|
Power corrupts.
Most of the victims were Acadians. Life was simple for the Acadians. They had their religion and they had their land. They had a warm relationship with the Mi'kmaq and an understanding of the two forces that could have been their pitiless foes: winter and the sea. The Acadians learned that if they grew the crops and cut the wood, their worst enemy, winter, could be kept at bay. As to the second enemy, the sea acknowledged the high, Acadian dykes as its natural boundary and seldom invaded the land. With the guidance of French priests like Abbé LeLoutre, the Acadians paid proper homage to God, worked hard on the dykes, and farmed the rich soil raising good crops - and many children. Yes, life in Acadia was simple but it was also very good for many, many years. Conflict, when it came, was not of their making. Two Scotsmen find themselves on opposite sides of this conflict between the English and the French in North America. The year is 1749 and one of the men, William Gray, is an officer on the staff of Governor Cornwallis. It is the Governor's duty to build a fortress to rival the French at Louisbourg, to placate the Micmac and to force the Acadians to behave as loyal subjects of the English Crown. In the early years, construction of the Halifax fortress doesn't go well and the brutality of Acadian and Micmac raids on the Dartmouth settlers horrify the governor and his staff. Stern measures are taken to achieve English objectives. The other Scot, Robert Cameron, is a soldier on sentry duty at the time of the second Dartmouth raid. The callous indifference of the English officer to the plight of the settlers shakes Cameron's faith in his officer, his regiment and the British Empire. He deserts his post and is captured by the Mi'kmaq. Fortunately for Cameron, the French priest, LeLoutre, has a use for the Catholic deserter and spares his life. Cameron marries one of the Leblanc girls and becomes a valued member of the Acadian community. During the invasion of Chignecto, the capture of Fort Beausejour and the occupation of the Fundy by the English, the two Scots do their best to accomplish what is expected of them under increasingly severe circumstances. The experiences of Ensign Bancroft, Richard Bourgeois, Reine Leblanc, Sergeant Pollard, Claude Boutlier and Able Comeau are related in detail but it is the plight of little Sylvie that will tug at your heartstrings as these people become victims of the abuse of power. Free! Listen to a chapter of "The Acadians" as read by the author! An audiobook version of The Acadians is available on CD or for MP3 download. Details will be posted shortly! | ||