Port Royal (1605–1713) was a historic settlement based around the upper Annapolis Basin in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the predecessor of the modern town of Annapolis Royal .
85-528: Ouellet is a French Canadian surname common in Quebec ; it traces back to a common ancestor, René Hoûallet, who came to New France at Rivière-Ouelle in the 17th century. The surname exists also in other forms: Ouellette , Ouellon , Houal(l)et, Willett(e). Notable people with the name include: French Canadian Asia Middle East Europe North America South America Oceania French Canadians , referred to as Canadiens mainly before
170-494: A subsistence agriculture in Eastern Canada (Québec). This subsistence agriculture slowly evolved in dairy farm during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century while retaining the subsistence side. By 1960, agriculture changed toward an industrial agriculture. French Canadians have selectively bred distinct livestock over the centuries, including cattle , horses and chickens . In English usage,
255-728: A "rupture" between the Québécois and other francophones elsewhere in Canada. The emphasis on the French language and Quebec autonomy means that French speakers across Canada may now self-identify as québécois(e) , acadien(ne) , or Franco-canadien(ne) , or as provincial linguistic minorities such as Franco-manitobain(e) , Franco-ontarien(ne) or fransaskois(e) . Education, health and social services are provided by provincial institutions, so that provincial identities are often used to identify French-language institutions: Acadians residing in
340-793: A French-speaker, though today it is used in French to describe any Canadian citizen. In the United States, many cities were founded as colonial outposts of New France by French or French-Canadian explorers. They include Mobile (Alabama) , Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) , Vincennes (Indiana) , Belleville (Illinois) , Bourbonnais (Illinois) , Prairie du Rocher (Illinois) , Dubuque (Iowa) , Baton Rouge (Louisiana) , New Orleans (Louisiana) , Detroit (Michigan) , Biloxi (Mississippi) , Creve Coeur (Missouri) , St. Louis (Missouri) , Pittsburgh (Fort Duquesne, Pennsylvania) , Provo (Utah) , Green Bay (Wisconsin) , La Crosse (Wisconsin) , Milwaukee (Wisconsin) or Prairie du Chien (Wisconsin) . The majority of
425-462: A blockade of La Tour's Fort Sainte-Marie. In 1643, La Tour tried to capture Port-Royal again. La Tour arrived at Saint John from Boston with a fleet of five armed vessels and 270 men and broke the blockade. La Tour then chased d'Aulnay's vessels back across the Bay of Fundy to Port-Royal. D'Aulnay resisted the attack, and seven of his men were wounded and three killed. La Tour did not attack the fort, which
510-527: A descent upon Machias, Maine from his seat at Port-Royal, killing two of its six defenders, and carrying the others away along with their supplies. In 1635, Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay de Charnisay moved a number of LaHave settlers to Port-Royal. Under D'Aulnay, the Acadians built the first dykes in North America and cultivated the reclaimed salt marshes. During this time, Acadia
595-652: A dozen houses and three barns full of grain. Port Royal was again made the Acadian capital in 1699. During Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), there was a New England blockade of Port Royal and then three attempts to lay siege to the capital. The last siege ultimately resulted in the British conquest of Acadia and Nova Scotia. Despite the blockade, Port Royal was occasionally used as a home port by French privateers and pirates such as Captain Crapo . In 1704, in retaliation for
680-478: A family prisoner. A woman from the family was sent to the fort to demand its surrender. The blockade lasted seventeen days; those in the fort awaited an attack. Church had moved on to conduct the real purpose of his expedition: the Raid on Grand Pré , Raid on Pisiguit , and Raid on Chignecto . He returned to Port Royal and then with a brief exchange of gunfire, returned to Boston. Two major British efforts to besiege
765-547: A language influenced by French, and a mixture of other European and Native American tribal languages. French Canadians living in Canada express their cultural identity using a number of terms. The Ethnic Diversity Survey of the 2006 Canadian census found that French-speaking Canadians identified their ethnicity most often as French , French Canadians, Québécois , and Acadian . The latter three were grouped together by Jantzen (2006) as "French New World" ancestries because they originate in Canada. Jantzen (2006) distinguishes
850-455: A local chief named Membertou , coupled with the more temperate climate of the fertile Annapolis Valley , the settlement, also known as "the habitation" prospered. Mindful of the disastrous winter of 1604–05 at the Île-Saint-Croix settlement, Champlain established l'Ordre de Bon Temps ( the Order of Good Cheer ) as a social club ostensibly to promote better nutrition and to get settlers through
