The return of the Deported
L'Acadie's population before the Deportation.
"Director Phil Comeau says he’s surprised to see how connected the descendants of Acadian settlers are to their heritage – no matter where they live on this earth.
His 2019 documentary “Belle-Ile in Acadie” follows a pilgrimage of Acadian descendants, from Belle-Ile-en-Mer in Brittany, France, to the Maritime provinces for the Acadian World Congress, a festival of Acadian culture held every five years.
Belle-Ile-en-Mer in Brittany, France. Map: Wikipedia
Comeau, an Acadian born in Nova Scotia, said he wanted to explore themes of heritage and belonging in his most recent documentary, a pairing to his previous film about an Acadian gathering in France.
More than 1,100 people were forcibly removed from their lands and deported to the state of Virginia by the British. After being denied entry, they were sent to detention camps in England, where they remained until 1763 and were released with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, following the end to the Seven Years’ War between France and Britain.
Almost half the survivors of that infamous deportation moved to Belle-Ile-en-Mer. Others, however, found their way back to North America, resettling in several different places on the continent, including the Maritimes."
Text© 2021 The Canadian Press