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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.