935-543: A result, people of French Canadian descent can be found across North America. Between 1840 and 1930, many French Canadians emigrated to New England , an event known as the Grande Hémorragie . French Canadians get their name from the French colony of Canada , the most developed and densely populated region of New France during the period of French colonization in the 17th and 18th centuries. The original use of
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#17327874833051020-506: A result, their identification with their ethnicity is weaker: for example, only 50% of third generation "Canadians" strongly identify as such, bringing down the overall average. The survey report notes that 80% of Canadians whose families had been in Canada for three or more generations reported "Canadian and provincial or regional ethnic identities". These identities include French New World ancestries such as "Québécois" (37% of Quebec population) and Acadian (6% of Atlantic provinces). Since
1105-458: A strong sense of belonging. The generational profile and strength of identity of French New World ancestries contrast with those of British or Canadian ancestries, which represent the largest ethnic identities in Canada. Although deeply rooted Canadians express a deep attachment to their ethnic identity, most English-speaking Canadians of British or Canadian ancestry generally cannot trace their ancestry as far back in Canada as French speakers. As
1190-433: Is a list of the main genealogical works retracing the origins of French Canadian families: Port-Royal (Acadia) It was the first successful attempt by Europeans to establish a permanent settlement in what is today known as Canada. Port Royal was a key step in the development of New France and was the first permanent base of operations of the explorer Samuel de Champlain , who would later found Quebec in 1608, and
1275-554: Is estimated to be home to between 32 and 36 regional French accents, 17 of which can be found in Quebec, and 7 of which are found in New Brunswick. There are also people who will naturally speak using Québécois Standard or Joual which are considered sociolects . There are about seven million French Canadians and native French speakers in Quebec. Another one million French-speaking French Canadians are distributed throughout
1360-453: Is indicative of the French immigration to the area. They came to identify as Franco-American , especially those who were born American. Distinctions between French Canadian, natives of France, and other New World French identities is more blurred in the U.S. than in Canada, but those who identify as French Canadian or Franco American generally do not regard themselves as French. Rather, they identify culturally, historically, and ethnically with
1445-452: Is necessary to refer to Canadians of French-Canadian heritage collectively, such as in the name and mandate of national organizations which serve francophone communities across Canada. Francophone Canadians of non-French-Canadian origin such as immigrants from francophone countries are not usually designated by the term "French Canadian"; the more general term "francophones" is used for French-speaking Canadians across all ethnic origins. Below
1530-441: Is not the province in which they currently reside; for example, a Québécois who moved to Manitoba would not normally change their own self-identification to Franco-Manitoban. Increasingly, provincial labels are used to stress the linguistic and cultural, as opposed to ethnic and religious, nature of French-speaking institutions and organizations. The term "French Canadian" is still used in historical and cultural contexts, or when it
1615-474: The Canadian Constitution since 1982, protecting them from provincial governments that have historically been indifferent towards their presence. At the provincial level, New Brunswick formally designates French as a full official language , while other provinces vary in the level of French language services they offer. All three of Canada's territories include French as an official language of
1700-590: The Government of Quebec refer to all Quebec citizens, regardless of their language or their cultural heritage, as Québécois. Academic analysis of French Canadian culture has often focused on the degree to which the Quiet Revolution, particularly the shift in the social and cultural identity of the Québécois following the Estates General of French Canada of 1966 to 1969, did or did not create
1785-561: The Kirkes took Quebec City and Lord Ochiltree (Sir James Stewart of Killeith) started a colony on Cape Breton Island at Baleine . On July 28, 1629, Sir William sent a ship, his son William Alexander (the younger) , and seventy Scottish settlers who established the first incarnation of "New Scotland" which they named Charles Fort , at present-day Annapolis Royal on the site of the future Fort Anne (see Charles Fort - National Site ). During this time there were few French inhabitants in
