I thought some of you on the list might be interested in this book. Carolyn Long > [Original Message] > From: H-Net Reviews <books@WWW.H-NET.ORG> > To: <H-REVIEW@H-NET.MSU.EDU> > Date: 06/12/2008 3:54:12 PM > Subject: Fitzgerald on Faragher, _A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland_ > > H-NET BOOK REVIEW > Published by H-NewEngland@h-net.msu.edu (June, 2008) > > John Mack Faragher. _A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the > Expulsion of the French Acadians from Their American Homeland_. New > York: W. W. Norton, 2005. xx + 562 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, > index. $28.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-393-05135-3; $17.95 (paper), ISBN > 978-0-393-32827-1. > > Reviewed for H-NewEngland by Monica Fitzgerald, Department of History, California State University, East Bay > > Lessons from the Borderland: Ethnic Cleansing, Colonial Identity, and > Cultural Persistence > > Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized the story of the expulsion of > the Acadians from their homeland in his 1847 fictionalized account, > _Evangeline_. His poem recounted the trials of a young Acadian maiden > searching for her long-lost lover from whom she was separated during the > forced migration out of Acadia (Nova Scotia). The Longfellow-Evangeline > State Historic Site in Saint Martinville, Louisiana, is home to a > reconstructed Acadian homestead and serves to instruct visitors on the > rich historical tradition of cultural diversity in the area. Indeed, it > was a visit to this museum that spurred John Mack Faragher to explore > the story of the Acadians and produce a comprehensive study of the > peopling and un-peopling of the far corner of North America, known as > Acadia. _A Great and Noble Scheme_ provides a detailed account of what > Faragher calls "the first episode of state-sponsored ethnic cleansing in > North America" (p. 473). > > Considering the issues of ethnic cleansing throughout the world in the > twentieth and twenty-first centuries, explaining the Acadian experience > within the framework of modern definitions of ethnic cleansing is a > compelling enough story. Faragher argues that war often justifies > conduct that would otherwise be unconscionable, especially against > groups who faced racial stereotyping, as the Acadians did. The English > combined their anti-Catholic, anti-French, and anti-Indian hatred in > full force against the Acadians. Lessons for us resonate on identifying > the signs and dangers of "othering" groups who differ in heritage, > culture, religion, and ethnicity. However, Faragher offers many > additional lessons as well. He provides an account of a type of > settlement in North America that could have been, one that assimilated > with various peoples to create a distinct and new identity. His account > is also a lesson about cultural persistence, and the Acadians' fight to > maintain their identity through the battles of two empires, mass > expulsion, and eventual resettlement. Perhaps it is in the borderlands > of North America that we can learn most about our complex past, about > the type of cultural interchange that was possible, the struggles for > autonomy, and the painful reminders of the cost of fear and loathing. > > When the French arrived in Port Royal in 1606, they first developed as > an agricultural colony. The settlers quickly established trade and > alliances with the Micmaq Indians. The French adapted many Micmaq > customs, intermarried, and created a unique culture with few ties to a > European identity. Yet, through trade, these French, who came to call > themselves Acadians, also developed ties to the English. Kinship, > politics, and commerce connected Acadians in "tangled webs of alliances" > (p. 104). Faragher describes how over time the Acadians considered > themselves a distinct people; no longer French, they "were truly > becoming a people in between" (p. 75). Living in the margin of empire > between New France and New England, Acadians promoted a policy of > neutrality, under which they prospered until the escalation of > hostilities of the French-Indian War found them directly in the middle > of the fight. However, for over one century, the Acadians lived and > prospered, truly creating a multiethnic, diverse new world. The reader > must assume that left alone Acadians would have continued on such a > path. The story of Acadia serves as an excellent example of the > possibility that existed in North America for cultural exchange and > interchange; that settlement did not necessitate the removal of Native > Americans, but could have involved coexistence and cooperation. It was > not a path readily taken, but it was a path that the Acadians proved > possible. > > Yet, in the very foundation of their success, they also cemented their > undoing. It was their distinctiveness, their "otherness," their > Indianness that the English exploited to remove them from their > homeland. While the Acadian policy of neutrality sought to maintain ties > to the French and English, neither empire considered Acadians one of > their own. Each side used the Acadians as pawns in their imperial > battles for control of North America. In 1755, the English created a > legal justification for their removal, explaining that the Acadians > refused to offer an unconditional oath to the British crown. However, > what really made the expulsion of the Acadians possible was the utter > hatred the English had for anything French, Catholic, or Indian. > Acadians' steadfast history of honoring their policy of neutrality was > no match for the English arguments that they would always be the "secret > enemies" of the British (p. 333). Of the estimated eighteen thousand > Acadians, the English deported seven thousand to various British > colonies in 1755. Another eleven thousand refugees escaped into Indian > territory or attempted to reach Quebec, only to face disease and > starvation. Considering statistics of reasonable population growth, > Faragher estimates that ten thousand Acadians lost their lives in this > ethnic cleansing. After the English burned their homes and pillaged > their towns, they sent Protestant families to settle on the fertile > land. The English wanted to disperse the Acadians in small groups > throughout the British colonies to prevent them from organizing any > resistance or maintaining their allegiance to their Acadian identity. > Yet, there are some things even brutal force cannot take away from > people. > > Ten years after their expulsion from their homeland, thousands of > Acadians began migrating to New Orleans, some still looking for lost > family members, others just searching for their Acadian community. > Acadian refugees who were dispersed as far as France, sought out their > people in New Orleans where they established a new Acadia, cultivating > their rich and varied identities. In a final act of borderland irony, > they asked to be considered neutrals during the American Revolution. > Today, visitors to Louisiana find much evidence of their Acadian > influences, which intermixed with Indian, black, Spanish, and Anglo > influences to create an entirely new Cajun identity. > > In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II issued a Royal Proclamation acknowledging > the role of the British in the deportation of Acadians. No such American > acknowledgement has occurred, even though "Yankees" were intricately > involved in the ethnic cleansing. Americans have begun to confront the > atrocities of the nineteenth-century policy of Cherokee Removal, but > have not yet examined the tragedy in Acadia. _A Great and Noble Scheme_ > offers readers lessons from the past, which expose issues that continue > to challenge not just America, but the rest of the world, issues of > discrimination, diversity, and cultural identity. Readers interested in > the histories of the borderlands, New England, New France, imperial > diplomacy, or family history will find much to appreciate in this book. > Faragher creates a poignant and usable past, one that I hope gains many > readers. > > > Copyright ��� 2008 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits the > redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, educational > purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author, web > location, date of publication, originating list, and H-Net: Humanities & > Social Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews > editorial staff at hbooks@mail.h-net.msu.edu. > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.3.0/1499 - Release Date: 06/12/2008 7:13 AM