Acadian Exodus

The Acadian Exodus (also known as the Acadian migration) 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. Along with Acadians, Mi’kmaq and Foreign Protestants joined in the Exodus from Nova Scotia. 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.

Despite the British conquest of Acadia in 1710, Acadia was dominated by Catholic Acadians and Mi’kmaq. For over forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians both threatened to leave Acadia and were threatened with expulsion at various times. (The first deportation of the Acadians happened when they were expelled from present day Cape Breton after the Siege of Louisbourg (1745).) Acadians left peninsular Nova Scotia to protest Edward Cornwallis’ demand that they take an unconditional oath.

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