Société Nationale de l’Acadie

ACADIANS AT MIQUELON

The Treaty of Paris in 1763 confirmed France’s loss of Canada. St. Pierre and Miquelon, now the only French territory in North America, came to serve as a place of refuge and of transit for hundreds of Acadians.

As early as October 1763, many families that had been deported, imprisoned, or had escaped the Deportation, started arriving at Miquelon from Boston, Fort Cumberland (Fort Beauséjour), Halifax, Île-Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), Île-Royale (Cap Breton) and Ristigouche. The arrival of so many Acadians worried the French authorities, who first tried to persuade them to emigrate to French Guyana. In 1767 their deportation to France was ordered. Some avoided this fate by returning to Acadie. Many among those deported to France returned to Miquelon the following year.

Its inhabitants were again deported to France in 1778 and 1794 when the British seized the islands. During this period, some had also emigrated to Acadie, to the Magdalen Islands and other regions of Québec, and even to Louisiana. Only in 1816 did the final return of these Acadians and their descendants take place, marking the end of the Grand Dérangement. To this day, Miquelon preserves a vibrant Acadian identity.

Source : texte inscrit sur le Monument.