Introduction

                                 Even before the Deportation of the Acadians from Acadia between 1755 and 1762, the deteriorating political situation had caused significant movements of the population. Toward the end of the 1740s, many families had already left English Acadia to settle on Ile-Saint-Jean. After the war of the Austrian Succession in 1748, a number of Acadians, accused by the English of collaboration with French forces, went to French territory. With the foundation of Halifax in 1749, the neighboring Acadian villages, Mirligouèche and Chezzetcook, were abandoned. By 1750, most of the inhabitants of Cobequit and almost half the families of the neighboring village, Pigiguit, had abandoned their houses and their lands and crossed “the Red Sea” (Northumberland Strait) to settle on Ile-Saint-Jean. Others went to Ile-Royale. In the spring of 1750, following orders given by French authorities, the village of Beaubassin was burned, obliging nearly a thousand Acadians to leave their lands in English Acadia to go to French territory, on the other side of the Mésagouèche River. A few months later, the Acadian villages of Nanpan, Maccan, Les Planches, La Butte, Ouechkok, Hébert and Menoudie were in turn burned and the inhabitants were also obliged to relocate in French territory. Thus, even before the deportations carried out by the English, the Acadian population had undergone migrations, even forcible ones.

                                 The deportation of 1755 systematically emptied the Acadian villages of English Acadia. On October 13, seven English ships transported Acadians from the region of Chignectou toward exile. The inhabitants of Les Mines (Grand-Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards and Pigiguit) were deported aboard 14 ships on October 27, with supplementary deportations on December 13 and 20 on four other ships. The population of Annapolis Royal was deported on six ships on December 8. The Acadians of Cap-Sable followed their compatriots to exile in 1756 and again in 1758, this time along with men, women and children captured during the raids on the Saint-John and Petcoudiac Rivers.

                                 Several hundred Acadians who had escaped these deportations by fleeing toward the north, to Bouctouche, to Richibouctou, to the Miramichi and the Baie de Chaleurs, were obliged, because of the lack of provisions, to go to Québec or to Ile-Saint-Jean. For the same reason, many were sent on from the latter place to Québec.

           In 1755, Acadians mainly from Nova Scotia, with some from what is now New Brunswick, were dispersed along the American coast, from Massachusetts to Georgia. In the spring of 1756, those deported to Virginia, numbering more than 1,100, were sent on to England. Other Acadians, deported to Georgia and South Carolina, tried to return to Acadia and at least three groups headed north by boat early in 1756. Only the first group of five families succeeded in returning to Acadia, arriving in June,1756. The other two groups were stopped in the colonies of Massachusetts and New York respectively. At the same time, many men among the 160 that were deported from Chignectou to Georgia and South Carolina without their wives and children also tried to escape and return to Acadia. At least two groups, for a total of 33 men, succeeded in 1756. Others arrived in Canada from Georgia and South Carolina in the 1760s to rejoin their families.

                                 In 1758 the deportation of the Acadians of Ile-Saint-Jean and Ile-Royale took place. Because, unlike the Acadians of Nova Scotia, these were subjects of the king of France, they were transported directly to France. The voyages of these ships across the Atlantic were therefore much longer and more dangerous than those of the ships sent along the American coast in 1755. Three of the 1758 ships sank, with the loss of about 850 Acadian lives. Because of very difficult conditions for passengers traveling over long distances on a winter sea, the death rate, especially among children, had been very high when the boats arrived at their ports of destination in France.

                                 Among the Acadian refugees who remained along the shores of the Baie des Chaleurs, many were brought to Halifax in 1760 and deported to Massachusetts in 1762. Among them were Acadians from the St. John River who had returned from Canada to Acadia after the fall of Québec in 1759. But this time, the government in Boston refused to accept them and sent them back to Halifax. These deportations from 1755 to 1762 set off a series of migrations, displacements and wandering which, for some, lasted until 1816.

                                At the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, the Acadian population had been scattered widely. In Acadia, there were still almost 3,000 Acadians refugees in Halifax, at Fort Edward (Pigiguit), at the Baie des Chaleurs, at Ristigouche, on Ile-Saint-Jean and on Ile-Royale. In Canada (Québec) there were also nearly 2,000, but they were soon ravaged by an epidemic of smallpox. In the American colonies there were more than 5,000 Acadian exiles. In England, of the 1,100 persons who had arrived in 1756, there remained only 753 survivors of another smallpox epidemic, to which were added some children born in England. And in France there were only about 2,000 survivors of the more than 3,000 deported from Ile-Saint-Jean, from Ile-Royale and from Halifax.

                                Finally free to move, the Acadians detained in the Anglo-American colonies dispersed and during the next few years there were major migrations of these Acadian exiles. While some chose to stay where they had been deported, especially in Maryland and Pennsylvania, the great majority left, usually to go to the closest French territory. Whereas the Acadians detained in New York and the southern colonies went mostly to the French Antilles, a first small group of 21 people left Georgia to settle in Louisiana. Other Acadians, who had gone to settle in the Antilles after 1763, followed them there later. However, a few families deported to South Carolina succeeded in making the trip to Philadelphia and even as far as Canada around 1760. On the other hand, the Acadians detained in the northern colonies mostly went to Canada, which was still French-speaking and Catholic, even if now under English rule, and to the French territory of Saint-Pierre- et-Miquelon. Some families, especially among those who were in Massachusetts, returned to Acadia, sometimes by way of Miquelon. Many of the Acadians who had managed to remain in Acadia, or to return, also went to Miquelon. Others, a group of about 600 Acadians who had been detained at Fort Edward, at Fort Beauséjour and in Halifax, rented boats to go to the Antilles and then on to Louisiana. The Acadians in England were repatriated to France.

                                 For many Acadians, such as those who went to Canada, their major travels were over. For others, these continued for several decades. In France, the Acadian refugees were wards of the State in the Atlantic seaports. Two great projects to implant them in France were attempted. The establishment of Acadians on Belle-Ile-en-Mer had the more success, but even there only one third of the 78 Acadian families who received concessions remained permanently. That of ‘la Ligne acadienne’ was to settle Acadians on farms in Poitou. Though it attracted nearly 1,400 Acadians, the majority soon abandoned it because the land was poor and the promised conditions had not been provided. Other projects to settle the Acadians who were in France had even less success. Acadian families were sent to South America to colonize Guyana and the Falkland Islands. In the first group, the rate of mortality was very high; the second group returned to France shortly after. Some Acadian families settled permanently in the French ports, especially in Bretagne. Others began to return to Acadia or to Canada in the 1770s. However, the majority left France to go settle in Louisiana in 1785.

                                The Acadians who underwent the most deportations were those of Miquelon. In 1767, the French government sent them to France because the arrival of so many Acadian refugees had overpopulated the colony. Rather than go to France, a few Acadian families chose to return to Acadia. The following year, when the French government revoked its decision, the majority of these Acadians deported to France returned, only to be deported once again to France by the English in 1778 and in 1794. A few people underwent up to four deportations, one of whom was Marie-Blanche LeBlanc. In 1755 she was deported with her parents to South Carolina from where her family returned to Acadia to go to Ile-Saint-Jean in 1756. In 1758, they were deported again by the English, this time to France from where Marie-Blanche returned to Miquelon. She underwent the deportations from Miquelon in 1778 and in 1794. Finally she settled in Québec. It is only in 1816 that the Acadians of Miquelon, who had been deported in 1794, had the right to return to Miquelon. Their return constitutes the last great migration of Acadians caused directly by the Deportation more than 60 years earlier.

ACADIAN ODYSSEY: DEPORTATIONS AND MIGRATIONS (1755 - 1816)

1755

June 16, 1755
Capture of forts Beauséjour and Gaspareau (the next day, June 17) by English forces.

July 3, 1755
Acadian representatives go to Halifax, but all refuse to take an unconditional oath of allegiance.

July 13, 1755
The lieutenant governor, Charles Lawrence, in a letter to Lt. Col. Robert Monckton, suggests the deportation of the Acadians of Chignectou.

July 14, 1755
Lawrence consults with officers of the British Navy in order to plan the deportation of the Acadians.

July 15, 1755
Lawrence and his Council decide to deport the Acadians if they refuse a final offer to take an unconditional oath of allegiance.

July 16, 1755
Meeting of the inhabitants of Port Royal to discuss the reply to Lawrence concerning the unconditional oath of allegiance.

July 22, 1755
Meeting of the inhabitants of the villages of Grand-Pré, Pisiguit and Cobeguit to discuss a reply to Lawrence’s demand that the Acadians take an unconditional oath of allegiance.

July 25 - 28, 1755
Before the Council in Halifax, some one hundred representatives of the different Acadian communities (Port Royal, Rivière-aux-Canards, Grand-Pré refuse to take the unconditional oath of allegiance and Pigiguit)and are imprisoned on Georges Island.

