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Let
us now trace the evolution of the two groups. I shall first consider
the Acadians, and if I pass rather more rapidly over them than
the peninsular French, it is because the latter are the bearers
of the traditions I shall be examining.
Readers
may recall that in 1755 the English, having acquired Acadia in
1713, decided, for reasons not to be discussed here, to dispossess
the Acadians of their lands. This was the time of the "grand derangement",
the "great trouble." Expelled from their young land, numerous
Acadians settled in Louisiana; others were returned to France;
yet others escaped the English, hiding in the woods until they
found new lands to settle. It was thus that the Acadian centres
of the modern maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
and Prince Edward Island were formed.
In
the midst of this confusion a small number of Acadian families
settled in Newfoundland, in the interior of Bay St. George, close
to the modern towns of Stephenville and St. George's. Documents
attest to the presence of at least two families in the region
as early as 1770. But more solid facts are not recorded until
the early decades of the nineteenth century. Thus, Charles de
la Morandière, working with French naval documents, informs us
that in 1821 there were thirteen families at St. George's Harbour
and five at 'Grand Barachois' (present area of Stephenville Crossing).
The officer's report consulted by de la Morandière tells us further
that some forty years earlier, in about 1780, only two families
were in the area, one at each location. But the report did not
indicate their nationality.