(Micmac, akade, abundance)
Originally all North America from 40' to 46' north latitude, later, the peninsula of Nova Scotia; now, the small district on south shore of the Bay of Fundy from Annapolis to the Basin of Minas. Acadia was founded in 1604-1605 by De Monts and Champlain. Port Royal, the first settlement, was destroyed by the British rover, Argall, in 1613. At the Treaty of Breda, which restored it to France, there were not more than 400 inhabitants. By the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 it was ceded to England. The inhabitants were not allowed to emigrate, and were forced to take an oath of allegiance, with the clause that they should not be required to fight against France or her Indian allies. They were known as "French Neutrals," and kept their oath faithfully. In 1755 the dispersion of the Acadians took place, the subject of Longfellow's "Evangeline." All the lands were confiscated and the people deported. Many of the Acadians have since wandered back to their old homes. In 1784 a settlement was formed on the upper Saint John, and they have also settled in Prince Edward Island, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The renaissance of the Acadians took place in 1864. At Memramcook, New Brunswick, 1881, they held a convention at which the Societe National l'Assomptionwas organized. In 1903 the Societe l'Assomption was founded at Waltham, Massachusetts, by New England men of Acadian extraction for the purpose of uniting in a common bond of brotherhood all men and women of Acadian blood, to promote higher education among its members through scholarships, to pay death and sick benefits, etc. The headquarters of the society are Moncton, New Brunswick, and there are 190 councils in the United States and 10,000 members. The descendants of the Acadians in Canada and the United States number about 400,000.
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