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#17327874833051870-469: The New England colonies encroaching on the Acadian border in southern Maine. The Battle of Port Royal (1690) began on May 9. Sir William Phips of New England arrived with 736 men in seven English ships. Acadian Governor de Meneval fought for two days and then capitulated. The garrison was imprisoned in the church and Governor de Meneval was confined to his house. The New Englanders levelled what
1955-537: The Raid on Deerfield , Major Benjamin Church created a blockade of Port-Royal. Church was instructed not to attack the capital because the action was not authorized from London. Before daylight, on July 2, two English warships and seven smaller vessels entered the Port Royal basin. They captured the guard station opposite Goat Island as well as four Acadians. Landing at Pointe aux Chesnes on the north shore, they took
2040-529: The Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) and Miscou Island , with Port-Royal as the capital. After d'Aulnay died (1650), La Tour re-established himself in Acadia. In 1654, Colonel Robert Sedgwick led a force made up of one hundred New England volunteers and two hundred professional soldiers sent to New England by Oliver Cromwell , the first professional English soldiers sent to North America. Prior to
2125-464: The U.S. Census Bureau . In Canada, 85% of French Canadians reside in Quebec where they constitute the majority of the population in all regions except the far north ( Nord-du-Québec ). Most cities and villages in this province were built and settled by the French or French Canadians during the French colonial rule . There are various urban and small centres in Canada outside Quebec that have long-standing populations of French Canadians, going back to
2210-615: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as around Detroit . They also founded such cities as New Orleans and St. Louis and villages in the Mississippi Valley . French Canadians later emigrated in large numbers from Canada to the United States between the 1840s and the 1930s in search of economic opportunities in border communities and industrialized portions of New England . French-Canadian communities in
2295-763: The Windsor-Detroit region and the Canadian prairies (primarily Southern Manitoba ). After the 1760 British conquest of New France in the French and Indian War (known as the Seven Years' War in Canada), the French-Canadian population remained important in the life of the colonies. The British gained Acadia by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It took the 1774 Quebec Act for French Canadians to regain
2380-478: The 1840s and the 1930s, some 900,000 French Canadians immigrated to the New England region. About half of them returned home. The generations born in the United States would eventually come to see themselves as Franco-Americans . During the same period of time, numerous French Canadians also migrated and settled in Eastern and Northern Ontario . The descendants of those Quebec inter-provincial migrants constitute
2465-448: The 1960s, French Canadians in Quebec have generally used Québécois (masculine) or Québécoise (feminine) to express their cultural and national identity, rather than Canadien français and Canadienne française . Francophones who self-identify as Québécois and do not have French-Canadian ancestry may not identify as "French Canadian" ( Canadien or Canadien français ), though the term "French Canadian" may by extension refer to natives of
2550-658: The 1960s, religion was a central component of French-Canadian national identity. The Church parish was the focal point of civic life in French-Canadian society, and religious orders ran French-Canadian schools, hospitals and orphanages and were very influential in everyday life in general. During the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, however, the practice of Catholicism dropped drastically. Church attendance in Quebec currently remains low. Rates of religious observance among French Canadians outside Quebec tend to vary by region, and by age. In general, however, those in Quebec are
2635-661: The Acadians and Indians unsuccessfully attempted to lay siege to the capital. After the transfer of Port Royal to Great Britain due to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the British changed the name from Port Royal to Annapolis Royal . The Acadia settlement of Port-Royal was the first permanent European settlement north of St. Augustine, Florida . (Two years later, the English made their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia .) Approximately seventy-five years after Port-Royal
