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The Acadian Deputy was a position in 18th-century Nova Scotia, Canada, created by the Nova Scotia Council to represent the interests of an Acadian community to the Council.
The deputy was more than simply a spokesperson for the community. Sometimes the duty of collecting quit-rents fell to the deputy. [1] The deputies were much like justices of the peace and, like the justices of the peace, drew much of their authority form the willingness of the community to accept that authority. [2]
The number in 1720 started at six, elected in the Annapolis Royal region in 1720, to 24 by the end of the decade: four each for Minas, Pisique, Cobequid.
12 April 1721, on the representation of Charles Robicheau, deputy of Cobequid, the number of deputies from that district was increased from one to four, (one only being required to attend on the governor.) At the same time the number of deputies from Mines was increased from three to twelve, (three only of them being bound to attend on the governor.) These deputies were to be annually chosen by the inhabitants, subject to the governor's approval. Their duties were to receive and put in execution the orders of the governor, and to report the names of persons disobedient. Their expenses in coming and going were to be defrayed by the inhabitants. [3]
For greater detail of the role of the Acadian Deputy under British rule see Acadia: Governance under the British after 1710.
In September, 1727, Deputies Charles Landry, Abraham Bourg and Guillaum Bourgois were committed to prison for refusing to take the Oath unless upon conditions. They demanded primarily the right to not be pressed into military service [4] against the French or Mi'kmaq, as well as freedom to practice their religion and keep their lands.
The Deputies were "laid in irons" as Ringleaders and found guilty of "Several enormous Crimes in assembling the Inhabitants in a riotous manner contrary to the orders of the Governmt both as to time & place & likewise in framing a Rebellious paper". Francis Richards was also imprisoned for once taking the Oath then retracting. [5] Instead of complying with orders, the Deputies had assembled the inhabitants and "frightened and terrified them, by representing the Oath so strong and binding that neither they nor their children should ever shake off the yoke, so that by their example and insinuations the whole body of the people almost to a man refused them, but upon certain conditions set forth in a paper" [6]
In response the other unruly inhabitants were debarred from any fishing activity and denied the security and privileges of English subjects. Abraham Bourg was released due to his "great age" and ordered to quit the Province leaving his effects. Guillaum Bourgois was later released on bail. [7]
The Deputy Landry fell ill while in the fort stockade and was "Reported to be in a very Dangerous State of health & likely to dye Without Some Indulgence from the Government". His wife petitioned to have him released home to tend to his illness upon a guarantee of his return to finish his sentence. It was "Voted That the Prisoner Landry in regard of his being a very Great Offender & Incapable to give sufficient Bail shall not be suffered to go out of the Garrison" [8]
Charles Landry died on November 5, 1727, less than two months after his arrest at about the age of 39 on November 5, 1727. There is no indication he was released from the Garrison before his death. He was the brother in-law of future Partisan Joseph Broussard and caretaker for Joseph's disputed illegitimate child. "One suspects that the Broussard brothers, probably still living on the haute rivière above Annapolis, kept the untimely death of their brother-in-law in mind when they removed themselves & their families to Chepoudy" [9] and later towards the Petitcodiac River settlement; which will come to be known as a refuge for rebels and an area of fierce resistance.
The Oath of Allegiance was signed by 600+ Acadians from "Mines, Cobequit, Piziquid & Beaubassin" in April, 1730. [10] This Oath was the Conditional Oath sought, where verbal and written (in margin) concessions were made, which were later not recognized by the Governor and Council.
For the Refusal of the Oath, Acadians are looked back on as "premature republicans – a little too early for their own good". [11]
The first act of Cornwallis' Government, after the organization of the Council on 14 July 1749, was an audience of the three French Deputies, who had come down to meet the New Governor. They were Jean Melanson, from Canard River; Claude LeBlanc, from Grand Pré, and Philip Melanson from Pisiquid. [12]
Cornwallis had examined the conditional Oath sworn by the Acadians in 1730 and ruled that the concessions were an error and unwarranted, and had failed to be ratified; [13] and the Acadians were to sign a new Unconditional Oath.
