Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem “Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie” tells the tragic story of young lovers ripped apart following the Acadian deportation. Although the characters, Evangeline and Gabriel, are fictional, the events that frame their drama occurred and mark an unfortunate period in New France’s history. The event, known as “Le Grand Dérangement,” involved the forced removal of between 10,000-12,000 Acadians from their land at gunpoint between 1755-1763 by British soldiers. Who … [Read more...]