I am taking a class called Empire, Nation, and Law; it is surprisingly not as scary of a class as I thought it would be.
We have to write a term paper and that’s basically all the instructions that were given. We were probably supposed to have the good sense to relate it to the class. (Good sense is not one of my strong suits.)
I decided to write about my Cajun heritage from France, to Canada, and finally finally to Louisiana.
There is no particular reason that can be founf as to why the people in France went to Canada. Real helpful for my paper, right?
There was a lot of boring stuff that I had to sift through like the Treaty of Utrecht (don’t ask). Eventually the French king was like, “Yeah, I’m tired of this tennis match.” Britain wanted Acadia. And the French were like, “Don’t think so!” Long story short (too late) Britain got Acadia.
Well, the prople of Acadia were not too happy about that. Especially when the British wanted them to take an oath to the monarchy. Some did becasuse it was the only way to get papers to work. A lot of it had to do with religion but also fishing rights.
Most of them said, “Oh, you just made a big mistake.”
As it turns out, my sixth great grandfather kicked some butt. His name was Joseph “Beausoleil” Broussard.
“Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil in Acadia”
by Herb Roe (2009)
He attacked British camps with 60 men and Indians, they did a great amount of damage and Beausoleil only lost one man.
The British didn’t really like him, in fact they had this to say about his leadership. …
“William Forster, a British colonel, wrote to General Jeffery Amherst in August 1761: “These people are Spirited up in their obstinacy by one BeauSoleil . . . and one or two others who have already rendered themselves so obnoxious to the English that they are conscious of the treatment they deserve at our hands” (d’Entremont 1974).
He led 193 Acadians to Louisiana. A song has even been written about him, this is the first verse.
Way-way back in his-t’ry was a man
Who lead his faithful people to a pro-mised Land
He led his brave mi-li-tia on both land and sea,
Then he led them all to safety in new A-ca-die!
“Hey, Hey, Beausoleil!”
by James P. Louviere
He helped get out letters to people in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Canada, France to come to Louisiana.
You can throw a pebble in Southern Louisiana and have someone with Broussard in their family tree. In fact Beyoncé and I are seventh cousins twice removed.
In the end, it doesn’t matter how famous or how quiet the people on your family tree are, what matters is family.
Cajun Flag
The various symbols on the flag were each chosen to represent a special aspect of Cajun culture and history. The golden star surrounded by a field of white serves as a symbol of Acadian exiles in America and alludes to their Roman Catholic heritage. The golden star in particular refers to the Virgin Mary. The fleurs de lis set against a background of blue represent the French ancestry of the Cajuns. The golden castle set upon a field of red represents Spanish colonial rule of Louisiana, the rule during which the exiled Acadians arrived.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Acadiana)
Works Cited
d’Entremont, C. J. 1974. “Brossard (Broussard), dit Beausoleil, Joseph.” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 3. Toronto: University of Toronto/Université Laval.
https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brossard_joseph_3E.html
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