The first documented Cajuns (or Acadians) in Louisiana arrived in February 1764 by way of New York. Expelled from Canada by the British for refusing to pledge allegiance to the British Crown (which would have meant abandoning their Catholic faith), they were herded onto boats so heavily overloaded that practically all of their household goods had to be left behind.
The First Wave
The first wave of Cajuns numbered no more than twenty and comprised only four families. They were followed by another 200 Acadians a few months later. The refugees continued to stream in, and most of them settled west of New Orleans in the swamps and prairie lands.
Cajuns Today
Over 250 years later, Cajun culture continues to thrive in Louisiana. Cajun foods like Gumbo and Jambalaya have been very popular in the U.S. since the 1980s. Cajun music, which usually centers around accordion and/or fiddle, is played both in and outside of Louisiana. The French Cajun language, however, is not faring as well and is expected to eventually die out.
Notable Cajuns
References
Fast Facts
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Le Grand Dérangement
The mass expulsion of the Acadians from Canada in 1755
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Fort Beausejour
Fell to the British in 1755, leading to the Acadian deportation
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Cajun
Based on the American pronunciation of Acadian.
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Fact:
The 1847 epic poem Evangaline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was loosely based on the expulsion of the Acadians.
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Fact:
Cajuns speak a dialect of French that is derived from the Acadian dialect.
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Fact:
There were once as many as 7 different Cajun dialects spoken, but today Cajun French is near extinction.
