A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland
by John Mack Faragher
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In 1755, New England troops embarked on a "great and noble scheme" to expel 18,000 French-speaking Acadians ("the neutral French") from Nova Scotia, killing thousands, separating innumerable families, and driving many into forests where they waged a desperate guerrilla resistance. The right of neutrality-to live in peace from the imperial wars waged between France and England-had been one of the founding values of Acadia. Its settlers traded and intermarried freely with native Mikmaq Indians show more and English Protestants alike. But the Acadians' refusal to swear unconditional allegiance to the British Crown in the mid-eighteenth century gave New Englanders, who had long coveted Nova Scotia's fertile farmland, pretense enough to launch a campaign of ethnic cleansing on a massive scale. John Mack Faragher draws on original research to weave 150 years of history into a gripping narrative of both the civilization of Acadia and the British plot to destroy it. show lessTags
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One of the hardest books I've ever had to get through. Written way over my head, but it gets a 2 star because I did learn a thing or two about my Acadian ancestors, particularly about my 6th great-grandfather, Joseph dit Beausoleil Broussard.
Hmmm....now why didn't I make note of what I learned? I would really hate to have to read this again. [2/17/2021]
Hmmm....now why didn't I make note of what I learned? I would really hate to have to read this again. [2/17/2021]
Not merely the story of the Acadian expulsion and subsequent wanderings, this book gives the entire history of the French settlement of l'Acadie, including a good deal of very interesting information about the Acadians' relations with the local Native Americans.
starting this up for a 2nd time. hopefully i make it farther than the first attempt.
The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland. The tragic story of the expulsion of the French Acadians from their American Homeland. "Delves deeply and with rueful wisdom into a terrible crime perpetrated by European imperialists and American colonists."—Thomas Fleming
On August 25, 1755, the New York Gazette printed a dispatch from the maritime province of Nova Scotia: "We are now upon a great and noble Scheme of sending the neutral French out of this Province, who have always
...
At the time these words were written, New England troops were rounding up some 18,000 French-speaking Acadian residents ("the neutral French") at gunpoint and loading them onto transports, separating parents from show more children and husbands from wives. They were scattered throughout the British Empire. Thousands died. Their lands were expropriated by Yankee settlers from New England.
Drawing on original primary research, John Mack Faragher tells the full story of this expulsion in vivid, gripping prose. Following specific Acadian families through the anguish of their removal, he brings to light a tragic chapter in the settlement of America. 40 illustrations and 6 maps. show less
On August 25, 1755, the New York Gazette printed a dispatch from the maritime province of Nova Scotia: "We are now upon a great and noble Scheme of sending the neutral French out of this Province, who have always
...
At the time these words were written, New England troops were rounding up some 18,000 French-speaking Acadian residents ("the neutral French") at gunpoint and loading them onto transports, separating parents from show more children and husbands from wives. They were scattered throughout the British Empire. Thousands died. Their lands were expropriated by Yankee settlers from New England.
Drawing on original primary research, John Mack Faragher tells the full story of this expulsion in vivid, gripping prose. Following specific Acadian families through the anguish of their removal, he brings to light a tragic chapter in the settlement of America. 40 illustrations and 6 maps. show less
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Author Information
32+ Works 2,046 Members
John Mack Faragher is Arthur Unobskey Professor of History at Yale University.
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2005
- Important places
- Nova Scotia, Canada; New France
- Important events
- Expulsion of the Acadians (1755-1756)
- Dedication
- For my grandsons Jeremy Daniel Garskof and Arthur Mack Aucoin
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 269
- Popularity
- 119,663
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.02)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 3
