Plaque du monument de l'Odyssée acadienne de Carleton-sur-Mer (2 de 2)

Inscription qu'il y a sur tous les monuments de l'Odyssée acadienne

The Grand Dérangement

L'Acadie, established by France in 1604, was a
strategically located and highly coveted colony. In 1713, it
was handed over to England and renamed Nova Scotia. The
foundation of Halifax, in 1749, led part of the Acadian
population to move to French territory. The remaining
Acadians were still perceived as a threat, and in 1755, the
British authorities launched their systematic deportation,
splitting up families and communities, seizing all lands and
possessions.
This was the Grand Dérangement, or Great Upheaval. Nearly
10,000 men, women and children were piled into ships and
deported to the Anglo-American colonies, to England and to
France. Others escaped the deportations, seeking refuge in French
territory and forming a resistance. Over the next ten years, almost
half of the Acadian nation was lost at sea or died from disease and
famine. By 1765, a mere 1,600 survivors remained in Nova Scotia,
their fertile land now occupied by settlers from other areas.
Some Acadian families returned to their former home, but most
never again set eyes on Acadie. Many took root in Quebec and France,
while in Louisiana they gave rise to a new community that produced the
rich Cajun culture. Yet, the Grand Dérangement was unable to wipe out
the Acadian presence on its native soil, L'Acadie lives on in Atlantic
Canada, speaking French and offering to the world its proud and dynamic
culture.


Putting Down
Roots

Chaleur Bay forms part of the territory
of the Mi'gmaq, known as the "people of the
sea. » Their traditional camping place was in
Tlagatigatj (Tracadièche) where they fished the rich
waters of the bay and performed rituals on the
mountain.
In 1767, with the help of the Mi'gmaq and led by
Charles Dugas, Acadian families settled in Tracadièche, an
area that stretched from Cap Noir to Miguasha Point. The
surnames of these founding families were: Alain, Boudreau,
Comeau, Dugas and LeBlanc.
Having fled the Deportation of 1755 and the Isle Saint-Jean
Deportation of 1758, they passed through the refugee camp on the
Miramichi, on the Nepisiguit, and in Petite Rochelle at the mouth of
the Restigouche River, After settling in Bonaventure, these families
petitioned the British authorities to move permanently to Tracadièche.
Over the years they were joined in Tracadièche by other families,
some of whom had been deported to England and France, The 1777 census
of the little community indicates that there were 183 men, women and
children living off the land, the sea and the forest - a way of life perpetuated
by their descendants.
Although the locality was renamed Carleton in 1787, the name Tracadièche
still remains strong in the collective memory.

Plaque de la croix:

The Deportation
Cross
Erected near
Grand-Pré,
Nova Scotia
in 1924

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Le 16 septembre 2018, la Société nationale de l'Acadie et la ville de Carleton-sur-Mer ont inauguré le monument de l'Odyssée acadienne. Legs des célébrations du 250e anniversaire de la ville, ce monument s'ajoute à l'aménagement du parc des Horizons.
L'Odyssée acadienne sert à commémorer les multiples déplacements du peuple acadien.
« Tracadièche a été fondée par des réfugiés acadiens en 1767, explique le président de l'Écomusée Tracadièche, Paul Lemieux, par des gens qui ont échappé à la déportation de 1755; d'où la pertinence d'avoir un tel monument chez nous, qui plus est, sur le lieu même où les premières familles acadiennes ont pris racine. Ainsi, on se souviendra de leur histoire, de leur culture, de leur résistance et de leur résilience.»
Sur le monument, un texte général explique l'histoire des Acadiens, la Déportation, et leur installation dans de nouveaux lieux de refuge. On y retrouve également un texte à caractère plus local, écrit par les historiens Paul Lemieux et Pascal Alain, qui raconte dans quel contexte les Acadiens se sont installés à Tracadièche, aujourd'hui Carleton-sur-Mer.

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