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2720-404: The Acadians or the Québécois, or considered a distinct group in their own right, by different sources. French Canadians outside Quebec are more likely to self-identify as "French Canadian". Identification with provincial groupings varies from province to province, with Franco-Ontarians, for example, using their provincial label far more frequently than Franco-Columbians do. Few identify only with
2805-465: The Annapolis Basin were listed under "Port Royal," with no sub-distinctions. The first official document where "Port Royal" was called a "ville" (i.e. town) appears to be in article 12 of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, where it describes, "la ville de Port-Royal, maintenant appelée Annapolis Royale." French nobleman Pierre Du Gua de Mons made a first attempt at settlement of Acadia during
2890-534: The Annapolis Basin, while from 1629 onwards it was centred around Fort Anne on the south side, at the confluence of the Annapolis River and Allains Creek. "Port Royal" principally refers to the Annapolis Basin and was named by cartographer Samuel de Champlain in 1604, writing, "we entered a harbour which is two leagues in length and one in breadth, which I have named 'Port Royal'." In the censuses of Acadia from 1671 to 1707, all inhabitants living around
2975-428: The British retreated. On September 24, 1710, the British returned with 36 ships and 2000 men, and again laid siege to the capital in what would be the final Conquest of Acadia. Subercase and the French held out until October 2 when the approximately 300 defenders of the fort surrendered, ending French rule in Acadia. The following year, after the Acadian and Indian success at the nearby Battle of Bloody Creek (1711) ,
3060-516: The Dominion of Canada, and from that time forward, the word "Canadian" has been used to describe both English-speaking and French-speaking citizens, wherever they live in the country. Those reporting "French New World" ancestries overwhelmingly had ancestors that went back at least four generations in Canada. Fourth generation Canadiens and Québécois showed considerable attachment to their ethno-cultural group, with 70% and 61%, respectively, reporting
3145-759: The English Canadian , meaning "someone whose family has been in Canada for multiple generations", and the French Canadien , used to refer to descendants of the original settlers of New France in the 17th and 18th centuries. "Canadien" was used to refer to the French-speaking residents of New France beginning in the last half of the 17th century. The English-speaking residents who arrived later from Great Britain were called "Anglais". This usage continued until Canadian Confederation in 1867. Confederation united several former British colonies into
3230-534: The French civil law system, and in 1791 French Canadians in Lower Canada were introduced to the parliamentary system when an elected Legislative Assembly was created. The Legislative Assembly having no real power, the political situation degenerated into the Lower Canada Rebellions of 1837–1838, after which Lower Canada and Upper Canada were unified. Some of the motivations for the union
3315-697: The French government. As a result, Jesuits became financial partners with Poutrincourt, although this caused division within the community. In May 1613, the Jesuits moved on to the Penobscot River valley. In July 1613 Acadia settlements were attacked by the English, led by the Admiral of Virginia Samuel Argall . The invasion began with the Saint-Saveur mission ( Mount Desert Island , Maine) and then St. Croix Island. In October 1613, Argall surprised
3400-602: The French to refer to the First Nations they had encountered in the St. Lawrence River valley at Stadacona and Hochelaga , though First Nations groups did not refer to themselves as Canadien . At the end of the 17th century, Canadien became an ethnonym distinguishing the French inhabitants of Canada from those of France. At the end of the 18th century, to distinguish between the English-speaking population and
3485-978: The French-Canadian population in the United States is found in the New England area, although there is also a large French-Canadian presence in Plattsburgh, New York , across Lake Champlain from Burlington, Vermont . Quebec and Acadian emigrants settled in industrial cities like Fitchburg , Leominster , Lynn , Worcester , Haverhill , Waltham , Lowell , Gardner , Lawrence , Chicopee , Somerset , Fall River , and New Bedford in Massachusetts ; Woonsocket in Rhode Island ; Manchester and Nashua in New Hampshire ; Bristol , Hartford , and East Hartford in Connecticut ; throughout
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3570-401: The French-speaking population, the terms English Canadian and French Canadian emerged. During the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s to 1980s, inhabitants of Quebec began to identify as Québécois instead of simply French Canadian. French settlers from Normandy , Perche , Beauce , Brittany , Maine , Anjou , Touraine , Poitou , Aunis , Angoumois , Saintonge , and Gascony were
