On October 29th, 1755, the Acadians sailed away into exile, an "exile
without an end, and without an example in story."
There is a considerable difference of opinion as to whether such extreme
measures were justified. The English Colonists evidently felt that it was
a necessary act, an act of self-preservation. It is, perhaps, no worse than
many of the horrors of war. On the other hand the Acadians had, as a whole,
committed no overt act of disloyalty, though a few of them had done so.
Should a whole community thus suffer for the wrong doing of a few? This is
certainly a difficult question.
Those interested in the subject should read an article by Parkman in
"Harper's Magazine" for November, 1884, where he justifies the action. For
the opposite view, see "Acadia" by Edouard Richards, vol. I, chap. IV.
The following quotations will be found of interest. The first is from
Edouard Richards; the second and third from two of contemporaries of the
exiled Acadians, Moses de les Derniers and Brook Watson.
"All that vast bay, around which but lately an industrious people worked
like a swarm of bees, was now deserted. In the silent village, where the
doors swung idly in the wind, nothing was heard but the tramp of soldiery
and the lowing of cattle, wandering anxiously around the stables as if
looking for their masters.
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