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The Little-known History and Culture of Cajun People. The Cajun people first came to Louisiana in the Great Upheaval or Expulsion, which was a mass deportation of thousands of people from Acadie by the British in early 1755. Hundreds were imprisoned; many were separated from their homes and families, and thousands of people died in the expulsion.
- Le Grand Dérangement. Le Grand Derangement, or the expulsion of Acadians from the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada, started in 1755. The Acadian’s removal climaxed centuries of conflict between French and English forces.
- The Creolization of Louisiana. Acadians spread all throughout Louisiana, but the majority settled in a 22-parish, rural area of the state—Acadiana or Cajun Country.
- The Acadian and Cajun Identity Emerges. Although white Creoles integrated with the unique Louisiana culture when they arrived, they resisted Americanization after the Louisiana Purchase.
- The Revival of the Cajun Identity. The 1920s laid the groundwork for the revival of the Cajun identity in the 1960s. Leaders like Senator James R. “Jimmy” Domengeaux and Senator Edgar G. “Sonny” Mouton Jr.
Oct 16, 2020 · For Cajuns were—and are—a subset of Louisiana Creoles. Today, common understanding holds that Cajuns are white and Creoles are Black or mixed race; Creoles are from New Orleans, while Cajuns populate the rural parts of South Louisiana.
Cajun populations today are found also in the area southwest of New Orleans and scattered in areas adjacent to the French Louisiana region, such as to the north in Alexandria, Louisiana. Strong Cajun roots, influence, and culture can also be found in parts of Southern Mississippi.
How did Cajun culture form? A few hundred Acadians ended up in French-speaking New Orleans a decade later. Preferring rural life, they beat a hasty retreat and settled elsewhere in Louisiana, subsisting off the land as fishermen and hunters in bayou country and farming when the landscape allowed.
Within the past few decades, Cajun has been associated with New Orleans, inspired by the culinary innovations of geniuses such as Chef Paul Prudhomme and others. Before New Orleans was New Orleans, the Native Americans called it “Bulbancha,” which means “place of many languages.”
People also ask
Why did the Cajuns come to Louisiana?
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Non-Acadian French Creoles in rural areas were absorbed into Cajun communities. Many Cajuns also have ancestors who were not French. German colonists began to settle in Louisiana before the Louisiana Purchase, particularly on the German Coast along the Mississippi River north of New Orleans.