3655-574: The Royal Port; this was, for many years, the name of both the body of water and of the subsequent French settlements in that region. Poutrincourt asked King Henri IV to become the owner of the seigneurie that encompassed the settlement. Nestled against the North Mountain range , they set about constructing a log stockade fortification. With assistance from members of the Mi'kmaq Nation and
3740-516: The United States remain along the Quebec border in Maine , Vermont , and New Hampshire , as well as further south in Massachusetts , Rhode Island , and Connecticut . There is also a significant community of French Canadians in South Florida , particularly Hollywood, Florida , especially during the winter months. The wealth of Catholic churches named after St. Louis throughout New England
3825-448: The area of Port-Royal. A mill upstream at present day Lequille, Nova Scotia remained, along with settlers who went into hiding during the battle. Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour was one of the men who stayed behind. La Tour eventually left Port-Royal and settled by 1620, at Cape Negro - Cape Sable although some settlers remained. Poutrincourt assigned his holdings to his son and returned to France. The settlement of Port-Royal
3910-531: The battle to capture Port-Royal, Sedgwick captured and plundered present day Castine, Maine and Fort Sainte-Marie at New Brunswick. Sedgwick also took Charles de la Tour prisoner. The defenders of Port-Royal numbered only about 130. After resisting the English landings and defending the fort during a short siege, the outnumbered Acadians surrendered after negotiating terms that allowed French inhabitants who wished to remain to keep their property and religion. Soldiers and officials were given transport to France while
3995-494: The bulk of today's Franco-Ontarian community. Since 1968, French has been one of Canada's two official languages. It is the sole official language of Quebec and one of the official languages of New Brunswick , Yukon , the Northwest Territories , and Nunavut . The province of Ontario has no official languages defined in law, although the provincial government provides French language services in many parts of
4080-547: The capital at Port-Royal. They finally defeated the French in 1710 following the Siege of Port-Royal . Over the following fifty years, the French and their allies made six unsuccessful military attempts to regain the capital. Including a raid by Americans in the American Revolution , Port-Royal (at present-day Annapolis Royal ) faced a total of thirteen attacks, more than any other place in North America. Port-Royal
4165-561: The colony. This set of British triumphs, leaving Cape Sable (present-day Port La Tour, Nova Scotia ) as the only major French holding in North America, was not destined to last. In 1632, under the terms of the Treaty of Saint Germain-en-Laye, the colonists were ordered to abandon the fort to the French, who soon renamed it Port-Royal, the same name as their previous colony. The official handover did not take place until late in 1632 and this gave Captain Andrew Forrester, commander of
4250-512: The culture that originated in Quebec that is differentiated from French culture. In L'Avenir du français aux États-Unis , Calvin Veltman and Benoît Lacroix found that since the French language has been so widely abandoned in the United States, the term "French Canadian" has taken on an ethnic rather than linguistic meaning. French Canadian identities are influenced by historical events that inform regional cultures. For example, in New England,
4335-561: The descendants of the King's Daughters ( Filles du Roi ) of this era. A few also are the descendants of mixed French and Algonquian marriages (see also Metis people and Acadian people ). During the mid-18th century, French explorers and Canadiens born in French Canada colonized other parts of North America in what are today the states of Louisiana , Mississippi , Missouri , Illinois , Vincennes, Indiana , Louisville, Kentucky ,
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#17327874833054420-463: The disastrous winter of 1604–1605 in Île-Saint-Croix , Saint Croix Island in the St. Croix River on the boundary between present-day Maine and New Brunswick . De Mons, Samuel de Champlain , Louis Hébert (this is disputed in the French archives which indicate Hébert did not sail until 1606) and Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just decided to move the settlement to the north shore of
4505-472: The farmer Louis Hébert , who would resettle at Quebec in 1617. For most of its existence, it was the capital of the New France colony of Acadia . Over 108 years control would pass between France, Scotland, England and Great Britain until it was formally ceded to Great Britain in 1713 due to the Treaty of Utrecht . From 1605 to 1613 the settlement was centred around the habitation on the north side of
