British Colonial Power and the Acadian Expulsion of 1755

Introduction: Government, Bureaucracy, and the 1755 Council Minutes

Since the beginning of recorded history, government has gone hand-in-hand with bureaucracy. No decisions can simply be made and acted upon; there must be deliberations, referendums, and formal proceedings. The fledgling government of the British colonies in Canada during the 18th century, though largely rudimentary, was no exception. The minutes from their council meetings, carefully recorded and preserved, are a testament to the slow yet grinding wheels of government that existed to subjugate and control the land and populations of territory newly acquired from the French.

This document — the minutes from a particular council meeting in 1755 — records the thoughts and actions that led to what is sometimes known as the "Great Expulsion" of the French-speaking Acadian population. It describes, in rather flat terms, the petitions (or "memorials") made by the Acadians to restore the liberties that the British monarchy — through the personage of the newly appointed governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence — had recently taken away, and the reaction of the council and governor to these petitions. Though the minutes are written in a seemingly objective and purely factual style, a careful analysis reveals an unsurprising portrait of the British colonial government: besieged by French and Native populations, it operated as a reactionary and almost paranoid administration bent on total control of what it considered to be its people.

Historical Background: Acadians and the British Crown

This area of Canada was a relatively recent British acquisition. The first French colonists arrived in Acadia in 1604, and more French families continued to arrive over the following century. British colonizers were arriving during this period as well, and the Acadians — the first arrivals, who had left France in search of a new and better life — were caught in the many conflicts between the French and British crowns. They were largely responsible for governing themselves and practiced a careful neutrality in an attempt to retain their freedom and self-allegiance.

In 1713, the part of Acadia that became Nova Scotia was ceded to the British by the French crown, and the Acadians found themselves citizens of the British Commonwealth whether they wished to be or not. Over the next several decades, the British attempted to administer an oath of allegiance to the Acadians, who politely yet emphatically and repeatedly declined. Things continued in this rather uncertain manner — the Acadians fostering and enjoying the freedom that uncertainty afforded them, while the British grew more nervous with each new installment of the ongoing conflicts with France.

Tone and Bias in the Council Minutes

This nervousness is very apparent in the language of the document. The minutes themselves are rendered objectively, describing what was said during the council meeting without the use of adjectives or other overtly subjective description. However, this very neutrality — given the tone and context of the meeting described — constitutes a tacit approval of and alignment with the policies and attitudes of the British colonial government, especially those of Charles Lawrence. This is not exactly surprising, as the meeting was explicitly a gathering of British colonial officers, and it was no doubt an official of that government who recorded the minutes.

Making the British reaction less surprising still — if no more justifiable — was the fact that the recent capture of a French fort in the area had revealed a large number of supposedly neutral Acadian men among those defending it. It is also true that the Acadians couched some thinly veiled sarcastic insults in the memorials they presented to the council — lines such as, "We beg your Excellency, on this subject, to have the goodness to make known to us your good pleasure before confiscating our property and considering us in fault. This is the favour we expect from your Excellency's kindness..." (p. 72). It is further important to remember that these events occurred before the major democratic revolutions of the age — the American and French Revolutions — and that similar petitions to various monarchies in prior centuries had often been considered presumptuous and even treasonous.

Conclusion: Legacy of the Great Expulsion

The history, of course, did not end with the document. As a result of this meeting — the culmination of decades of uncertainty — the Acadians were largely expelled from Nova Scotia, though pockets of resistance remained. Migrants traveled to Quebec, and eventually some made their way as far as Louisiana, where in the 19th century their name "Acadian" became "Cajun" in the local vernacular. The full cultural legacy of that transformation can be explored through the history of the Cajun people.

It is often difficult — impossible, even — to predict the extent of the impact a single meeting in a remote colonial outpost can have. This meeting was important not only for the people immediately involved, but for generations of North Americans since. The 1755 council minutes stand as a stark reminder of how bureaucratic language and institutional procedure can be marshaled in the service of profound injustice.