Description

The Acadian population of the Atlantic
Provinces has deep roots in this
country. They arrived in the 17th and
18th centuries, bringing with them
French traditions which they have kept
alive for many generations. Their isolation,
especially from the Deportation
(Expulsion) of the 1750s until this
century, has certainly contributed to the
preservation of these traditions. In fact,
the folklore of the Acadians is known to
be among the richest in North America.
The early Island Acadians had the
reputation of being a cheerful people. In
1770 William Drummond, a British
visitor to the settlement of Malpeque,
noted in his diary on June 4: "At 9 went
to another house where the French
were convened, had a dance and spent
the evening in jollity."1 At a somewhat
later date another observer, S.S. Hill,
noted in his A Short Account Of Prince
Edward Island (London, 1839):