4590-733: The first Europeans to permanently colonize what is now Quebec , parts of Ontario, Acadia, and select areas of Western Canada, all in Canada (see French colonization of the Americas ). Their colonies of New France (also commonly called Canada) stretched across what today are the Maritime provinces , southern Quebec and Ontario , as well as the entire Mississippi River Valley. The first permanent European settlements in Canada were at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608 as fur trading posts . The territories of New France were Canada , Acadia (later renamed Nova Scotia ), and Louisiana ;
4675-674: The late 19th and 20th centuries, French Canadians' discontent grew with their place in Canada because of a series of events: including the execution of Louis Riel , the elimination of official bilingualism in Manitoba , Canada's military participation in the Second Boer War , Regulation 17 which banned French-language schools in Ontario, the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and the Conscription Crisis of 1944 . Between
4760-550: The late 19th century, due to interprovincial migration . Eastern and Northern Ontario have large populations of francophones in communities such as Ottawa , Cornwall , Hawkesbury , Sudbury , Timmins , North Bay , Timiskaming , Welland and Windsor . Many also pioneered the Canadian Prairies in the late 18th century, founding the towns of Saint Boniface, Manitoba and in Alberta 's Peace Country , including
4845-415: The least observant, while those in the United States of America and other places away from Quebec tend to be the most observant. People who claim some French-Canadian ancestry or heritage number some 7 million in Canada. In the United States, 2.4 million people report French-Canadian ancestry or heritage, while an additional 8.4 million claim French ancestry; they are treated as a separate ethnic group by
4930-498: The majority of Port-Royal residents remained unharmed. However, in violation of the surrender terms, Sedgwick's men rampaged through the Port-Royal monastery, smashing windows, doors, paneling and even the floor boards before burning the monastery and the newly constructed Port Royal church. The English occupied Acadia for the next 16 years with a small garrison, leaving the Acadian residents mostly undisturbed. In 1667, Port-Royal
5015-655: The mid-continent Illinois Country was at first governed from Canada and then attached to Louisiana. The inhabitants of the French colony of Canada (modern-day Quebec) called themselves the Canadiens , and came mostly from northwestern France. The early inhabitants of Acadia, or Acadians ( Acadiens) , came mostly but not exclusively from the southwestern regions of France . Canadien explorers and fur traders would come to be known as coureurs des bois and voyageurs , while those who settled on farms in Canada would come to be known as habitants . Many French Canadians are
5100-636: The nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the province of Quebec . During the 17th century, French settlers originating mainly from the west and north of France settled Canada. It is from them that the French Canadian ethnicity was born. During the 17th to 18th centuries, French Canadians expanded across North America and colonized various regions, cities, and towns. As
5185-538: The present-day Annapolis Basin , a sheltered bay on the south shore of the Bay of Fundy that had been recorded by Champlain earlier in the spring of 1605 during a coastal reconnaissance. Champlain noted in his journals that the bay was of impressive size; he believed it would be an adequate anchorage for several hundred ships of the French Royal Fleet , if ever necessary. As such, he named the basin "Port Royal",
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#17327874833055270-567: The province of Quebec or other parts of French Canada of foreign descent. Those who do have French or French-Canadian ancestry, but who support Quebec sovereignty , often find Canadien français to be archaic or even pejorative. This is a reflection of the strong social, cultural, and political ties that most Quebecers of French-Canadian origin, who constitute a majority of francophone Quebecers, maintain within Quebec. It has given Québécois an ambiguous meaning which has often played out in political issues , as all public institutions attached to
5355-558: The province under the French Language Services Act . There are many varieties of French spoken by francophone Canadians, for example Quebec French , Acadian French , Métis French , and Newfoundland French . The French spoken in Ontario, the Canadian West , and New England can trace their roots back to Quebec French because of Quebec's diaspora . Over time, many regional accents have emerged. Canada
