Exile Without an End

The first ethnic cleansing in American history.

Amy Sturgis from the November 2005 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

A second factor in Acadian thought came from the fact that the Acadians were more of a commercial people than an agrarian one. They knew from firsthand experience that enemies and strangers became friends, or at least civil acquaintances, when the opportunity for trade appeared. In a sense, the "black market" financial success story of the Acadians made them a target for national powers that would steal rather than create such abundance, and then discard the ideas that would make similar accomplishments possible. The Acadians' economic achievements added fuel to their determination to remain free of government control, outside the contest between the British and French empires. In this sense both the Acadians' society and economy required that they maintain their prized neutrality. In Faragher's words, "They couldn't give it up without abandoning their own identity."

To be sure, the earthy Acadians do not fit the stereotypical role of the well-bred, well-read heroes of epic lore. And unlike the other, more memorable republicans of 1776, the Acadians did not push for independence per se; they wanted only to be left alone.

In 1755 the British chose to accept this situation no longer. And by scattering the Acadians and uprooting their culture, the British destroyed an alternate vision of the North American future.

Here the importance of the Acadian example cannot be overstated. The fact that a French community of up to 18,000 existed and even thrived on a policy of accommodation and cooperation with Native Americans and other Europeans suggests that the later North American experience of oppression, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide was not the inevitable conclusion of colonization. The North American story was not written in stone in 1492 or 1607. Had the historical actors been more simple-Acadian and less nationalist-European at heart, Faragher argues, the last 250 years might have unfolded quite differently. Of course comparable dramas continue to play out across the globe, and there are many contemporary groups that might benefit from a case study in how tolerance and trade led to generations of peace and prosperity.

In 2003 Elizabeth II issued a royal proclamation officially apologizing for the British expulsion of the Acadians. Faragher's work proves why it is important not to forgive and forget. Thanks to his compelling, exhaustively researched volume, the Acadian chapter of North American history now can be part of the national and international dialogue, and readers will remember the lessons behind what Longfellow described as "exile without an end, and without an example in story."