|
Previous to 1713, when the whole Province was under the French Crown, there was little or no inducement for the Acadians to occupy Tatamagouche, but the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, brought complications, which finally ending in the tragedy of the Expulsion, gave to Tatamagouche its first utility as a settlement. Under the provisions of the Treaty, Acadia "with its ancient boundaries" was ceded to Great Britain and the Acadians were given the option to leave within a year or to become British subjects. But in truth, France never in spirit ceded Acadia. The Peace she regarded as temporary and continued to nurse secret hopes that the fortunes of war would restore to her that which she reluctantly had yielded by the Treaty. In that hope the Acadians naturally shared. Soon a dispute arose as to what were the "ancient boundaries" of Acadia. Eventually, a Commission was appointed by the French and the British Governments to settle the boundaries but its findings were never concluded. The Acadians, however, did not remove on the expiration of the year but remained as before, dyking their lands, rearing their flocks and herds, harvesting their crops and increasing in population. They consistently refused to take an unqualified oath of allegiance to the British Crown and afterwards claimed that when in 1727, some had taken the oath, they had been given verbal concessions exempting them from bearing arms against France. Thereafter, they called themselves the "Neutral French" and as such they were often called by the British. But, in fact, British rule beyond the range of the guns at Annapolis Royal was nominal only and the far removed Acadians at Cobequid were left largely to themselves. Of all the Acadians in Nova Scotia , they were regarded by the Military Council at Annapolis Royal as the most troublesome. Back |
