Grand Pre: Acadian History is Worthy of UNESCO Heritage Site
One of the darkest periods in Nova Scotia history was the expulsion of the French-speaking, Acadian people of Nova Scotia during a conflict between France and England called The Seven Years War. Also called The French-Indian War, the fighting was carried out from the Great Lakes to Cape Breton.
During the war it was deemed that the French-speaking Acadians were spies and they were egging the native peoples to rise up against the British however this was never proven. The ensuing ethnic-cleansing by British troops saw them separating Acadian families and pushing them onto waiting transport ships to be dumped up and down the eastern seaboard.
The Acadian expulsion was extremely concentrated in one area, the rich Annapolis Valley region. And one place in particular, Grand Pre, is the central remembrance centre for the banishment of all French people in Nova Scotia.
Going back in history to judge the actions of the people at the time is very hazardous because, for the most part, the history is written by the victors. However, the rounding up of civilians, French-speaking people who were almost 100 years removed from France, struck a chord with people of on both sides of the conflict. Many British officers and soldiers were sickened by their orders and this was best illustrated by an Englishman, Henry Wadworth Longfellow in his 1847 poem Evangeline. This was the sad story of a young, engaged Acadian couple who were forced apart before their wedding and only got together as old people when the intended groom was on his death bed.
The Great Upheaval – as the expulsion was called – is a large part of the spectacular Grand Pre National Historic Site. The rebuilt Acadian church has an amazing stained-glass window that, in one glance, shows the burning farms and misery of the Acadian farmers. The church is watched over by sculptor Philippe Hébert’s statue of Evangeline.
However, the Grand Pre exhibit also celebrates the historic cultural landscape, the victory of the original farmers from France who brought with them the old-world skills needed to build dykes and pump out the sea water. The English Planters who came later reaped the benefits of those remarkable systems and improved on them.
Now steps are being taken to honour this achievement and to remeber the Acadian contribution to Nova Scotia by putting Grand Pre forward for a UNESC Heritage Site. You can view this application by going to Nomination Grand Pre.
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