The Plan

In late July 1772, a Royal council decided to create an agricultrual settlement for the Acadians. The ministry of agriculture (Bertin) asked the Marquis de Perusse des Cars to allow 150 Acadian families (about 1500 people) to settle on his land. He had resettled ten German families at his land at Monthoiron in the early 1760s and felt he could handle this larger project. He wrote to General Commissioner Lemoyne on Feb. 14, 1773 that the settlement would be 7,110 acres. It would be divided into five sections of 30 houses each. They would be allotted hree acres of land per person, though the actual titles would not be granted until 1793. Each house of 10 peole would get 2 cows, 4 oxen, 2 plows, a wagon, and farming tools. Though three types of houses [plan 1, plan 2, plan 3. ] were to be built, they each would have 2 rooms, a fireplace, and a storeroom. There would also be a shed and barn. House walls would be 3 foot high stone with wood framing above (covered with clay/heather). The roof would be thatch until tile roofs could be added.

Arrival

Many Acadians wished to go to St. Pierre/Miquelon or Louisiana. The 2 representative that visited the proposed settlement area in the fall of 1772 brought back negative reports. Three more Acadians returned in July 1773 for a more thorough tour and brought back positive information. Still, only 800 many signed contracts for the Poitou settlement when they had planned for 1500.

The order to head to Poitou was given on Aug. 15,1773. The Saint Claude and the Senac left St. Malo with 154 Acadians in the middle of September. They arrived at La Rochelle on Oct. 2 and 7. When they arrived in Poitou, the houses were incomplete and that had to stay in Chatellerault. When more Acadians arrived later in the month from Cherbourg and LeHavre, the total reached 497. Even though there were no homes to house them, Lemoyne had the rest of the settlers brought to the area. In spring 1774, 956 Acadians sailed from Nantes via the Vienne and Loire rivers. By the end of July, there were 362 families (1472 individuals) in the Chatellerault area.

Problems

The land proved too difficult to farm. It was nothing like their fertile former marsh land in Acadia. Here they had to clear and cultivate the land. Also, since they had spent years since the exile in port towns, they were more used to that type of existence. They had to spend money on rent because their housing was slow to be built. 

The plan was to clear 1//3 of the land in 1773 and another 1/3 by 1776. One fifth of the homes would be built in 1773 and the remainder completed in 1774. Needless to say, this was not how things turned out. Home construction didn't even begin until July 1773. Enough stones could not be found for construction. They had a carpenters from Cherbourg come to show them how to build houses out of wood plastered with a mud/straw mixture. The 20 inch think walls were built on a base of flint. Fifteen homes were built the first year and only 58 houses were ever built on the Marquis De Perusse des Cars' property between Archigny, La Puye, and St Pierre de Maillé. Families began moving in the houses in early 1774.

G.C. Bugeon gave a speech in 1997 that addressed the reasons for the settlement's failure. The settlement extended over 4 seigneuries, three of which were for churches. They were hostile to the program. Perusse de Cars didn't get the money from the government as he had planned. This was significant, since the construction costs between 1773 and 1776 came to just over one million livres. The government was still giving the Acadians 6 sols/day. This didn't create friends with their poor neighbors where weren't receiving anything. Most of the unhappy Acadians were not farmers, but were carpenters or seaman. When King Louis XV died on May 10, 1774, that caused uncertainty among the Acadians. They refused to clear or work the land until they received the titles. They were already asking to leave. A three-month holdup in getting their government money in the winter of 1775 didn't help. A Mr. Dubuisson came to examine the soil and told them it was poor quality; his influence helped to stop Acadians from working the land.

The unrest grew so that on August 27-27, 1775 wood was thrown into wells and stones were thrown at the houses. They decided to move the Acadians to Nantes on Sept. 26. The Marquis de Perusse des Cars sent them a note saying it was time to go. He noted that the Acadians had not been doing their part to fulfill the settlement agreement. He also wrote that they certainly needed their daily allowance when they arrived in the country, but 18 years later have come to depend on it instead of hard work to get by. The order was signed on Sept. 26, 1774 to allow the disgruntled Acadians to leave.

Convoys to Nantes

On Oct. 24,1775, the first group of 116 people in 28 families left by boat for Nantes. The second convoy of 314 people left on Nov. 13/14. The third group of 459 people left on Dec. 6/7,1775. The fourth group was delayed by bad weather, but finally got underway with 311 people on March 6 and 138 people on March 13. Two families left independantly of the convoys, Jean Baptiste Hebert's headed for Nantes and Jean Baptiste Bourgeois' headed for La Rochelle.

Almost all of the Acadians moved to Nantes, and only 160 were left in the area by the following year.  There were 4 convoys to Chatellerault.  The lists can be found in The Acadians in France, Vol. 1 (Milton & Norma Reider).  Francois Roux also has them online at his website. 

In 1793 the twelve remaining families composed of 73 people (in 12 famlies) stayed in Archigny and became the owners of their 17 hectare farms. This small group of settlers merged rapidly with the Poitou population and distanced theirs links with their families who stayed in Acadia or left for Louisiana. As time passed, they were assimilated into the Poitou region ... though their Acadian roots are still felt.

Below is a map of the area and chart of the inhabitants of the homes at three time periods. The map shows the location of the 58 houses that were built. The Acadian Museum is located at house #10. There are some of the other houses that are still standing. Francois Roux's site has photos.

   • Acadian Farm Museum of Archigny
   • The Acadian Museum of Archigny
   • Acadians Houses

Francois Roux has a section of his site (in French) on the Acadian Poitou settlement. 

Books:

   • Les Exiles Acadiens en France au XVIII Siecle et Leur Etablissement en Poitou (Martin)
   • Les Acadiens pietons de l'Atlantique
   • Le Retour des Acadiens en Poitou (Martin)
   • Chronologie Acadienne de 1604 au 20e Siecle (Masse-Daigle)
   • Les Fermes Acadiennes du Poitou et Leurs Occupants de 1774 a 1792 (Bugeon)