Français  Contact Us  Help  Search  Canada Site Volume 1 (1000–1754) Volume 2 (1755-1871) Volume 3 (1872–2000) CHAPTER 1 The Conquest Military Situations at the Start of the War Reinforcements from Europe It's War! The Anglo-American Attack General Braddock's Disaster General Dieskau's Defeat The Acadian Tragedy General Montcalm Takes Oswego Tensions Among the French Staff The British Invasion Strategy The French Take Fort William Henry The British Lay Siege to Louisbourg French Victory at Ticonderoga The Invasion of the Ohio Valley A Change in Tactics General Mobilization in Canada The Siege of Quebec The Battle of the Plains of Abraham Quebec Surrenders Other Fronts The War Continues in Canada The Battle of Sainte-Foy The Arrival of Reinforcements The Final Invasion The Surrender The Fate of the Canadian Officers The Military Regime England Wins the War The Treaty of Paris CHAPTER 2 The Revolt of Pontiac and the American Invasion CHAPTER 3 The Coveted Pacific Coast CHAPTER 4 The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 CHAPTER 5 Demobilization CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas CHAPTER 7 A Decade of Turbulence APPENDIX A The British Armed Forces APPENDIX B Daily Life of Soldiers and Officers APPENDIX C Uniforms and Arms APPENDIX D Reference      CHAPTER 1 The Conquest           The Acadian Tragedy ( 3 pages )           1 2 3      Ethnic Cleansing Prompted by Greed                Acadian militiaman, 1755-1760. (Click image to enlarge) The year 1755, which had more than its share of military events, was also the year of a great tragedy: the deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia.  In 1713, under the Treaty of Utrecht, France had ceded Acadia to England, and it had become a British colony under the name of Nova Scotia.  A few Acadians had afterwards taken up arms against the British, but most had remained neutral.  Nonetheless, the presence of a prosperous, Catholic and French-speaking population within an English colony elicited considerable jealousy and rancour, particularly given that the approximately 9,000 Acadians occupied the best land.  In the name of "security," it was finally deemed opportune to replace them with loyal subjects.  In July 1755, therefore, Charles Lawrence, Governor of Nova Scotia, decreed that the people of Acadia be deported.  During the operation, which today we would call "ethnic cleansing," the armed forces played a major role. Responsibility for rounding up the Acadians was assigned to some of the British regular troops and to the Massachusetts regiments of lieutenant-colonels John Winslow and George Scott.  The scenario ordered by Winslow at Grand Pré has entered the annals of history.  All men were asked to go to the church for the reading of an important decree.  As they listened, horrified, to the deportation order being read by Winslow and his officers, troops surrounded the church.  Then soldiers went to collect the women and children at their farms, which were then burnt.  The scene was repeated throughout Acadia during the entire summer.  Soon thousands of civilians of both sexes and all ages were rounded up in what we would today call "concentration camps" to wait for the ships that would take them away.  After several weeks, the ships finally appeared, and on October 8 embarkation began.  The military tried, to a degree, not to separate families, but this was not always possible and there were heart-rending scenes with wailing women, held back by soldiers on the shore, watching their husbands and sons sail into the unknown.           Additional Images           Click image to enlarge      1 2 3   Last Updated: 2004-06-20 Important Notices