July 28, 1755
Lawrence and the Council decide to deport the Acadians and to retain transport ships to this effect.

July 31, 1755
Lawrence announces the order to arrest Acadians in order to “purge the province of and Pigiguit) these dangerous subjects”. He gives instructions to Lt. Col. Monkton for their deportation.

August 1, 1755
Col. John Winslow orders the arrest of the three remaining priests in English Acadia (Nova Scotia), l’abbé Claude Jean-Baptiste Chauvreulx, pastor of Grand-Pré, l’abbé Le Maire, pastor of Rivière-aux-Canards, l’abbé Henri Daudin, pastor of Port-Royal.

August 8, 1755
Lawrence writes to Monckton that the ships destined to transport the Acadians will arrive soon.

August 9, 1755
At Chignectou, Lt. Col. Monckton begins the rounding up of Acadian men.

August 11, 1755
Lawrence in a letter to the governors of the English colonies in America announces his intention to deport the Acadians.

August 11, 1755 (Monday)
Arrest of 400 men from Chignectou, inhabitants of Tintamarre, Wescock, Aulac, Baie-Verte, Beauséjour and other adjacent areas, at Fort Cumberland (Beauséjour). Monckton announces that they will be deported and that all their livestock will be confiscated by the crown. They are imprisoned at Fort Cumberland; 150 are sent to Fort Lawrence. Charles Lawrence gives deportation instructions to Col. John Winslow at Grand Pré, to Capt. Alexander Murray at Fort Edward (Pigiguit) and to Maj. John Handfield at Annapolis Royal. Lawrence orders these commanders to burn the Acadian houses and to destroy the means of subsistance of those among the Acadians who succeed in escaping the deportation.

August 12, 1755
Arrest of eleven Acadians at Aulac and three others near Wescock , all of whom are brought to Fort Cumberland.

August 14, 1755
Winslow, with 300 men, goes to Grand-Pré to supervise the deportation of the Acadians of this region.

August 15, 1755
Arrest of the Acadians of Tatmagouche and reading of the order of deportation.

August 16, 1755
British troops return from Remshec, where they destroyed twelve buildings and captured three Acadian families. Other buildings are burned in the Tatmagouche area on the same day and the following day, August 17.

August 19, 1755
Winslow orders the Acadian delegates and notables of Grand-Pré to gather at the church of Saint-Charles des Mines in Grand-Pré the following day at 9:00.

August 20, 1755
Winslow meets with the delegates and important inhabitants in the church of Grand-Pré and orders them to supply his soldiers. Eight transport ships arrive in Chignectou to deport the Acadians of this region.

August 21, 1755
The ship escort Syren arrives with seven transports to remove the inhabitants.

August 26, 1755
22 Acadian prisoners arrested at Tatmagouche are taken to Fort Cumberland.

August 30, 1755
Three transport ships, the Endeavour, the Industry and the Mary arrive at Les Mines to deport the Acadians of this region.

August 31, 1755
Arrival of the transport ship Neptune which goes to Pigiguit to deport the Acadians of the region.

August 31, 1755
A transport ship arrives at Annapolis Royal in order to deport the Acadians of this region.

September 1, 1755
Winslow is informed by Maj. Handfield that the Acadians of the Port Royal region have fled in the forest with their belongings. Destruction of houses around Fort Gaspareau, near Baie-Verte.

September 2, 1755
Surprise attack at Petcoudiac by Lt. Charles Deschamps de Boishébert against the British forces sent to burn the villages of Chipoudie, Petcoudiac and Memramcook, which forces the withdrawal of English soldiers with heavy losses. They nonetheless capture 30 women and children and succeed in destroying 253 buildings and a large quantity of wheat. More than 200 Acadian families of this region are thus able to escape the deportation.

September 4, 1755
The inhabitants of Annapolis Royal come out of the forest and say they are ready to listen to the orders of the king of England.

September 4, 1755
The transport ship Elizabeth arrives at Les Mines in order to deport the Acadians of this region.

September 4, 1755
An article in the Pennsylvania Gazette reports: “We are now upon a great and noble Scheme of sending the neutral French out of this Province, who have always been secret Enemies, and have encouraged our Savages to cut our throats. If we effect their Expulsion, it will be one of the greatest Things that ever the English did in America; for by all Accounts, that part of the Country they possess, is as good Land as any in the World: In case therefore we could get some good English Farmers in their Room this Province would abound with all Kinds of Provisions.

September 5, 1755 (Friday at 3 p.m.)
Convocation by Winslow, at the church Saint-Charles des Mines in Grand-Pré, of the men and young boys of the villages of Grand-Pré, of Rivière-aux-Canards and of the rivers Habitants and Gaspareau, and convocation by Murray, at Fort Edward, of the men and boys of the region of Pigiguit, for the reading of the order of the Deportation. They are all arrested and detained in the church of Grand-Pré and at Fort Edward. Each day until September 10, twenty men have the right to leave to meet their families and to get provisions for the other prisoners.

September 6, 1755
The transport ship Leopard arrives at Les Mines in order to deport the Acadians of this region.

September 7, 1755
Seven transport ships are now at Les Mines to deport the Acadians of the region.

September 10, 1755 (Wednesday)
First embarkations for the deportation: at Chignectou - 50 Acadian prisoners from Fort Cumberland are embarked; Les Mines - 141 adolescents and 89 married men are forcibly embarked on five transport ships in the basin of Les Mines.

September 11, 1755
Embarkation at Les Mines of 20 more men.

September 11, 1755
Lawrence orders Monckton to embark the married men detained at Chignectou whose women and children have not arrived. Thus some 160 fathers will be deported without their families, the majority of whom are now destitute and take refuge on Ile-Saint-Jean and later at Québec.

September 13, 1755
Embarkation of the Acadians of Chignectou continues.

September 15, 1755
Census ordered by Winslow of the Acadians detained in the church of Grand-Pré. Some 483 men (heads of families and older sons capable of bearing arms), 337 married women, 527 younger sons and 576 daughters are enumerated.

September 16, 1755
The soldiers burn 200 buildings in the village of Baie-Verte and the surrounding area.

September 17, 1755
Winslow orders the round up of the Acadians of Cobequit. The same day, English soldiers burn some 190 buildings in the village of Aulac. The next day, September 18, 1755
they burn 70 houses in the region of Pont-à-Buote and of the Butte-à-Roger.

September 19, 1755
Representatives of the Acadians of Port Royal are forced to march from Grand-Pré to Annapolis Royal under the escort of British soldiers.

September 19, 1755
Without counting the Acadians of Cobequit and of Pigiguit, Winslow has detained 507 men and adolescents. Together with their wives and their other children, they number more than 2,000 people, of whom 230 are already embarked.

September 23, 1755
Winslow is informed that the embarkation of the Acadians of Chignectou has been underway for a month.

September 24, 1755
Winslow learns that numerous Acadians of Chignectou were able to escape the round ups. It is estimated that from 800 to 900 Acadians of Chignectou succeeded in escaping the deportation by fleeing toward Ile-Saint-Jean, the Baie de Chaleurs, the St. John River, the Miramichi River and Québec.

September 25, 1755
Winslow learns that the entire population of Cobeguit has fled toward Ile-Saint- Jean and that his soldiers have burned the village.

circa September 29, 1755
Embarkation of the women and children from Chignectou onto ships.

September 29, 1755
Winslow writes that there are already more than 330 Acadians of Les Mines on ships and that among them there are some who have been there for more than 20 days.

October 1, 1755
Lawrence orders the transport ships destined for Annapolis Royal to head instead toward Grand-Pré and Pigiguit.

October 1, 1755
During the preceding night, 86 Acadian prisoners are able to escape from Fort Lawrence through a tunnel of more than 10 meters (30 feet) which they dig under the walls of the fort. They are mostly men from Chipoudie, Petcoudiac and Memramcook, whose wives and children have not surrendered to the English.

October 6, 1755
Winslow writes to the captains of the ships asking them to keep entire families together as much as possible during the embarkation.

October 7, 1755
24 prisoners escape from the ships at Les Mines. One of these is killed and 22 others return on October 11 and embark on October 13.

October 7, 1755
Monckton has already embarked some 1,100 Acadians at Chignectou.

October 8, 1755
Embarkation of 80 Acadian families from Les Mines on the ships the Leopard and the Elizabeth.

October 9, 1755
The men who embarked on September 10 at Grand-Pré are allowed to rejoin their families in order to be embarked together.

October 10, 1755
Seven transports, the Hannah, the Sally and Molly, the Dolphin, the Prosperous, the Ranger, the Three Friends and the Swan, arrive from Annapolis Royal to Les Mines in order to deport the Acadians of that region.

