resources.  It must be noted, however, that the Guyenne coast is arid, sandy, and subject to storms, but the skill and industry of the Acadians would permit them to undertake all necessary repairs and overcome the greatest obstacles.
2. The province of Brittany has experienced a remarkable decline in population because of the many soldiers and sailors this province has supplied the state during the war.  This sparsely populated ... province has been unable to exploit its natural advantages. The soil is very good, and the coastline abounds with fish.  Herring fishing could become a considerable and useful industry for the state. ... The establishment of the Acadians in this province could be very profitable; the Acadians might find more advantages (there) than in any other province.
3. A special kind of settlement could be proposed for the Acadian prisoners in England.  This proposed settlement, although less likely to become as extensive as the other two, nevertheless has certain advantages.  Bouin Island, along the lower Poitou coast, has a population which is proportionate neither to its size nor to its resources.  If we were to settle it with the Acadians detained today in England, this island's fallow lands could be cleared and the nearby fishing industry would expand.  This fishing industry ... is based on sardine fisheries, (and is) extremely important to us.

Of all the islands along the coast of France, Bouin Island has a climate which most resembles that of Acadia.  Furthermore, when these unfortunate prisoners discovered that the Duke of Nivernais ... whom they considered their liberator from the English captivity, was not only the owner but also the squire of this island, they were even more keenly desirous of settling there.

... If all the Acadians could not be accommodated on the island, the Duke of Nivernais would immediately make a clear and enlightened decision regarding the remainder of the Acadians.  They could be settled conveniently in Brittany, where they and the state would flourish.  The Duke of Nivernais does not conceal the fact that he would be extremely gratified if His Majesty would decide in favor of Bouin Island for the settlement of a small number of Acadians now residing in England.  These wretched people are very industrious and have the greatest attachment to the king of France.

With regard to those who are already in France or the ones who would come from the British colonies, the Duke of Nivernais feels that it would better to settle them in Brittany rather than in Guyenne because of the climate.  Furthermore, these Acadians would be closer to their brethren established on Bouin Island.

For the sake of justice as well as politics, it is imperative to encourage the zeal and industry of these unfortunate (but) worthy people, regardless of where they are settled.  In order to achieve this goal, the Duke of Nivernais suggests the necessity of emulating British policies as applied to the establishment of their colonies.  They divide the land into as many tracts as there are one hundred families.  They then subdivide each tract in 100 equal lots.  Each family receives a cow and a mare, or 2, 3 or 5 ewes, according to personal preference.  Each group of 100 families is supplied with a bull and a stud.

Finally, the colony is exempted from all taxes for a period of 50 years.  These settlements are undoubtedly costly, but the government's financial investment annually yields dividends to its subjects who, in turn, return to the government in various ways through increases in population and consumption.

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