5440-626: The provinces of New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia represent a distinct ethnic French-speaking culture. This group's culture and history evolved separately from the French Canadian culture, at a time when the Maritime Provinces were not part of what was referred to as Canada, and are consequently considered a distinct culture from French Canadians. Brayons in Madawaska County , New Brunswick and Aroostook County , Maine may be identified with either
5525-557: The provincial groupings, explicitly rejecting "French Canadian" as an identity label. A population genetics ancestry study claims that for those French Canadians who trace their ancestry to the French founder population, a significant percentage, 53-78% have at least one indigenous ancestor. During the mid-18th century, French Canadian explorers and colonists colonized other parts of North America in what are today Louisiana (called Louisianais ), Mississippi , Missouri , Illinois , Wisconsin , Indiana , Ohio , far northern New York and
5610-401: The region of Grande Prairie . It is estimated that roughly 70–75% of Quebec's population descend from the French pioneers of the 17th and 18th century. The French-speaking population have massively chosen the "Canadian" (" Canadien " ) ethnic group since the government made it possible (1986), which has made the current statistics misleading. The term Canadien historically referred only to
5695-611: The relatively recent immigration (19th/20th centuries) is informed by experiences of language oppression and an identification with certain occupations, such as the mill workers. In the Great Lakes, many French Canadians also identify as Métis and trace their ancestry to the earliest voyageurs and settlers ; many also have ancestry dating to the lumber era and often a mixture of the two groups. The main Franco-American regional identities are: Traditionally, Canadiens had
5780-543: The rest of Canada. French Canadians may also speak Canadian English , especially if they live in overwhelmingly English-speaking environments. In Canada, not all those of French Canadian ancestry speak French, but the vast majority do. Francophones living in Canadian provinces other than Quebec have enjoyed minority language rights under Canadian law since the Official Languages Act of 1969, and under
5865-574: The settlers at Port-Royal and sacked every building. The battle destroyed the Habitation but it did not fully destroy the colony. Argall returned in November that same year and finally burned the Habitation to the ground while settlers were away nearby. Poutrincourt returned from France in spring 1614 to find Port-Royal in ruins, settlers living with the Mi'kmaq, and Biencourt and his men remaining in
5950-445: The state of Vermont , particularly in Burlington , St. Albans , and Barre ; and Biddeford and Lewiston in Maine . Smaller groups of French Canadians settled in the Midwest, notably in the states of Michigan , Illinois, Wisconsin , Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Minnesota . French Canadians also settled in central North Dakota, largely in Rolette and Bottineau counties, and in South Dakota. Some Metis still speak Michif ,
6035-406: The term Canada referred to the area of present-day Quebec along the St. Lawrence River , divided in three districts ( Québec , Trois-Rivières , and Montréal ), as well as to the Pays d'en Haut (Upper Countries), a vast and thinly settled territorial dependence north and west of Montreal which covered the whole of the Great Lakes area. From 1535 to the 1690s, Canadien was a word used by
6120-428: The terms for provincial subgroups, if used at all, are usually defined solely by province of residence, with all of the terms being strictly interchangeable with French Canadian. Although this remains the more common usage in English, it is considered outdated to many Canadians of French descent, especially in Quebec. Most francophone Canadians who use the provincial labels identify with their province of origin, even if it
6205-550: The territory alongside English and local indigenous languages, although in practice French-language services are normally available only in the capital cities and not across the entire territory. Catholicism is the chief denomination. The kingdom of France forbade non-Catholic settlement in New France from 1629 onward and thus, almost all French settlers of Canada were Catholic. In the United States, some families of French-Canadian origin have converted to Protestantism. Until
6290-475: The then Scottish community the opportunity to cross the Bay of Fundy with twenty-five armed men and raid Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour's Fort Sainte-Marie-de-Grâce on the LaHave River which served as the Acadian capital before the re-establishment of Port-Royal. In 1633, protecting the boundary of Acadia, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, who at this time was the French commander of Acadia, made
