Acadians Arrive in Louisiana: The Beginnings of Cajun Country

Written by: Laura Pellerin

During the 1760s through the 1780s, thousands of displaced Acadians gradually made their way to Louisiana, beginning a new chapter in the history of a people who had been separated from their homes and families. The Acadians had lived for generations in Acadia, a French-speaking region that included present-day Nova Scotia and parts of neighboring Canada. During the French and Indian War and the larger conflict known as the Seven Years’ War, British authorities forcibly removed many Acadians from their communities in an event remembered as the Great Expulsion, or Le Grand Dérangement. Families were scattered across the British colonies, the Caribbean, France, and other parts of the world.

For many displaced Acadians, Louisiana offered an opportunity to rebuild their lives among people who shared their French language and Catholic faith. Spain had acquired Louisiana from France in 1762 through the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and Spanish officials encouraged immigration to strengthen the colony's population and economy. Acadian families began arriving in significant numbers during the 1760s and continued settling in Louisiana during the following decades. Some arrived directly from exile, while others came after spending years in France, the Caribbean, or other locations.

Many Acadians settled along the Mississippi River, but large numbers eventually moved toward the bayous and prairies of southwestern Louisiana. The region's wetlands and waterways were very different from Acadia, yet the newcomers developed ways to make a living from their surroundings. They farmed, raised livestock, fished, hunted, trapped, and cultivated crops suited to the Louisiana environment. Their settlements often grew around extended families and small communities, helping them preserve traditions while adapting to their new home.

The Acadians also became part of a much larger cultural exchange taking place across Louisiana. They encountered Native American peoples whose knowledge of the land and waterways proved valuable, as well as Africans and their descendants, Creoles, French settlers, Spanish colonists, and people from the Caribbean and other parts of the Atlantic world. Over generations, these interactions influenced language, food, music, agriculture, religious traditions, and everyday life. Acadian culture did not remain unchanged; it evolved within the diverse cultural landscape of Louisiana.

Their French language became one of the most recognizable elements of their identity. Over time, the French spoken by Acadian descendants in Louisiana developed distinctive characteristics and became associated with what is now commonly called Cajun French. Their traditions also contributed to the development of Louisiana's distinctive foodways, including the use of local seafood, rice, game, vegetables, and spices. Music, storytelling, Catholic celebrations, family gatherings, and community traditions further strengthened the cultural identity that developed among Acadian descendants.

The term “Cajun” itself evolved from the word “Acadian,” reflecting the transformation of the Acadian people in their new Louisiana environment. By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, their descendants had become an established part of southern Louisiana society. Their story was no longer simply one of displacement; it had become a story of survival, adaptation, and rebuilding.

The arrival of the Acadians during the 1760s–1780s therefore represents a defining chapter in Louisiana history. From the hardships of exile, Acadian families established new communities and laid important foundations for the culture later known as Cajun. Their descendants would continue to shape the language, traditions, cuisine, music, and identity of southern Louisiana, leaving a legacy that remains an essential part of the state's history today.

Brasseaux, Carl A. The Founding of New Acadia: The Beginnings of Acadian Life in Louisiana, 1765–1803. Louisiana State University Press, 1987.

Brasseaux, Carl A. The Acadians of Louisiana: The Cultural Heritage of a People in Exile. University Press of Mississippi, 1992.

Conrad, Glenn R., editor. The Cajuns: Essays on Their History and Culture. Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1978.

Dormon, James H. The People Called Cajuns. Louisiana State University Press, 1983.

Usner, Daniel H. Native American Women and French Men: Rethinking Cultural Encounters in the Mississippi Valley. University of Georgia Press, 1992.

Image: Robert Dafford, 1995