Acadian colony

The first real attempt made by the French to settle in North America occurred in 1604 in the area called “Acadie.” Its boundaries were never clearly defined but at various points included what is today northern Maine, New Brunswick, southeastern Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The lands settled by the Acadians were in territory between New England and New France, a region of dispute between great empires. A succession of different authorities claimed the right to govern Acadia over the course of 50 to 60 years. Neglected, Acadia developed very slowly, with the result that when the British acquired it in 1713 through the Treaty of Utrecht, its population was under 2,000. A period of growth and prosperity followed but ended abruptly when the British began to deport Acadians – about 10,000 between 1755 and 1762 – as a result of renewed interest in their lands on the part of both powers. In the last decades of the 18th century, the Acadians succeeded in re-establishing themselves as a distinct people.