6375-470: The town in 1707 met with failure. The first siege during the war happened on June 17 and lasted eleven days. Colonel John March , the most senior officer in all of Massachusetts was sent to defeat the capital. Acadian governor Daniel d'Auger de Subercase successfully defended the capital. Colonel Francis Wainwright led the second siege on August 20. It lasted eleven days. Subercase and his troops killed sixteen New Englanders and lost three soldiers. Again
6460-425: The winter of 1606–07. Supper every few days became a feast with a festive air supplemented by performances and alcohol and was primarily attended by the prominent men of the colony and their Mi'kmaq neighbours while the Mi'kmaq women, children, and poorer settlers looked on and were offered scraps. Marc Lescarbot 's The Theatre of Neptune in New France , the first work of theater written and performed in North America,
6545-565: Was begun of the new fort. The residents of Port-Royal were imprisoned in the church and administered an oath of allegiance to the English King. Phips left, but warships from New York City arrived in June which resulted in more destruction. The seamen burned and looted the settlement, including the parish church. In response to assisting Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste , English frigates attacked Port-Royal. The New Englanders burned almost
6630-442: Was defended by twenty soldiers. La Tour burned the mill, killed the livestock and seized furs, gunpowder and other supplies. D'Aulnay ultimately won the war against La Tour with the 1645 siege of Fort Sainte-Marie. After the siege, La Tour went to live in Quebec . After defeating La Tour, d'Aulnay administered posts at LaHave, Nova Scotia ; Pentagouet ( Castine, Maine ); Canso, Nova Scotia ; Cap Sable ( Port La Tour, Nova Scotia );
6715-491: Was founded, Acadians spread out from the capital to found the other major Acadian settlements established before the Expulsion of the Acadians : Grand-Pré , Chignecto , Cobequid and Pisiguit . In the 150 years prior to the founding of Halifax in 1749, Port-Royal/Annapolis Royal was the capital of Acadia and later Nova Scotia for most decades. During that time the British made six attempts to conquer Acadia by attacking
6800-574: Was performed on November 14, 1606. In 1607, Dugua had his fur trade monopoly revoked by the Government of France, forcing most of the settlers to return to France that fall, although some remained with the natives. The Habitation was left in the care of Membertou and the local Mi'kmaq until 1610 when Sieur de Poutrincourt, another French nobleman, returned with a small expedition to Port-Royal . Poutrincourt converted Membertou and local Mi'kmaq to Catholicism , hoping to gain financial assistance from
6885-412: Was plunged into what some historians have described as a civil war; the two main centres were Port-Royal, where d'Aulnay was stationed, and Fort Sainte-Marie, where de la Tour was stationed. Charles de la Tour attacked Port-Royal with two armed ships. D'Aulnay's captain was killed, while La Tour and his men were forced to surrender. In response to the attack, D'Aulay sailed out of Port-Royal to establish
6970-517: Was re-established on the south bank of the river 8 km (5.0 mi) upstream. Poutrincourt's son bequeathed the settlement to Charles de la Tour upon his own death in 1623. In 1621 King James VI and I as King of Scotland granted to Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling a Royal Charter of all of Nova Scotia, which then included New Brunswick . During the Anglo-French War (1627–1629) , under Charles I of England , by 1629
7055-431: Was returned to France with the Treaty of Breda (1667) . In a census taken in 1671 there were 361 Acadians in the Port-Royal area. During King Philip's War , Jacques de Chambly was Governor of Acadia. Another census in the late 1680s shows 450 Acadians in the entire area of Port-Royal. During King William's War , Port-Royal served as a safe harbor for French cruisers and supply point for Wabanaki Confederacy to attack
7140-469: Was the site of a number of North American firsts: the first resident surgeon; first continuing church services; first social club (named the "Order of Good Cheer"); creation of the first library; first French theatrical performance (titled Neptune ); first apothecary ; and first weekly Bible class. The author of Neptune , Marc Lescarbot , wrote a popular history of his time in New France, entitled Histoire de la Nouvelle-France (1609). The north shore of
7225-592: Was to limit French-Canadian political power and at the same time transferring a large part of the Upper Canadian debt to the debt-free Lower Canada. After many decades of British immigration, the Canadiens became a minority in the Province of Canada in the 1850s. French-Canadian contributions were essential in securing responsible government for the Canadas and in undertaking Canadian Confederation . In
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