"Governor Cornwallis anticipated humble and cloying peasants, tugging at their caps. He was surprised to find subtle and assertive republicans. To his demand that the Acadians swear an unconditional oath, the inhabitants reiterated their long-held position. While they were willing to take another oath, they insisted on an explicit exemption from bearing arms. They argued that since this exemption had been endorsed by the king’s representative in 1730, and it had been accepted as the ruling assumption of their civil life for nearly 20 years, the exemption had the force of law. "Acts proposed by the people", they asserted, "when they are approved by Royal authority, acquire a force which the king himself cannot take away from them". Consider the meaning of this remarkable statement; their neutrality was part of the customary law of l’Acadie or Nova Scotia and thus their identity was protected by the common law of Englishmen. It was a brilliant and original formulation. "It appears to me that you think yourselves independent", Cornwallis responded, "and you wish to treat with the King as if you were so"" [14]
On 29 July, o. s., (9 August, n. s.), 1749, the following deputies from the French districts arrived at Halifax, viz't. : Alexandre Hebert. j from Annapolis. Joseph Dugas and Claude LeBlanc, from Grand Pré; Jean Melançon, from Riviere des Canards; Baptiste Gaillard, Pierre Landry, Pierre Gotrot, from Cobequid; Pierre Doucet from Chignecto; François Bourg and Alexandre Brossart, Chipodie. [15]
In March 1750, Gerard, the priest of Cobequid, (now Truro), and the four deputies of that district, viz't., Jean Hebert, Jean Bourg, Joseph Robichaux, and Pierre Gautrot, were examined by the governor and council, as to the stopping of the courier Pierre au Coin, who carried the governor's letters — as to de Loutre's having been there that winter, and the non-attendance of the deputies at Halifax, on which Bourg was liberated, but the rest detained. [16]
This refusal and subsequent fallout is a mainstay in the development of an Acadian identity; as "Residents of the British colonies of North America were years away from declaring their rights as republicans yet here were the Acadians standing before British governors and making the case for similar rights" and that "the rights for which they were arguing were not that different from the rights ordinary British colonists would assert in the 1760s and 1770s." [17]
In April 1750 the French deputies, viz't. : Jacques Teriot, of Grand Pré, Frangois Granger, of Riviere de Canard, Baptiste Galerne and Jean Andre, of Piziquid, petitioned, on behalf of the French inhabitants, for leave to evacuate the province, and to carry off their effects. [18]
On November 16, 1759, Alexandre Brussard, Simon Martin, Jean Bass and Joseph Brussard, came with a flag of truce to fort Cumberland, (Beausejour), as deputies for about 190 French Acadians — men, women and children, residing at Petitcoudiac and Memramcook. [19] This was a surrender from starvation and desperation and most prisoners did not sign an Oath, but rather opted to be deported to Louisiana where they will become known as "Cajuns". Joseph and many others did not stay, and Alexandre was left as collateral for their return. Joseph Broussard will not surrender until 1762 after fierce resistance fighting, acts of piracy, cattle theft and involvement in multiple battles and engagements throughout the war; [20] the Broussards did not sign Oaths and instead led the Acadian people to Louisiana in 1764-65 after many trials and tribulations.
On November 17, 1759, Pierre Suretz (Pierre II Surette), Jean Burk and Michel Burk, arrived at the Fort Cumberland, under flag of truce, as deputies for 700 persons resident at Miramichi, Richibucto and Buctouche. [19]
Many Acadians were allowed to return to the Province after the 7 years war, on condition of signing the Unconditional Oath and with knowledge that they had lost possession of their property and lands. [21]
It is noted that "further to remark to Your Excellency that none of the Acadians have ever made voluntary Submission, but on the contrary, their wants and Terrors only have reduced them to it". [22] Many of these instances infuriated the Captains of Forts, as most were feigned surrenders to survive the winter and steal food, resources or ships. [23]
Most Acadians who had escaped the deportation and subsequently fought the resistance will be captured after the Battle of Restigouche and live as "banditti" and "ruffians turned pirates" on the fringes of remote parts of New-Brunswick (Acadian Peninsula) and Nova-Scotia until captured by Captain Roderick McKenzie, [24] some that remained or returned clandestinely did not sign Oaths until the 1790's-1800's. after the American Revolution, as a by-product of acquiring land legally.
