Description

At the middle of the nineteenth
century the Acadians of Prince Edward
Island were probably about as well off
economically as the other rural residents
of the Island. Physically, life was harsh
— a struggle to clear the land and to
provide food, clothing, and shelter.
Added to this was oppression by agents
of absentee landlords and usurious
exactions of merchants, "noteshavers,"
and moneylenders. These
burdens, of nature and of society, bore
heavily on all.