October 11, 1755
Embarkation of the last group of Acadians from Chignectou.

October 12, 1755
Two transport ships, the Three Friends and the Dolphin, leave the basin of Les Mines for Pigiguit where the Neptune already awaits and on October 15, they are joined by the Ranger

October 13, 1755
Deportation of 1,100 Acadians from Chignectou. Departure of eight ships: the Cornwallis for South Carolina (210 Acadians on board), the Dolphin for South Carolina (121 Acadians on board), the Endeavour for South Carolina (126 Acadians on board), the Two Brothers for South Carolina (132 Acadians on board), the Jolly Philip for Georgia (about 120 Acadians on board), the Prince Frederick for Georgia (around 280 Acadians on board) and two escort ships: the Syren for South Carolina (21 Acadian men on board, considered very dangerous) and the Success. Two other ships, the Boscawen, which was to transport 190 Acadians to South Carolina, and the Union, which was to transport 392 to Pennsylvania, did not get underway because the number of Acadians arrested at Chignectou was smaller than expected.

October 14, 1755
The beginning of the embarkation of the Acadians from Pigiguit.

October 15, 1755
Round-up of 677 Acadians from Rivière-aux-Canards at Pointe-des-Boudrot for embarkation.

October 19, 1755
Winslow awaits other ships in order to deport the 500 remaining Acadians.

October 21, 1755
Embarkation of the Acadians gathered at Pointe-des-Boudrot to rejoin other transport ships in the basin of Les Mines.

October 23, 1755
Four ships transporting deportees of the region of Pigiguit arrive at the basin of Les Mines.

October 23, 1755
Winslow having embarked twice as many Acadians from Les Mines as expected, the boats are overloaded and families are separated in the confusion.

October 27, 1755
Deportation of the Acadians from Grand-Pré, from Pigiguit, from Rivière-aux- Canards, and from the rivers Habitants and Gaspareau. Departure of 14 ships: the Dolphin from Pigiguit for Maryland (230 Acadians on board, 56 over capacity), the Elizabeth from Grand-Pré for Maryland (242 Acadians: 186 having embarked on October 13; the others later;52 over capacity), the Leopard (Leonard) from Grand-Pré for Maryland (178 Acadians on board), the Endeavour from Pointe-des-Boudrot for Virginia (166 Acadians on board), the Industry from Pointe-des- Boudrot for Virginia (177 Acadians on board), the Mary from Pointe-des-Boudrot for Virginia (182 Acadians on board), the Neptune from Pigiguit for Virginia (207 Acadians on board; 27 over capacity), the Prosperous from Pointe-des-Boudrot for Virginia (152 Acadians on board), the Ranger from Pigiguit for Maryland (208 Acadians on board; 81 [sic for 26?] over capacity, the Sally and Molly from Grand-Pré for Virginia (154 Acadians on board), the Hannah from Grand-Pré for Pennsylvania (140 Acadians on board), the Swan from Grand-Pré for Pennsylvania (168 Acadians on board), the Three Friends from Pigiguit for Pennsylvania (156 Acadians on board, 18 over capacity), the Seaflower from Grand-Pré for Massachusetts ([about 160] Acadians from Pigiguit on board) and three escort ships: the Nightingale, the Halifax and the Warren.

October 27, 1755
The 14 boats from Les Mines join the 8 ships carrying Acadians from Chignectou in the Bay of Fundy and head toward the high seas.

October 27, 1755
Departure of the Helena from Annapolis Royal for Massachusetts (323 Acadians aboard: 52 men, 52 women, 108 boys and 111 girls).

October 31, 1755
Winslow writes that the villages in his district have been burned and that the village of Grand-Pré will be destroyed as soon as the last inhabitants have been deported.

November 2-7 1755
The British soldiers begin burning the villages of the region of Grand-Pré and probably also of Pigiguit. They destroy 255 houses, 276 barns, 11 mills and one church in the settlement of Rivière-aux-Canards and of the rivers Gaspareau, Habitants, and the surrounding area.

November 3, 1755
Winslow announces that he has already deported 1,510 Acadians from Grand-Pré and from Rivière-aux-Canards. Because of the lack of ships, some 98 Acadian families (600 people) mostly from the ‘Village des Antoine’ in Rivière-aux-Canards and the ‘Village des Landry’ in Grand Pré, with a few other people from Rivière-aux-Canards, remain to be embarked at Pointe-des-Boudrot. They are transferred to Grand-Pré to await ships transporting them into exile.

November 4, 1755
Death of Anne Mouton, age 30, widow of Joseph Richard, the first Acadian victim of the epidemic of smallpox in Québec.

November 5, 1755
Six ships transporting Acadians take refuge in Boston during a storm: the Three Friends headed for Philadelphia, with 160 Acadians “generally well”, the Dolphin headed for Maryland, with 227 Acadians “sick because of the overloading of the ship, 40 persons sleeping on the deck”, the Endeavour headed for South Carolina, with 125 Acadians “in good health but complaining of the lack of food”, the Sarah and Molly headed for Virginia, with 151 Acadians “in good health but complaining of the lack of water”, the Ranger headed for Maryland, with 205 Acadians some of whom are “sick and with water of poor quality” and the Neptune, with 209 Acadians “in good health, but 40 persons sleeping on the deck”.

November 7, 1755
The Boston authorities recommend that 134 Acadians of the ships over capacity should disembark to reduce the ratio on each ship to the stipulated two persons per ton.

November 9, 1755
The Pennsylvania Gazette (11 November 1755) cites a letter from Winchester, Virginia, announcing that ‘Some vessels are in the River from Halifax with French Neutrals, one of which came up to town on Tuesday night, but is since ordered down again.’ These are the Endeavour with 166 Acadians, and the Industry, with 177 Acadians, both having left for Virginia from Point-des-Boudrot.

November 13, 1755
Arrival in Virginia of the Mary with 182 Acadians from Pointe-des-Boudrot, of the Neptune with 207 Acadians from Pigiguit, of the Prosperous with 152 Acadians from Pointe- des-Boudrot and the Sally and Molly with 154 Acadians from Grand-Pré.

November 15, 1755
The English troops burn the church as well as 87 houses in Tintamarre and some 70 houses between this village and that of Wescock, that is, the villages of Pré-des-Richard and Pré-des-Bourg.

November 15, 1755
Arrival in Massachusetts of the ship Seaflower with about 160 Acadians from Pigiguit.

November 15 - 19 1755
Arrival in South Carolina of four ships, the Cornwallis (207 Acadian passengers), the Dolphin (121 Acadians), the Two Brothers (132 Acadians) and the Endeavour (126 Acadians), all having departed from Chignectou. They do not have the right to disembark at Sullivan’s Island until December 4, and they do not enter the city of Charleston until a few days later. A fourth ship, the Syren, arrives at the same time with the 21 Acadian men considered to be very dangerous, who do not have the right to disembark. Fifteen of them are sent to England and to Portugal, and five succeed in escaping and returning to Acadia

Before November 17, 1755
Arrival in Georgia of the Jolly Philip with about 120 Acadians, and soon after November 17, 1755 the arrival of the Prince Frederick with about 280 Acadians, all from Chignectou.

November 17, 1755
Nine women and children, most of them ill, are found in Memramcook by English soldiers who take back one woman after having burned 30 houses.

November 20, 1755
The English soldiers burn 100 buildings in the village of Wescock.

November 20, 1755
The Maryland Gazette announces the arrival of the first ship at Annapolis, Maryland, the Leopard, with 178 Acadian passengers from the region of Grand-Pré. The Ranger will arrive a few days later with 208 Acadians from Pigiguit.

November 20, 1755
The Pennsylvania Gazette announces the arrival, in Pennsylvania, of three ships transporting on board some “French neutrals”: the Swan (161 Acadians from Grand-Pré), the Hannah (137 Acadians from Grand-Pré) and the Three Friends (156 Acadians from Pigiguit). These Acadians only disembark on November 24.

November 29, 1755
Arrival in Massachusetts of the Helena, with 323 Acadians from Annapolis Royal.

November 30, 1755
Arrival in Maryland of the last of the four ships transporting 900 Acadians, the Dolphin with 230 Acadians from Pigiguit. The Elizabeth, which had awaited in the port with 242 Acadians from Grand-Pré on board, entered the same day.

December 2, 1755
Five other transport ships arrive at Les Mines in order to deport the last Acadians.

December 4, 1755
The 232 Acadian passengers of the Pembroke embark on a boat at Ile-aux- Chèvres, facing Annapolis Royal.

December 8, 1755
Deportation of 1,341 Acadians from Annapolis Royal. Departure of seven ships: The Pembroke, for North Carolina (232 Acadians aboard: 33 men, 37 women, 70 boys, 92 girls), the Edward, for Connecticut (278 Acadians aboard: 41 men, 42 women, 86 girls, 109 boys), the Elizabeth, for Connecticut (280 Acadians aboard: 42 men, 40 women, 95 boys, 103 girls), the Experiment, for New York (200 Acadians aboard: 40 men, 45 women, 56 boys, 59 girls), the Hopson, (342 Acadians on board: 42 men, 46 women, 120 boys, 134 girls), one schooner for South Carolina (one Acadian family aboard: 1 man, 1 woman, 4 boys, 3 girls) and one escort ship: the Baltimore.

December 8, 1755
Winslow learns that 1,664 men, women and children of the region of Annapolis Royal have been deported. About 300 Acadians of the region, mostly those that lived upstream of the Annapolis River, escaped deportation by fleeing into the woods and after to the St. John River.

December 13, 1755
Deportation of the last Acadians of Les Mines, that is, the families of the villages des Antoine and des Landry, with a few other families from Rivière-aux-Canards. Departure of two ships: the Swallow, for Massachusetts (236 Acadians aboard) and the Dove, for Connecticut (114 Acadians aboard).

December 20, 1755
Last group of 232 Acadians deported from Les Mines. Departure of two ships: the Racehorse, for Massachusetts (120 Acadians aboard) and the Ranger, for Virginia (112 Acadians aboard).

December 22, 1755
Arrival in Boston of the ship Swallow with 238 Acadians from Grand-Pré.

December 26, 1755
Arrival in Boston of the ship Racehorse, transporting 120 Acadians from Grand-Pré.

December 26, 1755
The Pennsylvania Gazette (5 February 1756) announces that a vessel (the Prosperous), carrying Acadians, that was supposedly lost and had to put in at North Caroline to refit, has landed at Yorktown.

December 30, 1755
Departure of the Providence from Halifax with 50 Acadians from Mirliguèche, destined for North Carolina.

1755-1758
Numerous Acadian refugees in the Baie des Chaleurs and at Ile-Saint-Jean, leave for Québec because of the lack of supplies.

1756

January 8, 1756
Arrival of the transport Pembroke, carrying 32 Acadian families (225 people) of Annapolis Royal, at the St. John River. The Acadian prisoners had managed to seize the ship. They then go on to Canada or to the Miramichi.

January 15, 1756
Arrival of the Hopson to South Carolina, having left from Annapolis Royal with 342 Acadian exiles. They remain on board the ship until February 11, and then they are detained at Sullivan’s Island until the end of March before being allowed to enter Charleston. January 20, 1756
Arrival in Virginia of the Ranger with 112 Acadians from Les Mines.

January 21, 1756
The Boston Weekly-News-Letter (29 January 1756) announces the arrival of two ships, the Elizabeth (277 Acadians from Port Royal) and of an unknown sloop (Capt Worster) (173 Acadians from Les Mines).

January 30, 1756
Arrival in Connecticut of the Dove with 114 Acadians from Les Mines.

March 17, 1756
A group of Acadian escapees cross the Bay of Fundy from Bloody Creek to Chipoudie. Early spring 1756
Acadian and Micmac fighters ambush a group of Anglo-American soldiers while they are cutting wood for Fort Cumberland (Beauséjour), killing 9 of them.

March --- 1756
With the permission and help of the governor, 200 Acadians deported to Georgia leave the colony in canoes and open boats to head north.

March 29, 1756
A group of Acadians deported to Georgia and led by Jacques Vigneau dit Maurice arrive in South Carolina.

April 15, 1756
The group of 80 Acadians led by Jacques Vigneau dit Maurice leave South Carolina and head north.

Circa April 1756
Acadian fighters raid a warehouse in Fort Edward (Pigiguit), taking provisions and killing 13 Anglo-American soldiers. A few days later the soldiers kill 2 men and capture 2 others thought to be from the same group.

April 21, 1756
Attack on the village of Cap-Sable by Maj. Jedediah Prebble and 167 British soldiers.

April 21, 1756
First deportation of the Acadians of Cap-Sable. Embarkation of 72 Acadians of Pubnico on the Mary, headed for North Carolina.

End April 1756
Two more Anglo-American soldiers are killed by Acadian fighters at Chignectou.

May 3, 1756
Arrival at New York of the Experiment with 21 families (151 people) from Annapolis Royal. Having departed on December 8, 1755, with some 200 Acadians, it was carried by violent winds to the island of Antigua where several Acadians were able to escape. Others died on the journey.

May 7, 1756
The South Carolina Gazette announces that two groups of Acadians, one of 50 people and the other of 80 people, have left South Carolina to return to Acadia. Only the first group will succeed in returning.

May 10, 1756
Arrival in Massachusetts of the Mary, having aboard 72 Acadians from Cap-Sable.

Circa May 10, 1756
Deportation to England of more than 1,000 Acadians deported to Virginia. Departure aboard four ships: the Bobby Goodridge, the Virginia Packet, the Fanny Bovey and the Industry. More than 400 will die in a smallpox epidemic.

May 11, 1756
The 72 Acadians of Pubnico deported from Halifax on the Mary and destined for North Carolina refuse to leave Boston aboard the Leopard; on May 27 they will receive permission to stay and are scattered in the Massachusetts colony.

May 29, 1756
The Pennsylvania Gazette (10 June 1756) announces the arrival in Connecticut of the Edward with 180 ‘French, called Neutrals’ from Annapolis Royal. Having left on December 8, the transport was carried by violent winds to the island of Antigua, to arrive six months later in Connecticut.

June 16, 1756
L’Abbé François LeGuerne confirms that a ship having aboard five Acadian families (50 people) deported to South Carolina, has arrived at the St.John River.

June 18, 1756
Arrival in Falmouth, England, of the ship Fanny Bovey, transporting 204 Acadians deported to Virginia.

June 19, 1756
Arrival in Bristol, England, of the ship Virginia Packet transporting 289 Acadians deported to Virginia.

June 23, 1756
Arrival in Portsmouth, England, of the ship Bobby Goodridge, transporting 296 Acadians deported to Virginia. They are immediately sent on to Southampton.

June 26, 1756
Arrival in Liverpool, England, of the ship Industry transporting 243 Acadians deported to Virginia.

June 28, 1756
The Acadians led by Jacques Vigneau dit Maurice, who are attempting to return to Acadia in seven boats, make a stop near Shrewsbury, Monmouth Co, in the Jerseys.

July 1, 1756
Lawrence, alarmed by reports that some Acadians have succeeded in returning to Acadia while many others are attempting to do so, writes to the governors of Massachusetts and the other Anglo-American colonies to urge them to arrest any Acadians who try to return to Acadia.

July 12, 1756
The Acadians in seven boats led by Jacques Vigneau dit Maurice pass New York and make landing a few miles to the east of it.

July 20, 1756
Arrival and arrest in Sandwich, Massachusetts, of 99 Acadians aboard seven boats under the direction of Jacques Vigneau dit Maurice. On August 18, they are scattered in towns throughout Massachusetts.

July 31, 1756
Letter of former inhabitants of Port-Royal, escapees of the Pembroke and refugees on the St. John River, written to their former pastor, l’Abbé Henri Daudin. Most of this group is preparing to go to Québec because of the lack of supplies.

August 6, 1756
Scarcity of food has forced some 49 Acadian families who had taken refuge at Miramichi, to flee to Ile Saint-Jean and to Québec.

August 14, 1756
L’Abbé LeGuerne recounts that from 50 to 60 Acadian families, refugees from Port-Royal and Les Mines, have arrived at the Petcoudiac River.

August 14, 1756
The Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal (30 August 1756) mentions a second group of seven boats with ‘80 French Neutrals’ make a stop at Goshen, N.J., ‘having pleasured it along the coast from Georgia’.

August 22, 1756 (Thursday)
The second group of seven boats, with 78 Acadians aboard, returning from Georgia and South Carolina, are intercepted at Long Island, New York. These Acadians are dispersed in the towns of the colony on August 25.

September 11, 1756
Gov. Shirley of Massachusetts issues a proclamation requiring that all Acadians attempting to return to Acadia from the southern colonies be stopped.

October --- 1756
Two small ships transport 200 Acadian refugees to Québec.

October --- 1756
A small ship carrying 80 Acadian refugees destined for Québec is captured by the English in the Gaspé area.

Octover 27, 1756
The intendant Bigot estimates that there are 600 Acadian refugees in Québec.

November 30, 1756
Capture by the English of the boat Chariot Royal heading for Louisbourg, having on board nine Acadian men separated from their families, deported to South Carolina, then to England, then to France. They were trying to rejoin their families in Acadia. Most eventually do so.

December 15, 1756
A boat carrying 150 Acadians heading for Québec is captured by the English near Gaspé and brought to Halifax.

1757

Winter 1756 -1757
Several hundred Acadian refugees in the Miramichi region die of hunger and misery during the “Grande disette” (The Great Famine).

Circa January 1757
Rationing of food starts at Miramichi. Acadians are reduced to eating leather, carrion and even animal droppings. Almost all of the children die. After the Acadians rebel over their conditions, over 400 go to Pokemouche, where fishing is better. Others leave the Miramichi to go on to other places on the coast.

Circa March 1757
A boat finally arrives at the Miramichi with supplies from Québec.

June 16, 1757
In his journal, Montcalm notes that a boat has transported 120 Acadian refugees “that Mr. De Boishébert cannot feed”, from Miramichi to Québec.

November 8, 1757
In his journal, Montcalm notes the arrival in Québec of another 137 Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean where “we no longer know how to nourish them”.

November --- 1757 - March 1758
More than 300 Acadian refugees die in an epidemic of smallpox in Québec.

December 8, 1757
An officer and 18 soldiers are killed in an ambush by Acadian fighters near Annapolis Royal.

1758

February 15, 1758
More than 1,500 Acadian refugees are in Québec.

March 30, 1758
A party of 40 Acadians attacks some vessels near Chignectou, killing several enemies and taking 700 dollars.

March 31, 1758
A British force brings in 2 families, women and children, whose men are thought to have taken part in the attack on the ships.

July 1, 1758
At the battle of Stoney Creek on the Petcoudiac River, an Acadian force of about thirty men, after having managed to ‘carry off’ some cattle, meet a disastrous upset by the British soldiers. Five Acadians are killed (some of whom are scalped), at least four are drowned and nine are captured.

July 26, 1758
Capitulation to the English forces of Fort Louisbourg by Gov. Augustin de Bosche Henry de Drucour.

Circa August 1758
A group of Acadians from Port Toulouse in Cape Breton arrives at the Miramichi.

August 17, 1758
Capitulation to the English of Ile-Saint-Jean by Gabriel Rousseau de Villejouin.

August 31, 1758
Deportation of the Acadians of Ile-Saint-Jean to France. Five ships with 692 Acadian prisoners of the island leave for Louisbourg where they arrive on September 4.

September 4, 1758
The captain of the Duke of Cumberland receives the order to transport 327 prisoners from Louisbourg to LaRochelle.

September 8, 1758
The English come to occupy Ile-Saint-Jean.

September 10, 1758
The Richmond with 284 Acadian prisoners and the Britannia with 312 Acadian prisoners leave Louisbourg for LaRochelle.

September 20, 1758
Col. Robert Monckton stops at Saint-Jean (Fort Frederick) with two battalions of 300 men and begins the hunt for the Acadians of the St. John River.

September 23, 1758
400 British soldiers disembark at Cap-Sable searching for Acadians and two sailboats sail along the shore “to prevent the vermin from escaping in canoes”.

September 26, 1758
The ship Mary receives orders to leave Louisbourg with 560 deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean, destined for Saint-Malo, in France.

September 27, 1758
Departure from Louisbourg for France of the Mary with 560 passengers.

September 30, 1758
Nine Acadian prisoners are taken at the St. John River.

October 20, 1758
Embarkation of the inhabitants of Pointe-Prime on Ile-Saint-Jean on the Duke William, one of the ships that sank with the loss of almost all their passengers.

October 28, 1758
Embarkation of the women and children from Cap-Sable on the ship Alexander II.

October 28, 1758
2,150 inhabitants of Ile-Saint-Jean are already embarked and deported.

October 29, 1758
Embarkation of the men of Cap-Sable on the Alexander II: 68 Acadians and their pastor are transported to Halifax. Their houses and other buildings had been burned in the preceding weeks. Several families, however, escape the Rangers but they turn themselves in to the English authorities the following summer.

October 31, 1758
Arrival in great distress of the transport ship Mary at Spithead in England. Almost half of the passengers, Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean, had perished during the voyage. The survivors are assisted and transferred to two other ships that arrive at Cherbourg toward the end of November.

November 1, 1758
Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean and Ile Royale disembark from the Antelope and the Duc Guillaume at Saint-Servan, France.

November 4, 1758
Departure of the Hind and several other vessels transporting Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean for Louisbourg; arrived November 14.

November 4, 1758
British soldiers, under Monckton, arrive at the village of Grimross (Gagetown,N.B.), settled on the St. John River by Acadians who had escaped from Beauséjour in 1755. The village is deserted, recently abandoned by the Acadians. From 40 to 50 houses and barns are burned.

November 6, 1758
Arrival in Halifax of 68 Acadians and their pastor, from Cap-Sable. They are sent to France with other Acadians, and arrive in Le Havre at the beginning of 1759.

November 12, 1758
Departure from Chipoudie of the expedition led by Captain George Scott who goes up the Petcoudiac River and burns the Acadian villages from La Chapelle (Moncton), to the village of Victor Broussard (Salisbury). More than 120 buildings are destroyed. Thirty Acadian men, women and children are captured and sent to Halifax.

November 17, 1758
Debarkation at Saint-Servan, France, of the Acadians deported from Ile-Saint-Jean and Ile-Royale on the Reine d’Espagne.

November 21, 1758
2,415 Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean are already embarked for France.

November 25, 1758
Departure from the Chédabouctou Bay of the transport ships Duke William, Violet, Yarmouth, Neptune, John and Samuel, Ruby, and at least one other ship with deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean en route to France.

November 30, 1758
Arrival in Cherbourg, France, of a ship coming from Louisbourg, transporting the first inhabitants deported from Ile-Saint-Jean.

End of November 1758
Two British ships arrive at Cherbourg with deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean and Ile-Royale, probably the survivors of the ship Mary.

December 12, 1758
Sinking of the Violet, transporting inhabitants from Ile-Saint-Jean to France, with the loss of almost 300 lives.

December 13, 1758
Sinking of the Duke William, taking inhabitants from Ile-Saint-Jean to France, with the loss of more than 350 lives. Among the Acadian passengers, only four men survive and reach Falmouth, England.

December 16, 1758
Sinking near the Portuguese coast of the Ruby transporting 310 Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean to France, with a loss of 190 lives.

December 20, 1758
Arrival in Bideford, England, of the Supply, with 160 deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean. A few of these deportees go on to Bristol but the majority, numbering 140, reach Saint-Malo on March 9, 1759.

Circa December 23, 1758
Arrival in great distress at Portsmouth, England, of the Neptune, with deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean.

December 26, 1758
Disembarkation at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, of 179 Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean who had been deported on the Neptune.

Winter 1758
Famine strikes again and Acadian refugees die of hunger at Camp d’Espérance on the Miramichi River.

1759

January 16, 1759
Arrival at Saint-Malo, France, of the Tamerlane with 54 deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean.

January 22, 1759
The British agent at Fayal in the Açores Islands relates that only 120 Cumberland; of the 310 deportees from Ile-Saint-Jean on the Ruby were saved from the sinking of that ship.

January 23, 1759
Debarkation at Saint-Servan, France, of the transport ships John and Samuel, Mathias, Patience, Restoration and Yarmouth with from 665 to 690 deportees on board from Ile-Saint-Jean.

February 4, 1759
Arrival in Portsmouth, England, of the Portuguese ship Santa Catarina with 87 passengers from Ile-Saint-Jean who survived the sinking of the Ruby at the Açores Islands. They leave for France on the Bird on February 10.

February 15, 1759
Acadians who survived the sinking of the Ruby arrive in Cherbourg.

February 18, 1759
Lieutenant William Hazen and his troops march up along the St. John River. They destroy the deserted village of Sainte-Anne-des-Pays-Bas (Fredericton), burning 147 buildings and 2 ‘mass houses’ and killing the livestock. The inhabitants had managed to flee before their arrival.

March 2, 1759
Massacre near Grimross on the St.John River by members of Hazen’s Expedition, of Anastasie Godin dit Bellefontaine, wife of Eustache Part, and 3 of their children, and of Marguerite Guibault, wife of Michel Godin dit Beauséjour, and their son.

March 9, 1759
Debarkation of the Supply at Saint-Servan, France, with Acadian refugees from Ile-Saint-Jean and Ile-Royale.

June 29, 1759
The arrival in Halifax is announced of 152 Acadians from Cap-Sable and Lawrence orders that they be kept prisoners on Georges Island.

September 13, 1759
Victory of the Anglo-American forces at the battle of the Plaines d’Abraham in Québec. This defeat leaves the Acadians with no hope of receiving help or support from Canada or France.

November 3, 1759
Lawrence announces to the British authorities in London that he will deport to England 151 inhabitants from Cap-Sable kept prisoners on Georges Island.

November 10, 1759
Departure of the Mary the fourth with Acadians from Cap-Sable on board, destined for England. They are immediately sent on to France.

November 16, 1759
Submission to Colonel Joseph Frye, commander of Fort Cumberland (Beauséjour) of Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, of Alexandre Broussard dit Beausoleil, of Jean Basque and of Simon Martin, as delegates for 190 Acadians of Petcoudiac and of Memramcook.

November 18, 1759
Submission at Fort Cumberland (Beauséjour) of Jean Bourg, of Michel Bourg and of Pierre Surette, in the name of the 700 Acadian refugees at Miramichi, at Richibouctou and at Bouctouche.

Circa December 29, 1759
Arrival in England of the Mary the fourth, having on board the Acadians from Cap-Sable.

1760

January 14, 1760
Disembarkation at Cherbourg, France, of the Acadians from Cap-Sable, recently arrived in England and coming from Halifax (deported on November 10, 1759).

April 10, 1760
The New York Mercury (14 May 1760) mentions that 115 Acadians have died of smallpox in Georgia. Some 300 have caught the disease, mostly through inoculation.

June 27, 1760
The battle of the Ristigouche begins between four French ships and five English ships. This is the last naval battle between the French and the English in North America during the Seven Years’ War.

July 8, 1760
Conclusion of the battle of the Ristigouche with the victory for the English. The Acadian dwellings are bombarded and 300 Acadian refugees are captured and taken to Halifax.

August 7, 1760
144 Acadian families (703 people) remain as refugees at Ristigouche.

September 3, 1760
150 Acadian families (800 people) remain as refugees at Ristigouche.

October 24, 1760
Census of 170 Acadian families (1,003 people), refugees at Ristigouche.

1761

July 14, 1761
220 Acadian families are enumerated at Ristigouche and at the Miramichi (1,300 people). 60 Acadian families enumerated at Chignectou (340 people). 90 Acadian families enumerated at Halifax (445 people).

July 31, 1761
Start of the census of Acadians “along the coast of Accadie”.(794 refugees)

October 5, 1761
List drawn up of 46 Acadian families (217 people) imprisoned at Fort Edward (Pigiguit).

1762

July 25, 1762
Decision taken by the Council of Nova Scotia to deport to Massachusetts the Acadians detained at Halifax.

August 9, 1762
List drawn up of the 215 Acadian prisoners at Fort Edward (Pigiguit).

August 18, 1762
Last deportation of Acadians from Acadia. Deportation on board five ships destined for Boston, of 600 Acadians, including those detained at Halifax, and men brought without their families from Fort Edward and from Annapolis Royal. But the government of Massachusetts refuses to accept them and they are returned to Halifax where they arrive around mid-October.

1763

February 10, 1763
The treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years’ War. More than 5,000 Acadians detained in the Anglo-American colonies and in England are finally free to leave. A few decide to remain where they are but the majority head toward Québec, the Antilles, Acadia, France, Saint- Pierre-et-Miquelon and Louisiana between the years 1763 and 1769. This is the most important movement of Acadians since the Deportation.

March 2, 1763
Census of 753 Acadians detained in England.

May 4, 1763
Repatriation to France of Acadians detained in England. British agents at Bristol, Southampton, Falmouth and Liverpool are authorized to allow the Acadians to go to France with their families.

May 16, 1763
Embarkation of Acadians detained at Southampton on the Ambition and those detained at Bristol on the Dorothée to be sent to France.

May 16, 1763
Departure from France for Cayenne, Guyana, of three ships with a first group of colonists of whom many Acadians (63 people), arriving July 17, 1763.

May 26, 1763
Embarkation on the Fauvette of Acadians detained at Falmouth/Penryn to be sent to France.

May/June 1763
The former inhabitants of Louisbourg and of Canada who had requested to go to Saint-Domingue (Haiti), embark at La Rochelle on the Amphitryon and other ships.

June 7, 1763
Embarkation of Acadians detained at Liverpool, on the Esturgeon, to be sent to France.

June 9, 1763
The Neptune leaves France with 23 Acadians and Canadians destined for Martinique.

June 20, 1763
Census of 383 Acadians detained in Pennsylvania. Some remain, but the majority go to Maryland, to Québec, to Saint-Domingue, to Louisiana or to France. As far as we know, only one, Jean-Charles Aucoin, returned to Acadia and became the ancestor of the Aucoin and the Wedge of Prince Edward Island.

June --- 1763
Acadians having come to France from New England are embarked aboard the Marquis de Puységuy, for Martinique.

July 7, 1763
Census of 810 Acadians detained in Maryland. Some remain, but the majority eventually go to Louisiana. They leave in four groups between 1766 and 1769.

July 17, 1763
Arrival in Cayenne of a number of Acadian colonists who left from France on May 16, 1763.

August 12, 1763
Census of 694 Acadians detained in Halifax. Many choose to stay in Acadia but a large number go to Louisiana via the Antilles at the end of 1764.

August 12, 1763
Census of 87 Acadians who are on the St. John River. They go to Nicolet in Canada.

August 12, 1763
Census of 280 Acadians detained in South Carolina. They go to Saint-Domingue and to Louisiana.

August 14, 1763
Census of 1,043 Acadians who are in Massachusetts. Some remain, but the majority go to Canada. Others go to Miquelon, to Acadia or to Louisiana.

August 14, 1763
Census of 249 Acadians detained in New York. They go to the Antilles and to France.

August 14, 1763
- Census of 666 Acadians detained in Connecticut. A few remain but the majority go to Canada and to Saint-Domingue.

August 23, 1763
Census of 185 Acadians detained in Georgia. They go to Saint-Domingue and to Louisiana.

August 24, 1763
Census done by Joseph Guéguen of 374 Acadian prisoners at Fort Cumberland (Beauséjour). Many remain in Acadia but others settle in Louisiana, Miquelon, Canada or France.

September 6, 1763
Departure from Saint-Malo of the Aigle and the Sphinx, transporting Acadians to colonize the Iles-Malouines (Falkland Islands).

Early October 1763
Arrival at Miquelon of the first group of Acadians (21 families; 116 people) from Boston (before that, from Georgia) under the direction of Jacques Vigneau dit Maurice.

November --- 1763
Acadians leave South Carolina to go to Cap-François, in Saint-Domingue.

December 21, 1763
The Georgia Gazette (22 December 1763) announces that 21 Acadians ‘went in a vessel for Mobile, from which place they are to go to New Orleans’.

December 27, 1763
Departure from Le Havre, in France, of 150 colonists, among them probably a number of Acadians, destined for Cayenne, Guyana, in South America.

1764

January 6, 1764 (Friday)
The last 44 Acadians leave Georgia for Cap-François in Saint-Domingue.

January 24, 1764
Plans are developed to settle from 300 to 400 Acadians at Môle-Saint-Nicolas, in Saint Domingue.

February 3, 1764
Departure of the Aigle and the Sphinx from the Iles-Malouines (Falkland Islands), leaving there two Acadian families. Mid February 1764
Arrival in Louisiana (via Mobile, Alabama) of the first Acadian refugees, that is, four families (20 people) originally deported from Chignectou to Georgia. A child is baptized in New Orleans on February 26, 1764.

March --- 1764
The Marie brings 120 more Acadians to Môle-Saint-Nicolas.

March 22, 1764
Census of 405 Acadian families (1,762 people) in Nova Scotia:

Halifax and surrounding area: 232 families (1,056 people) Fort Edward: 77 families (227 people) Annapolis Royal: 23 families (91 people) Fort Cumberland: 73 families (388 people) Ile-Saint-Jean: 300 Acadians. [Furthermore, there were still around 300 Acadians on Ile-Royale and there remained some Acadian families at Ristigouche.]

Spring 1764
Acadian families leave Philadelphia to go settle in French territory in the Antilles.

July 7, 1764
Sickness at Môle-Saint-Nicolas. Of the 556 Acadian inhabitants, 104 have already died and four are dying.

August --- 1764
Arrival at Miquelon of 21 families (110 Acadians) from Chédabouctou (and before that, from Pointe-à-Beauséjour, from Ile-Saint-Jean and from Ile-Royale).

August 25, 1764
Arrival in the Antilles of 21 Acadian families from New England on two boats. They settled in Le Mirebelais in Saint-Domingue.

September 23, 1764 to January 5, 1765
421 Acadians are transported from New York to Môle-Saint- Nicolas, in Saint Domingue.

November 22, 1764
Departure from Boulogne, France, of a number of Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean on the Deux Frères, to colonize Cayenne, Guyana.

November 26, 1764
Departure from Halifax of Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil and of some 600 Acadians aboard several boats destined for Cap-François. They go on to settle in Louisiana.

