|
a ACADIAN REBIRTH article
Cultures
of Acadiana |
Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, March 30, 1999
Acadians 'actually work themselves to death'
by Jim Bradshaw
When Antonio de Ulloa first took charge of Spanish Louisiana, he tried to help the Acadians who where by then flocking to the colony, but he also wanted the Acadians to be sent where they would be most valuable if Great Britain or its Indian allies went to war against Spain.
He was at first sympathetic to the plight of the Acadians and offered what aid he could. For example, he wrote on May 9, 1766 to Marques Jeronimo Grimaldi, Spanish minister of state, "(The Acadians) who came here are being settled in an area ten leagues above this capital at its nearest point. Each of them has been assigned land and housing, given tools so they can work the land, and some provisions, though only in small quantities. Consequently, many of them have died in misery because there was not enough. ... The French leaders have aided them as much as possible, assigning them two leaders to govern and guide them, but, since this does not provide there daily bread and shelter, we lose in those who die what is gained in those who come to increase the population. To ensure their survival, we should provide each a family with a Negro, a pair of oxen, and the necessary tools to cultivate the land; sufficient provisions for a year and seed for planting. Maintaining a record of the latter so that (they can reimburse us) as they become self-sufficient. ... In this way. many would come without being called, and according to what the leaders tell me, they are people who deserve any assistance because of their morality, piety, and industriousness, since they actually work themselves to death before being able to enjoy the fruits of their labor."