In 1720, six French Representatives were chosen by the inhabitants as Deputies. Prudent Robicheaux (Robichaud), Alexander Robicheaux, Nicholas Gautier, Bernard Godets, Charles Landry, & Pier Godete were elected. Prudent Robicheaux and Nicholas Gautier were denied by Council upon this instance. [25] Deputies of the Annapolis River region were chosen by the Acadians and approved by the English, in May, 1720; "whose duties it should be to promulgate the orders and proclamations of the government, and to see that their [English] directions were carried into execution." [26]
In 1725, Charles Landry was a deputy. [27]
In 1727, three deputies were Abraham Bourg, [28] Charles Landry & Guillaume Bourgois. [29]
In 1732, Nicholas Gautier, one of the deputes. [30] [31]
In 1736 Joseph Godin and his brother-in-law, Michel Bergeron d’Amboise, went as deputies from the Saint John Acadians to the Annapolis Royal Council. [32]
In 1736, Alexandre and Joseph Broussard were chosen as de-facto Deputies to execute legal summons on behalf of the Governor as there were no Deputies in the Chippody (Chipoudy, Shepody) area. [33]
In 1742, the two deputies of Grand Pré were Bujean and Bourg. [34]
In 1745, Louis Robichaux (Robichau, Robeshaw) was a deputy for Annapolis. [35]
In 1745, Jean Terriot and Jean Potier were deputies from Chignecto. [36]
In 1748, the deputies in Piziquid were Abraham Landry and Jean Chienne; in Grand Pré there was Bern. Diagre, Mich'l LeBlanc, Fras. Boudrot and Paul Oquine; in River Canard there was John Terroit, Oliver Deglass, Jean Granger and Michael Richard. [37]
In 1748, On the 18 October, o. s., the old and new deputies of Grand Pré presented themselves, before the governor and council at Annapolis. They had divided Grand Pré into districts, which was approved of; but as they had elected Martin au Coin, whose brother Paul was a known opponent of the government, and he suspected, the choice was annulled, and they were ordered to elect another in his place. [38]
Acadia was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River.
Events from the year 1744 in Canada.
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto.
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site of Canada in Windsor, Nova Scotia, and was built during Father Le Loutre's War (1749-1755). The British built the fort to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The Fort is most famous for the role it played both in the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755) and in protecting Halifax, Nova Scotia from a land assault in the American Revolution. While much of Fort Edward has been destroyed, including the officers' quarters and barracks, the blockhouse that remains is the oldest extant in North America. A cairn was later added to the site.
The Acadians are the descendants of 17th and 18th century French settlers in parts of Acadia in the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé peninsula in eastern Québec, and the Kennebec River in southern Maine.
Jean-Paul Mascarene was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as commander of the 40th Regiment of Foot and governor of Nova Scotia from 1740 to 1749. During this period, he led the colony through King George's War with the French, and rose to the rank of Major-general. He is best known for repulsing two French attempts to capture Annapolis Royal in 1744 and 1745.
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Le Loutre became the leader of the French forces and the Acadian and Mi'kmaq militias during King George's War and Father Le Loutre's War in the eighteenth-century struggle for power between the French, Acadians, and Miꞌkmaq against the British over Acadia.
The Battle at St. Croix was fought during Father Le Loutre's War between Gorham's Rangers and Mi'kmaq at Battle Hill in the community of St. Croix, Nova Scotia. The battle lasted from March 20–23, 1750.
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre's War on May 13, 1751, when a Mi'kmaq and Acadian militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers and wounding British regulars. The town was protected by a blockhouse on Blockhouse Hill with William Clapham's Rangers and British regulars from the 45th Regiment of Foot. This raid was one of seven Miꞌkmaq and Acadians would conduct against the town during the war.
The siege of Grand Pré happened during Father Le Loutre's War and was fought between the British and the Wabanaki Confederacy and Acadian militia. The siege happened at Fort Vieux Logis, Grand-Pré. The native and Acadia militia laid siege to Fort Vieux Logis for a week in November 1749. One historian states that the intent of the siege was to help facilitate the Acadian Exodus from the region.
The Bay of Fundy campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour (1755). The campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand-Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Annapolis Royal. Approximately 7,000 Acadians were deported to the New England colonies.
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia.c On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British officer Charles Lawrence and New England Ranger John Gorham. On the other side, Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre led the Mi'kmaq and the Acadia militia in guerrilla warfare against settlers and British forces. At the outbreak of the war there were an estimated 2500 Mi'kmaq and 12,000 Acadians in the region.
The Acadian Exodus happened during Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories. The three primary destinations were: the west side of the Mesagoueche River in the Chignecto region, Isle Saint-Jean and Île-Royale. The leader of the Exodus was Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre, whom the British gave the code name "Moses". Le Loutre acted in conjunction with Governor of New France, Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière, who encouraged the Acadian migration. A prominent Acadian who transported Acadians to Ile St. Jean and Ile Royal was Joseph-Nicolas Gautier. The overall upheaval of the early 1750s in Nova Scotia was unprecedented. Present-day Atlantic Canada witnessed more population movements, more fortification construction, and more troop allocations than ever before in the region. The greatest immigration of the Acadians between 1749 and 1755 took place in 1750. Primarily due to natural disasters and British raids, the Exodus proved to be unsustainable when Acadians tried to develop communities in the French territories.