1765

January to April 1765
A second contingent of 188 Acadians from New York arrive at Môle-Saint-Nicolas.

January 5, 1765
Arrival at Iles-Malouines of the Aigle with a second group of Acadian colonists.

January 10, 1765
A letter from Hispaniola (Haiti) published in the Boston Evening Post (4 March 1765) reveals that out of 700 Acadians who had recently arrived there, only 280 are still living.

Before February 25, 1765
Arrival in Louisiana of 58 families (193 Acadians), who departed from Halifax under the leadership of Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil. They are followed by other Acadians from Halifax on other boats: a group of 80, another group of 40 and a last group of 20 or 30. Acadian refugees already in the Antilles had also joined them.

May 1, 1765
Census at Sinnamary, Guyana, of 138 Acadians.

Before May 4, 1765
Arrival in Louisiana (via Saint Domingue) of 80 Acadians, having departed from Halifax.

June --- 1765
Arrival in Louisiana (via Saint Domingue) of 73 Acadian families having left Halifax under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Bergeron.

August - November 1765
Arrival in Louisiana (via Saint Domingue) of 37 Acadian families in several groups, having departed from Halifax under the direction of Philippe Lachaussée dit Saint-Julien.

August 3, 1765
List of 22 Acadian men at the Iles-de-la-Madeleine who swore allegiance to King George III.

August --- 1765
Arrival at Miquelon of a group of Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean.

September 15, 1765
Census in France of 2,370 Acadian refugees (2,563 with a supplement to the role).

September 24, 1765
Arrival at Belle-Ile-en-Mer of the first Acadian colonists, Joseph LeBlanc and Amand Granger and his family. It is the first attempt to settle Acadians permanently in France.

Early October 1765
Arrival at Miquelon of 111 Acadians from Ile-Saint-Jean and from Halifax.

Early October 1765
Arrival at Saint-Pierre of Acadians from Halifax. They soon rejoin the other Acadians at Miquelon.

October 3, 1765
The census of 20 Acadian families (95 people) arrived at Belle-Ile-en-Mer, coming from Saint-Malo. They arrived before September 25.

Mid October 1765
Arrival at Miquelon of Acadian families from Pointe-à-Beauséjour.

October 14, 1765
Arrival at Belle-Ile-en-Mer of the first Acadian families of Morlaix, via Vannes.

Early November 1765
Acadians, formerly at Fort Beauséjour, arrive at Miquelon from Ile-Saint-Jean.

November 11, 1765
List of Acadians of Beauséjour who sought refuge in Miquelon and who subsequently are sent to France.

November 12, 1765
Embarkation for France, under government orders, of 43 Acadians of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on the Deux Amis, arriving at Nantes on December 28.

November 22, 1765
Third voyage of the Aigle bringing Acadian colonists to the Iles-Malouines.

November 28, 1765
Census of 78 families, 77 of whom are Acadian (363 people) at Belle-Ile-en-Mer.

1766

May --- 1766
Arrival in Miquelon of 11 Acadian families, having departed from Halifax, most being families of the officers of the Ristigouche militia.

--- 1766
240 Acadians leave Connecticut to go to Québec. A second group will follow them later.

June 2, 1766
List of 890 Acadians still in Massachusetts who wish to go to Canada.

Circa July 1766
A first group of 224 Acadians leave Maryland to go to Louisiana.

September 28, 1766
Arrival in Louisiana of 224 Acadians (74 men and 150 women and children) from Maryland.

October 26, 1766
Arrival in Louisiana of 216 Acadians coming from Halifax via Saint-Domingue.

December --- 1766
Other Acadians arrive in Louisiana.

--- 1766
Arrival in Louisiana of Acadians from Cayenne, Guyana.

Between 1766 and 1768
Arrival in Louisiana of Acadians from Champflore, Martinique.

1767

January 12, 1767
Decree from the Court of Rennes, capital of Bretagne, that “all the marriage, baptismal, and burial registers having been lost in the persecution by the English, we could only supplement this loss by establishing as much as possible the relations of these unfortunate fugitives”, which led to the Declarations of Belle-Ile-en-Mer.

April 1, 1767
Transfer of the Iles Malouines to Spain. Acadian families already established there are returned to France.

April --- 1767
A second group of 210 Acadians leaves Maryland on the Virgin to go to Louisiana. They arrive on the Mississippi River on July 12 and at New Orleans on July 23.

May 15, 1767
Census of 551 Acadian refugees at Miquelon.

Late June 1767
240 Acadians leave Connecticut to go to Québec on board the Pitt. They arrive early in August. A second group will follow them later.

July 23, 1767
Arrival in Louisiana of 211 Acadians from Maryland.

Early October 1767
First deportation to France of Acadians of Miquelon on the order of Louis XV, king of France. These Acadians are directed toward the ports of Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient and Rochefort because of the overpopulation of the islands.

Circa October 6, 1767
Departure aboard light boats, of 163 Acadian refugees from Saint-Pierre-et- Miquelon “who decided to return to Acadia on their own vessels” rather than be deported to France. They settle in Cocagne, in Chezzetcook, on Prince Edward Island, in Gaspésie and elsewhere in Québec.

November 13, 1767
Arrival at Saint-Malo of the Créole belonging to Joseph Dugas, with 37 Acadian passengers from Miquelon.

December 17, 1767
A third group of 150 Acadians leave Maryland on the Jane to go to Louisiana. They arrive in New Orleans on February 4, 1768.

1768

February 4, 1768
Arrival in Louisiana of 29 families (151 people) from Maryland.

May 5, 1768
Return from Saint-Malo to Miquelon of the first Acadians, 37 on the Créole belonging to Abraham Dugas, after a counter-order of the minister allowing the Acadians to return to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. In all, 322 Acadians return.

June 23, 1768
Return to Miquelon, from Port-Louis (Lorient) via La Rochelle, on the Louise, of Joseph Vigneau and of 66 Acadians deported to France in 1767.

July 18, 1768
Return to Miquelon on the Sénec of 219 Acadians deported to Rochefort in France in 1767.

1769

January 5, 1769
Seven Acadian families (32 people) and some German families leave Maryland to go to Louisiana on the Britannia, the last of four boats that transported Acadians between these two places. The boat strays and winds up in Texas. In September, the Acadian families leave Texas to go on foot to Louisiana.

October 24, 1769
Arrival at Natchitoches, Louisiana, of the Acadian families from Maryland from the Britannia. They took a month and a half to arrive there from Texas.

1772

September --- 1772
Visit of two Acadian delegates to the lands of ‘la Ligne acadienne’ near Châtellerault in Poitou, where it is proposed to establish Acadian farmers, but they find that the land is not good.

1773

March --- 1773
Acadian families, refugees in the ports of Bretagne, begin leaving France to return to Acadia, to Pomquet, to Cape Breton, to Ile-Saint-Jean and to Gaspésie.

July 3, 1773
Second visit of Acadian delegates to the lands proposed to them on ‘la Ligne acadienne’ in Poitou, and this time they declare that these lands are arable.

October 2, 1773
97 Acadians embarked on the Saint-Claude at Saint Malo, arrive at La Rochelle en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

October 5, 1773
Small groups of Acadians having arrived at La Rochelle, go toward Chatellerault en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

October 7, 1773
57 Acadians who departed from Saint Malo on the Sénac on October 2, arrive at La Rochelle en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

October 28, 1773
Acadian families who departed from Le Havre on October 19, arrive in Saint-Malo en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

October --- 1773
Acadian families come from Cherbourg to La Rochelle en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

November 5, 1773
497 Acadians have already arrived at Chatellerault en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

1774

May --- 1774
779 Acadians arriving from Nantes debark at Chatellerault en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

June --- 1774
177 Acadians arrive at Chatellerault en route to ‘la Ligne acadienne’. They are joined by nine others who came by their own means.

End of July, 1774
1,472 Acadians composing 363 families, have already arrived at ‘la Ligne acadienne’. Very disappointed, they find that few of the homes promised them have been built and that the lands they are offered are poor.

1775

January 1, 1775
Before this date, 22 Acadian families leave their concessions at Belle-Ile-en-Mer to go in the towns of Bretagne. Many go to Louisiana in 1785.

Fall 1775/Spring 1776
1,360 Acadians comprising 262 families abandon ‘la Ligne acadienne’ to return to Nantes.

October 24, 1775
A first group of 24 Acadian families leaves Poitou for Nantes after the unsuccessful project of ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

November 15, 1775
A second group of 62 Acadian families leaves Poitou for Nantes after the unsuccessful settlement of ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

December 7, 1775
A third group of 103 Acadian families leaves Poitou for Nantes after the unsuccessful settlement of ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

1776

March 6-13, 1776
A fourth group of 78 Acadian families leaves Poitou for Nantes after the unsuccessful settlement of ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

March 30, 1776
Only 136 Acadians remain at ‘la Ligne acadienne’.

