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MAIN PAGE | "How To" Book | Article Index | CMA | Links | Hébert Website |
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| In 1775, about 1400 Acadians moved from the failed settlement attempt at Poitou and traveled to the area around Nantes. This would be their home for the next decade. Most of the Acadians left for Louisiana in 1785. |
| Before Nantes | |
| In 1772, the marquis Perusse des Cars gave
the Acadians some of his land to farm. But the 1500 Acadians who
migrated to the Poitou area found sterile soil and no housing. They
had to pay high rent prices in nearby villages. By 1775, the "La
Ligne Acadienne" settlement (as it was called) decided to
call it quits. Francois Roux has a section of his site (in French)
on the Acadian
Poitou settlement. Some of the pages are on books
on the subject, a document
on the settlement by Ernest Martin, and more.
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 [1st convoy, 2nd convoy, 3rd convoy, 4th convoy] online at his website. |
| Acadians in Nantes: 1775-1785 | |
| The biggest concentration of Acadians in France
for the next 10 years would be at Nantes. Gerard Braud has produced a couple
of book on the Acadians in Nantes. His From Nantes to Louisiana
is a small paperback that has also been translated into English.
It is more of a narrative of the story. Another book he recently
produced, Les Acadiens en France: Nantes et Paimboeuf, 1775-1785,
contains thousands of people in hundreds of family groups. It is
printed in French and English.
By now, the successful settlement of Acadians in Louisiana was old news. Talk began of migrating there also. But the main concern of the Acadians for the next decade was providing for themselves. |
| Departure to Louisiana | |
About 1783, a Frenchman named Henri Peyroux
de la Coudreniere returned to France from Louisiana. With the help
of the Acadian cobbler Olivier Theriot, he worked on recruiting Acadians
to move to Louisiana. At first, France wasn’t cooperative.
After all, Louisiana was now a Spanish colony. But they finally worked
out an agreement in late 1784 and about 1600 Acadians sailed for Louisiana
in seven ships in 1785. Six of the ships
left from the Nantes/Paimboeuf area. Another, La Ville d'Archangel,
left from St. Malo. More information on
the ships can be found in the Cajun History section.
THE DEPARTURE OF THE ACADIANS FROM NANTES by Robert Dafford |
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| 1786 => | |
| So there were still Acadians at Nantes after
the last of the seven ships left. Since the French government saw
the success of the migration and stopped the immigration of more Acadians,
they were there to stay. Those Acadians who stayed in France became
assimilated for the most part.
A couple of modern day organizations with ties
to the Acadians in Nantes are:
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| The best printed treatment of Acadians in France during 1758 to 1785 can be found in Oscar Winzerling's Acadian Odyssey (1955). |
| LINKS |
| • Welcome
to Nantes
• Nantes • Life in Nantes • The City of Nantes • L'Acadie (at www.Mairie-Nantes.fr) |
 The
1755 Exile
The
1758 Exile
The
"End" of
the Exile |
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Copyright © 1997-2000 Tim Hebert