Fort Vieux Logis was a small British frontier fort built at present-day Hortonville, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1749, during Father Le Loutre's War (1749). Ranger John Gorham moved a blockhouse he erected in Annapolis Royal in 1744 to the site of Vieux Logis. The fort was in use until 1754. The British rebuilt the fort again during the French and Indian War and named it Fort Montague (1760).
The Battle at Chignecto happened during Father Le Loutre's War when Charles Lawrence, in command of the 45th Regiment of Foot and the 47th Regiment, John Gorham in command of the Rangers and Captain John Rous in command of the navy, fought against the French monarchists at Chignecto. This battle was the first attempt by the British to occupy the head of the Bay of Fundy since the disastrous Battle of Grand Pré three years earlier. They fought against a militia made up of Mi'kmaq and Acadians led by Jean-Louis Le Loutre and Joseph Broussard (Beausoliel). The battle happened at Isthmus of Chignecto, Nova Scotia on 3 September 1750.
The attack at Mocodome was a battle which occurred during Father Le Loutre's War in present-day Country Harbour, Nova Scotia on February 21, 1753 which saw two British mariners and six Mi'kmaq killed. The battle ended any hope for the survival of the Treaty of 1752 signed by Governor Peregrine Hopson and Mi'kmaq chief Jean-Baptiste Cope.
Fort Sackville was a British fort in present-day Bedford, Nova Scotia. It was built during Father Le Loutre's War by British adjacent to present-day Scott Manor House, on a hill overlooking the Sackville River to help prevent French, Acadian and Mi'kmaq attacks on Halifax. The fort consisted of a blockhouse, a guard house, a barracks that housed 50 soldiers, and outbuildings, all encompassed by a palisade. Not far from the fort was a rifle range. The fort was named after George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville.
The military history of the Mi'kmaq consisted primarily of Mi'kmaq warriors (smáknisk) who participated in wars against the English independently as well as in coordination with the Acadian militia and French royal forces. The Mi'kmaq militias remained an effective force for over 75 years before the Halifax Treaties were signed (1760–1761). In the nineteenth century, the Mi'kmaq "boasted" that, in their contest with the British, the Mi'kmaq "killed more men than they lost". In 1753, Charles Morris stated that the Mi'kmaq have the advantage of "no settlement or place of abode, but wandering from place to place in unknown and, therefore, inaccessible woods, is so great that it has hitherto rendered all attempts to surprise them ineffectual". Leadership on both sides of the conflict employed standard colonial warfare, which included scalping non-combatants. After some engagements against the British during the American Revolutionary War, the militias were dormant throughout the nineteenth century, while the Mi'kmaq people used diplomatic efforts to have the local authorities honour the treaties. After confederation, Mi'kmaq warriors eventually joined Canada's war efforts in World War I and World War II. The most well-known colonial leaders of these militias were Chief (Sakamaw) Jean-Baptiste Cope and Chief Étienne Bâtard.
The military history of the Acadians consisted primarily of militias made up of Acadian settlers who participated in wars against the English in coordination with the Wabanaki Confederacy and French royal forces. A number of Acadians provided military intelligence, sanctuary, and logistical support to the various resistance movements against British rule in Acadia, while other Acadians remained neutral in the contest between the Franco–Wabanaki Confederacy forces and the British. The Acadian militias managed to maintain an effective resistance movement for more than 75 years and through six wars before their eventual demise. According to Acadian historian Maurice Basque, the story of Evangeline continues to influence historic accounts of the expulsion, emphasising Acadians who remained neutral and de-emphasising those who joined resistance movements. While Acadian militias were briefly active during the American Revolutionary War, the militias were dormant throughout the nineteenth century. After confederation, Acadians eventually joined the Canadian War efforts in World War I and World War II. The most well-known colonial leaders of these militias were Joseph Broussard and Joseph-Nicolas Gautier.
The Cape Sable campaign occurred in the fall of 1758 during the French and Indian War. The British sought to neutralize Acadian support for the French by deporting them. Colonel Roger Morris led a force of 325 British soldiers, aided by Captain Joseph Gorham with 60 rangers and Rogers' Rangers, to destroy the Acadian settlements in present-day Shelburne County and Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada.