An Acadian Introduction

When Acadia was returned to France in 1632 with the signing of the Saint Germain-en-Laye Treaty, Cardinal Richelieu, minister of King Louis XIII, organized a trading company for Acadia, which he called The Company of New France.

Richelieu appointed his cousin, Isaac de Razilly, a commander of the Order of Malta as well as one of the leaders of The Company of New France, as Lieutenant-General of all the parts of New France called "Canada" and the Governor of "Acadia." Such was the attempt of France to revive the once again retained colony.

According to author Andrew Hill Clark re ACADIA: THE GEOGRAPHY OF EARLY NOVA SCOTIA TO 1760 (page 91) - "Razilly ... sailed from France on July 4, 1632 in L'Espérance à Dieu, shepherding two transports, and disembarked some three hundred people (mostly men) and a variety of livestock, seeds, tools, implements, arms, munitions, and other supplies at La Have (LaHève, at the mouth of La Have River in present Lunenburg County) on September 8."

According to authors Sally Ross and Alphonse Deveau re THE ACADIANS OF NOVA SCOTIA: PAST AND PRESENT (page 16) - "In September Isaac de Razilly arrived in Acadia with three sailing vessels, 300 hand-picked men, three Capuchin Fathers and a few women and children."

Such was the beginning ......

The first census of the colony was taken early in the Spring of 1671. There were 59 family heads and 320 persons in all.

Early evidence indicates that there were no families among the contingent which accompanied Razilly from France to Acadia in 1632. And there is no record of any French families in Acadia before 1636.

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