||The First Ship Arrives
The arrival of almost 1600 Acadians in 1785
made things even more crowded. Most of the these Acadians had relatives
in eastern Acadiana, so they wanted to settle there. But the land
along the Mississippi River was taken. Navarro had seen the problems
with forcing the Acadians to settle places against their will and worked
to establish a good relationship with the Acadians. Evidentally he
was successful, as he was chosen as the godfather to Acadian children born
on the trip to Louisiana.
He set up dormitories and separate hospitals
for men and women at present-day Algiers. The Acadians didn’t want
to go to the French hospital in New Orleans. The hospital was important,
because the tough trip and illness were killing them, especially young
mothers and the elderly. He even added orderlies and wet nurses to
An established Acadian, Anselme
Blanchard, was hired to help settle the 156 Acadians when the first boat
(Le Bon Papa) arrived in late July 1785. He distributed
the financial help. Tools and farm implements were given to them
from the royal warehouse. They were given a month to recuperate before
moving on. During that month, some of them served as scouts ... visiting
the area to look for good settlement areas. Then Navarro rented a
number of launches and barges to bring them upriver and they left on August
Most of the group (27 families)
settled at Manchac. But one family settled at Lafourche and six families
settled at Bayougoula. At each settlement, and Acadian overseer arranged
for temporary housing with the settlers already there and doled out the
land grants ... 4-5 arpents wide each. Blanchard stayed with them
till they got onto their land. (The Founding
of New Acadia, Brasseaux, p. 107-8)
Six More Ships
Acadians from the next 6 ships were settled
in a similar manner from Oct. 4, 1785 to Feb. 8, 1786. The government
gave them money and paid for medical help, supplies, and housing.
Each group stayed in New Orleans for about a month to recuperate while
representatives scouted for the best place to settle. They were allowed
to go where they chose, even though the commandants at Avoyelles and Arkansas
tried to get Navarro to send the Acadians to them.
Four of the seven groups
headed for the Lafourche. Most of the rest (34%) headed for Baton
Rouge, Manchac, and Bayou des Ecores. The Lafourche areas was more
appealing because it was further away from the English communities; and
since the area had few settlers, so finding land and living close to relatives
was easier. The lower part of Bayou Lafourche had only been
explored in 1772.
| Most of the ships had a
fairly successful trip. The numbers that died and were born just
about balanced each other out. The largest ship, La Ville de Archangel,
did have a bit of trouble when it got to Louisiana. It ran aground
at Balize, the outpost at he end of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
They were stuck there for about a month, increasing the number of sick
on board. Food was scarce also.
The Acadians didn’t even have
to stay on the land that the representatives picked out for them (though
most of them ... 84% ... did). Sixty-seven Acadian families from
five of the ships joined relatives at Opelousas/Attakapas. Navarro
even gave his blessing to this. But it was harder to join your relatives
in eastern Acadiana, since things were so crowded. (The
Founding of New Acadia, Brasseaux, p. 109)
Ship passing by Balize
After a ship would arrive,
weddings (perhaps shipboard romances) took place. This meant celebration
time. These occurred from Nov. 20 to Dec. 19, 1785. Besides the normal
music, food, cider, and beer, they had long speeches recounting their history. (The
Founding of New Acadia, Brasseaux, p. 110)
So how many people went
where? Carl Brasseaux added up the numbers on p.111 of The
Founding of New Acadia, Brasseaux.
People on Board
How Many Settled There
| Le Bon Papa
La Ville d'Arcangel
Bayou des Ecores
They were ready to settle
in. As soon as the Acadians got to Manchac in September, for example,
they began building a road along the levee and began building simple huts
to live in.
But they soon found that
living in Louisiana required adjustments ... it was quite different from
Acadia. Many things .. land, geography, crops, climate ... were different.
The assistance of money from the government and the Acadians who had been
there since the 1760s made things easier. For example, Ambroise Theriot
bought some Attakapas beef and held a boucherie for the new Manchac Acadians
in October 1785. (The Founding of New Acadia,
Brasseaux, p. 111)
Smallpox epidemics in 1786 and 1787
killed a number of the Acadians. But the new arrivals still had cleared
land and build levees by 1788. They quickly learned to adjust.
Clearly, the appeal for
the Lafourche area was because it was more removed from the influence of
the government and the Creoles. Younger settlers who had been along
the River also headed for Lafourche.
In August 1794, a hurricane
took away the crops, livestock, and fences of the Bayou des Ecores settlement.
So those families “went to establish themselves at Lafourche.” (The
Founding of New Acadia, Brasseaux, p. 112)
At first (1767), the Acadians had settled
only the area just below where the Lafourche joined the Mississippi River.
By the early 1770s, 17+ families (mostly those who had been in Ascension
Parish) had moved down the Lafourche ... along the west bank between Labadieville
and Donaldsonville. The east bank was more prone to flooding, and
saw few settlers till 1785 when 274 Acadians settled the Valenzuela area.
Six hundred Acadians settled the
Lafourche area, between Lafourche Crossing and Labadieville. The
most “Acadian” area was around today’s Napoleonville, where 85% of the
settlers were Acadians from France. Though most of the settlers between
Napoleonville and Raceland were Acadians from France, there were many who
had been living on the 1st and 2nd Acadian Coasts who had moved to the
area (crowded out?).
