Acadia

Acadia was a French colonial territory in northeastern North America, established with the settlement expedition of Pierre Dugua de Mons in 1604. Its borders were never precisely defined, and the competing claims of France — grounded in the voyages of Verrazano and Cartier — and Britain, rooted in John Cabot's explorations, kept the region in almost constant geopolitical dispute. That rivalry culminated in the Grand Dérangement of 1755, when British authorities forcibly deported approximately 10,000 Acadian settlers in one of colonial North America's most traumatic episodes. Today, Acadian descendants form a distinct Francophone minority across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, maintaining their own flag, a national holiday on August 15, and a vibrant folk-music tradition.