The Acadian Expulsion

Known by many different names, the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and Le Grand Dérangement.

Settlers of Port Royal Area

The first French settlers of Port Royal arrived in 1636. They constructed dykes with aboiteaus on the saltmarshes along the Annapolis River, then known as the Rivére au Dauphin. With fruitful farmsteads and good relations with the Mi’kMaq natives the settlers thrived. New generations of settlers started to settle around the Bay of Fundy and throughout Acadia, now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. 

Port Royal area.

Port Royal area settlements stretched from The Basin of Annapolis River to the village of Paradise. The fort and area of Port Royal endured a century and a half of conflict between the French and English. The final siege of the fort at Port Royal occurred in 1710. The loss to the English resulted in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and Acadia became British property. 

In the following years the Acadians remained on their lands, farming, left alone by the English. Eventually the Acadians were made to swear their allegiance to the British Crown. Their unwillingness to sign the unconditional oath lead to their exile in 1755.


Between November 14th and 17th, late in the sailing season, five transport ships reached Annapolis Royal. A sixth ship, the Pembroke, was feared lost but arrived in time (Dunn 2004, 205).

Seven to eight weeks after the deportations from Chignecto, Grand-Pré and Pisiquid, 1664 Acadian men, women and children, were rounded up from the Port Royal area. Leaving all of their belongings behind, they were loaded onto the six ships from the Queen’s Wharf at the Annapolis Royal Fort (Dunn 2004, 205).

The ships waited, moored at Goat Island. At 5am on December 8th, 1755 the six ships sailed south to the British colonies escorted by the sloop-o-war Baltimore. (Dunn 2004, 205).

Captain Adams from Annapolis Royal to John Winslow at Halifax, dated December 8th, 1755: "This morning at 5 the fleet sailed out of the basin with a fair wind."



A Fleet of Seven Ships

The Journal of Captain John Knox, gave the breakdown of the number of Acadians on each ship as follows:


Voyage South

The convoy of seven ships escorted by sloop Baltimore, sailed south the morning of December 8th, 1755. The 6 transports that the Baltimore escorted carried an average of 278 Acadian exiles each. This is in contrast to the average of 167 per transport that was carried off in October, 1755. (Gipson, 269) The  map below  shows an approximate route of each ship. Soon after departure the convoy encountered a storm changing the course for several of the ships.

Hopson

Ship: 177 tons

The Hopson was the largest ship of the convoy. With 342 Acadians on board, that being 42 men, 46 women, 120 boys, 134 girls, it arrived in South Carolina on Jan 15, 1756. (Dunn 2004)

Schooner

Name and weight unknown

It is believed a family of 9 was transported on board of the schooner.

Experiment

Brigantine: 136 tons

Destined for New York with 200 Acadians of those 40 men, 45 women, 56 boys, and 59 girls. The ship arrived in New York on May 6, 1756, after loosing its way in a bad storm.

“Albert N. Lafreniere states that the EXPERIMENT, Benjamine Stoddard, master, was blown off course as was the Edward and arrived in New York, via Antigua with 200 exiles.” (Lafreniere) 

Edward

Snow: 139 tons

Bound for Connecticut with supplies for a 28 day voyage with 41 men 42 women, 86 boys and 109 girls for a total of 278 passengers. (Lauviere 1924, 485)

Unfortunately, the ship suffered the same misfortune of a encountering a violent storm as the Expedition, and was blown off course and required a stopover in Antigua. Engaged at sea for eight and a half months the Acadians on board suffered greatly, as not all survived the journey. “During the voyage, almost 100 had died of malaria and when they arrived in Connecticut their personal items such as blankets, cushions, etc were ordered burned, further adding to their grief.” (Lafreniere)

Elizabeth

Ship: 166 tons

According to Albert N. Lafreniere, the Ship Elizabeth replaced the Two Sisters that never left Annapolis Royal. Aboard were: 42 men, 40 women, 95 boys and 103 girls. Elizabeth arrived in the New London, Connecticut on 21 Jan 1756, with 277 exiles, three died enroute. (Lafreniere) 

Like all of the other transports, the Elizabeth was probably chartered for a monthly fee (per ton), plus a pilot's fee and provisions, by Governor Lawrence, from Charles Apthorp & Thomas Hancock, of the Boston Mercantile Company of Apthorp and Hancock, to be used as a transport for the removal of the Acadian Exiles to the eastern seaboard. The amount of provisions for the transports were included in the sailing orders issued by Lawrence and was to be 5 pounds of flour and one pound of pork (or 1 lb of beef 2 lbs bread and 5 lbs of flour) for (each) 7 days for each person so embarked. (Akins 1865, 280) 

Helena

Ship: 166 tons

With 323 Acadians on board, broken down as follows: 52 men, 52 women, 108 boys, and 111girls. The ship arrived in the Boston harbor 28 days after leaving Annapolis Royal. (Dunn 2004)

Pembroke

Snow: 139 tons

The 232 Acadians , 33 men, 37 women, 70 boys and 92 girls, on board of the Pembroke were destined for North Carolina but their story was to be different.

“The Baltimore escorted the transports as far as New York. After the escort left, the Acadians aboard the Pembroke, bound for North Carolina, overpowered the eight-man crew and sailed the vessel back along the coast of the St John River. Its 232 captive passengers escaped. Some of them made their way back to Québec. A few returned to the Annapolis area to live in the shadows.” (Dunn 2004, 205-206)


Deported Families

A reconstituted list of families whose presence on the ships is certain for some, and probable for others The list was put together from several sources and is a work in progress as more information is discovered.

After the Expulsion

Acadians from the Port Royal area were dispersed throughout the southern British colonies from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Deportations and expulsions of the Acadians would last until 1764. For those that survived the crowded ships, an uneasy life awaited most of them ashore. Some settled in Mississippi, and became known as the Cajuns. Many tried to head North back to Acadia but few succeeded, as the land was closely watched by the British. Those that eventually retuned found their homesteads resettled by the British and were forced to settle on the extremities of the province.


Interested in finding out more about Annapolis County? Explore these StoryMaps:


Acknowledgements

The data and background information for this project was collected by Mapannapolis volunteer Paul Paquette. StoryMap created by Anna Sobotka.

Copyright © 2021 MAPANNAPOLIS. All Rights Reserved.

Map Of North America

Palairet Jean, ” Carte de l'Amerique Septentrionle 1754,” David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~290859~90068395:Amerique-Septentrionle-?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no&qvq=q:america%201755;sort:pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=39&trs=172

Bibliography

Annapolis Heritage Society. “History of Annapolis Royal.” Accessed February 20, 2021. https://annapolisheritagesociety.com/community-history/history-annapolis-royal/

Brenda, Dunn. History of Port Royal/Annapolis Royal, 1605-1800. Nimbus Pub., 2009.

Lawrence Henry, Gipson. The British Empire Before The American Revolution - Vol. VI.

Albert, N Lafreniere. Acadian Deportation Ships, Connecticut Maple Leaf, volume 6. French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut Inc.

Emile, Lauviere. La Tragedie d'un peuple, vol 1. Paris: Librairie Henry Geulet, 1924.

Akins, Thomas B. 1869. Selections from the public documents of the province of Nova Scotia: published under a resolution of the House of Assembly passed March 15, 1865. Halifax, N.S.: C. Annand. 

Peter, Landry. "History of Nova Scotia" Accessed 2020. http://www.blupete.com/History.htm