As the population grew on the Acadian
Coasts in the 1770s and 1780s, some families (18+) moved down to the lower
Lafourche area. But once the 7 ships arrived, the upper and middle
area of Bayou Lafourche was as crowded as the Mississippi ... the most
crowded being at Lafourche Crossing, Thibodaux, Labadieville, and Napoleonville.
Most grants were 6 by 40 arpents. By 1793, the grants went from Donaldsonville
to all the way down to Lafourche Crossing, and had started branching out
along the Bayou Terrebonne. (The Founding
of New Acadia, Brasseaux, p. 113)
The Seven Ships
|Le Bon Papa
The first ship left France, led by Captain
Pelletier, on Tuesday, May 10, 1785. The 280 ton ship made the trip in
80 days, arriving in Louisiana on July 29, 1785. There were 36 families
(156 people on board). Three additional families had signed up for the
trip, but failed to report at the departure. One child died on the trip.
After arriving in New Orleans, the group increased by 12 (3 births, 9 adults)
and decreased by 13 (10 died, 3 deserted). There were 38 family groupings
when it came time to settle down: 37 of them settled in the area around
St. Gabriel along the Mississippi River, and 1 family chose to settled
along Bayou Lafourche.
There were 73 families (273
people) scheduled to take the 300 ton La Bergere. It left France
on Saturday, May 14, 1785 and arrived in Louisiana 93 days later on August
15, 1785. Besides the Acadians, there were five French passengers. On the
way,, there were 6 deaths and 7 births. While in New Orleans (till
October 4), the group further increased by 10 (5 births, 5 adults) and
decreased by 10 (9 died, 1 deserted). There were also 4 marriage. There
were 74 family groupings (268 people) when it came time to settle down:
6 families (23 people) settled at Attakapas, 1 family (3 people) settled
in the area around St. Gabriel along the Mississippi River, and the remainder
chose to settled along Bayou Lafourche.
The small 180 ton Le Beaumont was led by Captain Daniel and left France on June 11, 1785. They made the
trip in only 69 days and arrived in Louisiana on August 19, 1785. There
were 51 families (178 people) scheduled for the trip. On the way, there
were 2 deaths. While in New Orleans, the group further increased by 7 (1
birth, 6 adults) and decreased by 6 (4 died, 2 deserted). When it came
time to settle down: 41 families settled near Baton Rouge, 5 families went
to the Attakapas, and 3 families chose to settled along Bayou Lafourche.
Le Saint Remi
The Le Saint Remi, a
400 ton ship led by Captain Baudin, left France on Thursday, June 27, 1785.
After 75 days at sea, they arrived on September 10, 1785. There were 325
people on board, along with 16 stowaways for a total of 341.families On
the way, there were 15 deaths from scurvy and smallpox. While in New Orleans,
the group further increased by 19 (including 8 births) and decreased by
16 deaths. When it came time to settle down: 2 families settled near Galveztown (or New Galvez),
2 families went to the Attakapas, and 85 families chose to settled along
La Ville d'Archangel
The L'Amitie, a 400 ton
ship led by Captain Joseph Beltremieux, left France on August 20, 1785.
After 80 days at sea, they arrived on November 8, 1785. There were 270
people in 68 families on board On the way, there were 6 deaths after sickness
spread through the ship (though there were no deaths once they got to New
Orleans). The number of families increased to 93 due to 24 additional
adults, 10 births, and 17 marriages. When it came time to settle down:
17 families settled near Galveztown (or New Galvez), 3 families went to the Attakapas,
and 71 families chose to settled along Bayou Lafourche. By the way,
the ship was also called by its Spanish name, the La Amistad.
The La Ville d'Archangel,
a large 600 ton ship, left St. Malo, France on August 12, 1785. Upon reaching
Balize, an outpost at the mouth of the Mississippi River, it ran aground
on November 4. This, and the fact that they had already run out of food,
caused a number of passengers to get sick. Finally the ship made
it to New Orleans (after 113 days at sea) on December 3, 1785. The
ship ended up with 60 familes of 299 people. The trip saw 15 deaths and
2 desertions. But there were also 7 marriage, 11 adult additions, and 2
births. This group didn't send most of its people to Lafourche. There were
53 families (271 people) who decided to go to Bayou des Ecores (near Thompson
Creek, north of Baton Rouge). One family (7 people) stayed in New Orleans,
while 6 families (21 people) decided to go to the Lafouche area. Of course,
after a hurricane about a decade later, many of the Bayou des Ecores settlers
moved south to join the other Acadians along the Lafourche.
The La Caroline was a
200 ton ship under the command of Captain Nicolas Baudin. It left France
on October 19, 1785 and made the crossing in 64 days. After the 28 families
(80 people) were let off, the ship took on a load of wood and headed back
to Nantes. While in New Orleans, the group had 3 births, 2 marriages,
and 5 additional adults. There was also 1 death and 1 person deserted.
From this group, 6 families went to the Galveztown (or New Galvez) area, and 18 families
went to the Lafourche area.