With increased discussion surrounding the issue of immigration to the United States in recent years, it is important to look further back into history and understand how the problems that past citizens of the world faced, are not so different from modern asylum seekers.
As previously mentioned, Louis Chachere most likely fled from France because of the looming revolution. This was the case for many French immigrants fleeing to North America at this time, but it is still important to understand how this fits into the broader history of French immigration to North America in the 18th century.
French presence in Nova Scotia can be traced as far back as the early 17th century after many unsuccessful attempts to settle in modern day New England. French settlers eventually began to set up settlements throughout modern day Nova Scotia due to the uncontested colonial nature of the area, as well as their willingness to cooperate and build relationships with indigenous peoples of the region. It became a very popular entry point into North America for generations of French people looking to leave France and find business opportunities and a new life.
However prosperous Nova Scotia was for French settlers, it also proved tumultuous and violent at times. This region was largely independent from colonial France, and was mainly governed by its inhabitants. Over time the British colonial forces began to seek control of the region, spawning several violent expulsions of French people starting in the mid 18th century. This was a major contributing factor for many French settlers of Nova Scotia, commonly referred to as Acadians, to flee to places like Louisiana.
The French settlements of Nova Scotia developed in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The usage of the word Acadia or Acadians can be traced to Greek origins from the word Arkadia, meaning a place of refuge. The area known today as Nova Scotia was commonly given the designation of Acadia or Acadie when it began to be settled in the 17th century. This identity evolved over the next couple of centuries and is commonly applied to people who are descendants of French Settlers of Nova Scotia as well as descendants of French people who settled elsewhere in North America.
Most Americans today are familiar with a version of this word, Cajuns, most commonly used to refer to people of French origin in Southern Louisiana.
Paula Chachere discusses how the many migrations from France, Nova Scotia, and elsewhere, have contributed to making the undertaking of documenting the history of any Cajun family, very tricky. People assuming different surnames and nicknames on legal documents have made it very difficult for people to trace their ancestors steps while traveling to Louisiana.
Common paths refugees and settlers took from France in the late 18th century that brought them to Louisiana.
Regardless of British colonial aggression in the region, Nova Scotia still remained a popular stopping point for many people immigrating from France in the latter half of the 18th century. Whether it was making their way back after a lackluster repatriation into French society or escaping France from the growing conflicts leading up to and during the French Revolution, Nova Scotia became a gateway for French refugees, exiles, and immigrants.
From here it was very common for French travelers to make their way over to the Mississippi River via the Great Lakes or American Midwest. This was the route that Louis Chachere would have taken to Southern Louisiana.
Many French people were repatriated back to France during this time from Nova Scotia because of the British expulsion campaigns. A great deal of these repatriated citizens couldn’t find their place in their home country, and eventually decided to journey back to North America, taking a more direct route accross the Atlantic Ocean seeking Southern Louisiana.
Lastly, many travelers made stops in St. Domingue, now Haiti, on their way to Southern Louisiana. Southern Louisiana and some surrounding pockets would go on to be identified as Acadiana.
Designed in 1965 by Thomas J. Arceneaux, a teacher at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The flag pays homage to French heritage with it’s three white fleur-de-lis in the top right section. Spanish heritage is identified with the gold and red Castille section, as Southern Louisiana was under Spanish control during the late 18th century. Lastly, a gold star to represent Our Lady of Assumption, the patron saint of the region, is featured on the left third of the flag.
Gerald Chachere discusses how speaking French could get young Cajun children into trouble in the mid twentieth century.
Paula Chachere discusses how generations of children growing up in Acadiana were encouraged to not speak french or learn about their French ancestry in an effort to further Americanize people of the region.
