|
an ACADIAN EXILE article
Cultures
of Acadiana |
Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, March 30, 1999
Letter relates settlement of Acadians in Louisiana
by Jim Bradshaw
In May 1766, Spanish Gov. Antonio de Ulloa of Louisiana wrote to Marques Jeronimo Grimaldi, the Spanish minister of state, describing the Louisiana colony and the settlement of the Acadians.
Here are excerpts from that letter.
My dear sir,
The first information that I have to share with Your Excellency on the colony's characteristics concerns its present population, with emphasis on its anticipated role in the defense, since the inhabitants, as militiamen, must be considered soldiers settled in the territory. The population, in its present condition, can be considered as nil due to the immense territories that it inhabits. Indeed, when I tell Your Excellency that there is enough land to settle 100,000 families merely in the area I toured, I am not exaggerating. Without being stingy, and allowing for a large portion of tillable land (per family), on may settle many more because there is no useless land here, since the entire region is flat, with huge prairies and forests which may profitably be used for cultivation. By the recapitulation of the census, your Excellency will realize that the number of present settlers, a majority of whom are Acadians who have been coming for the last two years to settle the colony, was quite small, (but) they have exceeded the total number of established residents, demonstrating how few there were of the latter.
The Acadians established in this colony unanimously agree that seven to ten thousand families in the English colonies wish to come here, as soon as they are given the necessary protection to enjoy religion, and to rid themselves of English rule. Acadian emigration will not displace (the English), nor will the English consider stopping it, because those who have come have been provided passports and ships by the British government. With its consent, and not in any other way, may we try to bring here the rest of the (Acadian) families. This is possible because the English do not trust their loyalty very much. On the contrary, perceiving their dissatisfaction, they distrust them, and it is because of this that they do not oppose their departure. The resulting vacuum is filled by Germans brought from Europe to whom they give the land left by those in whom they see violent and untrustworthy vassals.
The aid and protection for which (the Acadians) request consists of paying their passage and, once here, giving them land and providing for the subsistence until they are settled and can support themselves. This is what the French minister has done with those who are presently here. The cost of transportation per family is 20 to 28 pesetas, according to what the Acadians themselves have told me. Following their arrival and after assigning them land, the French government, by agreement with their own leaders, has aided them with tools for clearing and cultivating the land, gunpowder and ammunition, a gun for each man so that he may hunt, and sow corn. The commanders give (corn) to the leaders of each settlement for their sustenance and as seed grain for the first two years, which are the harsh ones. They have also been provided with a physician who aids them in their illnesses because, having just arrived, the experience much sickness, especially in summertime. All this is given to them gratis.
Because of the misery that I have seen among them, and because of the immense task that lies before them at the start, I do not think that the aid is sufficient, as I shall explain to you. Thus, it would be expedient to advance them their benefits and to provide a cow with a calf, six hens and a rooster per family. Supposing they all come, since there is no reason to doubt it, it totals 200,000 pesos, on the basis for 20 for each coy and as much, or a little more, for transportation. For 500,000 pesos, the king can expect to settle 10,000 families without the need to do anything more than to provide the money and to give the order to admit them without further ado. One needs to tell the Acadians who are here that the immigrants' passage will be paid; that each will be assigned land, as was done with those who are here; that they will be given corn, gunpowder, ammunition, and a gun in their first year here; and that they will be given a cow with a calf, or a pregnant cow, six hens and a rooster. After the second year, however, they will be self-supporting , though they will be furnished a physician and medicine free of charge for the first two years, as well as a priest and religious services.
This is enough to attract many of them, and there are certain enough cows in the colony. The Acadians themselves tell me that everyone in the English colonies will come, and that those in Canada will do the same. This is due to the fact that, despite the many Acadian deaths on the island of Saint-Dominuge and even here during last summer, they would rather expose themselves to mortal dangers while searching for the desired freedom of religion and civil treatment than remain in the relative safety of their own land under English rule. These people are naturally good, quiet, hard-working, and industrious. It is to be admired that they have all prospered in very little time. In only one year, a single man, having under his care a wife, children and, in some cases, a widow, sister, sister-in-law or mother living with his own family, has cleared the 4 arpents...that have been given to him; has built a dike to contain the river within its banks...(and has cleared) a road over which a cart can travel. He has built a house, and cultivated land, ... One can say that two black day laborers would not have been able to advance as much as a singe one these men, whose untiring application to work has been the cause of several deaths from fatigue. This progress shows that all that necessity and perseverance can do when one puts his heart into it. The French officers were astonished by the progress made by these poor people,...I have agreed to assist the Acadians also because the sooner they begin to get some rest, the sooner they will succeed in earning a livelihood, and we will be relieved of having to provide them with the necessities of life.
In order to assist...each Acadian settlement was given a small gift of gunpowder and ammunition to be divided among themselves. When we assured them that they would enjoy full protection of His Majesty, of Your Excellency, and of myself in his royal name as long as they remained here they thanked us profusely, with indescribable joy that moved us to great tenderness and affection, and used part of the few pounds of gunpowder that were given them to salute with their guns the monarchs of Spain and France. After indicating that they will be as loyal to His Majesty as they have hitherto been to the Most Christian King, they requested my permission to write to their Acadian countermen in the New England provinces so that they would get ready to flee from their present captivity. They did the same with commanding General Aubry, and, although they were told to desist until the Spanish court was informed and able to reach a decision about it, I am persuaded that they will not do so because of their desire to be reunited with their friends and because of their friends and because of their repugnance towards the English nation. The Acadians have been offered the most advantageous inducements by the English government to settle among them and to recognize the English king as their sovereign. ...yet none of the offers have changed the Acadians' minds and their sole intention is to leave the english domain which they hate unabashedly.
I have told Your Excellency that they are good and industrious people; quiet, without vices and able farmers. Mister Aubry and the other officers who have served in the last two wars in the territories from here to Canada assure me that they are good marksmen. As the proved in expeditions against the English, they are equally capable of effectively waging war against the Indians, this being especially important in this colony, where one must always rely on the inhabitants for its defense and where skill and stratagems very different from those used against the Indians. These new inhabitants and those who have been living along the river in Des Allemands, Pointe Coupee, Arkansas, and even up to Illinois occupy very little space, considering the great distances that exist between them. As I told Your Excellency at the beginning, it is ludicrous to think that our frontier will be defended by the inhabitants who are presently there because there is no place through which the enemy cannot penetrate with no more effort than by crossing the river. Once on our side, he can go with an army unchallenged, freely, wherever he pleases, since the county is completely flat, with nothing more to obstruct his path than its trees and woods. (The Woods) are not thick enough cause them any trouble in crossing them; besides, they are bayous punctuating the very wide prairies which exist between (the woods). During my 52-league overland journey, I discussed with the French leader, the engineer, and the artillery officers the fact that an army of 100,000 men, with all its artillery equipment, can travel wherever it wishes, without interruption, either on ordinary journeys or forced marches when necessary without more precaution than advancing 30 or 40 men to build bridges over...estuaries and brooks that exist in the distance. This is done by felling the trees that grow in their own banks and which are tall enough to cross them. (Invading armies also have the) advantage of having enough game, such as buffalo, deer, and other animals fit toe at, and although not enough to feel a complete army, they exist in sufficient numbers to replace a large portion of (food) that wood have been carried along. The local inhabitants assure me that in the lands to the north the same conditions are found, and bear in mind that in the last war the English troops traveled as a regular army more than 500 leagues through uninhabited territories similar to those I have just described...from their colonies to the Great Lakes, to the French settlements along the Mississippi River. One can presume the (England) is determined to accomplish this feat on our side of the river with the same boldness in order to increase their domains, as long as they find no obstacles or resistance to taking possession of some portion of our territory.
Now there is this difficulty: Would it be possible to protect the frontier against all invasions once the expenditure on the 10,000 (Acadian) families is made? I would not dare to make such a claim, pointing out that in the great distance of 500 leagues to Illinois and another 200 or 300 more from there, there are many openings through which they can enter with their forces. ...It is necessary for His Majesty to spend large sums of money in the colony and, even so , one cannot be sure (of defense) if these provisions are delayed or if the all-important precautions are not taken early. Another consideration must be examined in this respect: If, after having made such large expenditures, the colony is lost through some unfortunate accident, we would give the enemy the country's population whose establishment we have underwritten. The loss would be much greater than the money spent in the project. I have often been disturbed by these thoughts, and Mister Aubry, a very experienced offer in the war against the English and against the local Indians, an able officer or proven merit, has shared my fear during the recent trip. Both of us consulted about this matter for entire days, and , we ultimately reached the following conclusion, which will be hard to visualize by persons living elsewhere.
The colony's topography, as well as that of northern New Spain, are of crucial importance. ... We both agreed that the only way to overcome these difficult, inherent problems is to populate the banks as thickly as possible and to secure the friendship of all the Indians to the west. At the same time attempting to ensure... that those of the east do not oppose us; then, even if the enemy sets foot on our side, we could stop them and even destroy them before they go any farther; which it is necessary to assume that a party of 15 or 20 Indian warriors does more damage in the way in which they usually wage war here than a detachment of 400 highly disciplined troops, but, without the Indians the inhabitants and the troops are useless, because it is they who will tilt the scales in favor of their allies.
I have briefly informed Your Excellency of what is most important about the population, and it seems to me at the present time we must think of screening the inhabitants because the enemy is on our doorstep everywhere. One bad subject is enough to cause grave damage through his misguided inclinations, and disturb the tranquility and peace of the other settlers. Speaking of whom, I must tell Your Excellency that the Acadians are the type of people who live among themselves as though they were a single family. (They do not) make alliances with other French people, nor do they give their daughters in marriage to those who are not of their kind, as occurs in Spain among the highlanders of Santander. They settle their differences among themselves and help each other in every way, as if they were brothers. This quality makes them preferable for settlement over other types of people. And the government must be careful to keep them as they are, because as long as they remain unchanged, the king will be able to count on good vassals who, when the time comes, will gladly take up arms and sacrifice themselves to his royal service, in defense of his domains.