September 14, 1776
Attack by British forces on the islands Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

November 1, 1776
Census of the inhabitants of Miquelon (649 persons).

1776-1777
17 other Acadian families sell their concessions at Belle-Ile-en-Mer and leave the island to go to the towns of Bretagne. Many go to Louisiana in 1785.

1778

September 14, 1778
Arrival at Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon of English ships to seize the islands. Then, total destruction of the houses and boats... of the islands by the English. Second deportation of the inhabitants of Miquelon: 900 inhabitants, many of whom are Acadians, are transported to France: 178 end up at Nantes, 70 at La Rochelle, 45 at Rochefort, 40 near Cherbourg and others at Saint-Malo.

September 30, 1778
Departure of the Elisabeth du Cap with Acadians from Miquelon, destined for France (arrived at La Rochelle on October 31, 1778).

October 18, 1778
Departure of the Marie with Acadians from Miquelon destined for France (arrived at La Rochelle on November 21, 1778).

October 27, 1778
Departure of the Bethsy with Acadians from Miquelon destined for France (arrived at La Rochelle November 20, 1778).

October 29, 1778
The Geneviève arrives at Saint-Servan, France, with refugees from Saint-Pierre-et- Miquelon.

October 30, 1778
Refugees from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon disembark the ship Marquis de Durfort at Lorient in France.

November 1, 1778
Departure of the Providence with Acadians from Miquelon destined for France (arrived at La Rochelle on November 24, 1778).

November 1, 1778
The Modeste arrives at Saint-Servan, France, with refugees from Saint-Pierre- et-Miquelon.

November 6, 1778
The Jeannette and the Notre Dame arrive at Saint-Servan, France, with refugees from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

November 7, 1778
The Marie-Anne arrives at Saint-Servan, France, with refugees from Saint-Pierre- et-Miquelon.

November 19, 1778
The Charlotte, the Marie, and the Charmante Charlotte arrive at Saint-Servan, France, with refugees from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

1784

March 31, 1784
Louis XVI gives his consent that the Acadians living in France may leave for Louisiana, which was then Spanish territory.

1784
Return to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon of 600 inhabitants deported to France in 1778.

1784-5
The arrival of the Loyalists at the St. John River where some 500 Acadians live at Sainte-Anne-des-Pays-Bas (Fredericton) and surrounding area, leads to the displacement of these Acadians towards Madawaska, Memramcook and Petcoudiac, the Acadian Peninsula and the region of Nipisiguit (Bathurst).

1785

May 10, 1785
Departure from Nantes of the first vessel, the Bon Papa, transporting Acadians (34 families) from France to Louisiana, arriving in New Orleans on July 29.

May 12, 1785
Departure from Nantes of the second vessel, the Bergère, transporting Acadians (72 families) from France to Louisiana, arriving in New Orleans on August 15.

June 11, 1785
Departure from Nantes of the third vessel, the Beaumont, transporting Acadians (46 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, arriving in New Orleans on August 19.

June 27, 1785
Departure from Nantes of the fourth vessel, the St-Rémy, transporting Acadians (79 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, arriving September 9 in New Orleans.

July 29, 1785
Arrival in New Orleans of the first vessel, the Bon Papa, carrying Acadians (34 families) from France to Louisiana, having left from Nantes on May 10.

August 5, 1785
Departure from Saint-Malo of the fifth vessel, the Ville d’Archangel, transporting Acadians (54 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, arriving in New Orleans on December 3.

August 12, 1785
Departure from La Rochelle of the sixth vessel, the Amitié, transporting Acadians (78 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, arriving in New Orleans on November 7.

August 15, 1785
Arrival in New Orleans of the second vessel, the Bergère, transporting Acadians (72 families) from France to Louisiana, having left from Nantes on May 10.

August 19, 1785
Arrival in New Orleans of the third vessel, the Beaumont, transporting Acadians (46 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, having left from Nantes on June 11.

September 9, 1785
Arrival of the fourth vessel, the St-Rémy, transporting Acadians (79 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, having left Nantes on June 27.

October 15, 1785
Departure from Nantes of the seventh and last vessel, the Caroline, transporting Acadians (25 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, arriving in New Orleans on December 12.

October 23, 1785
King Charles III of Spain, by royal decree, accepts the emigration of the Acadians of France to Louisiana, then Spanish territory.

November 7, 1785
Arrival in New Orleans of the sixth vessel, the Amitié, transporting Acadians (78 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, having left La Rochelle on August 12.

December 3, 1785
Arrival in New Orleans of the fifth vessel, the Ville d’Archangel, transporting Acadians (54 families and individuals) from France to Louisiana, having left Saint-Malo on August 5.

1787

--- 1787
Acadians from Miquelon begin to emigrate toward Canada.

1788

Spring 1788
The Acadians who were at Pleudihen in Bretagne for more than twenty years leave France to rejoin their relatives in Pomquet, Nova Scotia. Before August 23, 1788
Arrival in Louisiana of 38 Acadians from France.

October 6, 1788
Joseph Gravois and Joseph Babin and their families (19 people) are authorized to leave Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to go to Louisiana.

1791

--- 1791
Numerous Acadians from Miquelon begin to emigrate to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine and to Ile-Madame.

1793

September 20, 1793
Confirmation that the islands Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are taken by the English.

November 23, 1793
The Acadian Jean-Jacques Granger (born at Rivière-aux-Canards, in Acadia on April 4, 1753) is guillotined at Bordeaux for having transported Girondins in his boat.

1794

July 1, 1794
Two Acadian women, Anne Leprince, widow of Sylvain LeBlanc, of Pigiguit, in Acadia, and her daughter, Anastasie LeBlanc, a nun, are guillotined at Brest for having sheltered a non-juring priest.

September 14, 1794
Deportation of the inhabitants of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, among them many Acadians, to Halifax and Boston, after the occupation of the islands by the British forces.

1795

April --- 1795
Arrival at Lorient and at Brest, in France, of the first refugees of Saint-Pierre-et- Miquelon, coming from Boston.

December 17, 1795
Arrival in Nantes, France, of the Hunter, with refugees of Saint-Pierre- et- Miquelon, who left from Boston on November 1.

1797

July --- 1797
Arrival at Bordeaux, France, of the Washington, with refugees of Saint-Pierre-et- Miquelon coming from Halifax where they had been detained since 1794.

August 13, 1797
Arrival of the Woodrop Sinn, at Le Havre, France, with refugees of Saint-Pierre- et-Miquelon, coming from Halifax where they had been detained since 1794.

1802

March 25, 1802
The treaty of Amiens returns the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to France.

1803

March 20, 1803
The British forces once again seize the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

1814

May 30, 1814
Definitive return of the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to France.

1815

----- Departure from Brest, France of 52 passengers for the islands Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

1816

--- March 1816
The inhabitants of the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon deported in 1794 begin the return to the islands on private vessels

March 23-24, 1816
Sinking of the Balance, transporting refugees from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon from Le Havre to Saint-Malo (37 of the 80 passengers perished).

May 25, 1816
Arrival of the ship, Ravanche, at Saint-Pierre, having left Saint-Servan with families returning to settle in the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (234 passengers).

June 5, 1816
Arrival of the Salamandre (92 passengers) and of the Lionne (30 passengers) at Saint-Pierre, having left from Rochefort with families returning to settle in the islands of Saint- Pierre-et-Miquelon.

Around June 1816
Arrival of the Caravanne at Saint-Pierre, having left from Brest with families returning to settle at the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (233 passengers).

Around June 1816
Arrival of the Aminthe, the Brestoise and a decked boat, at Saint-Pierre, with refugees of the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon who are returning to settle there.

           The author wishes to thank Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, who generously shared his expertise and enthusiasm with me, Stephen White, who has contributed in countless ways to this research, Muriel Roy, who read the manuscript, Lucie LeBlanc Consentino, whose research in early American colonial newspapers was very useful, Karen Thériot Reader, who answered questions on the Acadians’ arrival in Louisiana, Daniel LeBlanc and Claude DeGrâce.

           The "Chronology was published in Les Cahiers of the Société Historique Acadienne, in September, 2005. The Acadian Ancestral Home is grateful to Paul Delaney for his gratuitous permission to post this important piece of Acadian work on this site.

           The Acadian Ancestral Home also thanks Doris Leger, Editor of Le Reveil Acadian for her work in translating this article and allowing her translation to be used on this site.

© Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
Acadian & French Canadian Ancestral Home
2008 - Present

Please Navigate This Web Site
Using The Sidebar To The Left
If You Do Not See A Sidebar Click Here