While studying French in college as an undergraduate, a group full of fellow students and friends joined me for an unforgettable experience in the Québec Province of Canada. I never knew that my first study tour & first time outside of the U.S. would be such a history lesson. But as such, I believe that it’s a widely unknown part of history and if others were knowledgable of its’ history, they may also want to venture to these historical French-American sites across The Americas which have all but been forgotten by many as the living traditions and cultures have faded into modern-day Canada and The United States.
As previously alluded to in the blog “My First Trip Abroad: From Québec to New Orléans”, I described my first trip to the unique region of Québec It’s distinct culture is set apart from the rest of Canada, as this French & English-speaking province sustains much of its’ French heritage. In fact, the original settlers of this region migrated from different regions of France before the English slowly integrated into the area. During “Le Grand Expulsion” or The Great Expulsion between 1755-1764, the French catholic settlers, known as “the Acadians (Les Acadiens)”, of this historic region of Canada were forced out of the region by the Protestant-based English. These Acadians would soon migrate South from most of Eastern Canada across the waterways of The Saint Lawrence River & The Great Lakes.
After the expulsions of the French in Canada, there were multiple waves of migration from the previous French Canada. Many French Canadians settled in what were then the British Colonies while other later waves were send to Britain and France. However, many of the French Acadians migrated south to the Spanish-owned “Louisiana” Territory, previously named after French King Louis XIV during French ownership. Louisiana at the time spanned a territory reaching all the way from Montana to Minnesota and down town modern Louisiana state.
As these poorer French Canadians moved South across the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi, they settled in French towns such as Chicago, St. Louis & the port city of New Orléans (“Nouvelle Orléans in French, named after the older city of Orléans in France). Many new cities sprung up along the water ways of the Missouri, Mississippi & Illinois River as these French settlers moved south. One such notable settlement, Ste. Genevieve, still stands today as the oldest permanent settlement in Missouri and the oldest permanent settlement West of the Mississippi, just an hour South of Historic French St. Louis & St. Charles. As customs evolved moving south, so did the name of the peoples. The word Acadian later evolved to Cadian which soon enough transformed into the modern word Cajun.
The Cajun were a poorer working class, living alongside the the Native American and scatter British Fur trapping populations while remaining most peaceful, which wouldn’t last long. In 1803, with Louisiana under the Rule of French Napoléan, the region of Louisiana was sold to President Jefferson of the United States. As Americans migrants moved West, conflicted resulted in many casualties among Native, American & Cajun populations. Only two decades after the annexation of the territory, President Andrew Jackson would enact the devastating “Indian Removal Act” leading to the “Trail of Tears” in which nearly 100,000 natives would meet their demise as they were forced to walk thousands of miles from their homes to reservations designated by The United States. The United States would send explorers throughout the 19th century to scout land previously bought for natural resources and trade routes. Many justifications were made for the waves of brutality against Native American, such as the notion that Natives would not become Christians and conform to the American way of life. Mass genocide, famine & disease ravaged these populations of Natives, Cajuns & African American slaves among the same class.
Despite the atrocities of the 19th century, Louisiana still remained quite a melting pot, especially during the first half of the 1800s with New Orleans being the Grand Central Station of this melting pot. Many aged-old French Catholic traditions such as Mardi Gras (still celebrated today) would be celebrated in the streets & the festivities were celebrated by all classes of people and ethnicities.
The music of Louisiana convened all across the Mississippi River Valley, but no where stood out quite as much as New Orléans. On Sundays, African American slaves would be allowed to attend drum circles at Congo Square in the center of town (still a tourist site today), performing mainly rhythmic drumming numbers such as those practiced in their home countries of Africa. As French Cajun, Creol, Zydeco & European notation music mixed with these African traditionals, many genres were born, most notably the genre of Jazz which would soon sweep the world by storm evolving into Blues and later R&B. Meanwhile, the French Cajun & Zydeco music would be remain a bit more of a mysterious and almost lost genre. However, from Québec to New Orléans in the modern day, one can still take a trip back in time and visit sites such as the Mississippi Delta Blues Trail in Mississippi or Preservation Hall in New Orleans to get an idea for how Western Music was born.
In conclusion, there were many elements of society that existed alongside of the original French-Canadian settlers after being expelled from Canada to the United States, many of which paths led to modern day settlements along the major waterways, the evolution of modern music & the Cajun/Creole diet that can be had at many stops along this route.
A Few Major Tourist Destinations from Québec – New Orléans:
- Tadoussac (Whale watching, True Living Canadian-French Tradition)
- Montréal (Largest Underground Shopping in North America)
- Québec City (Changing of the Guard, historic buildings)
- La Cabane à Sucre (Traditional French-Canadian Cuisine, Traditional Blues & Zydeco Music; Spoons & Bones)
- The Great Lakes
- St. Charles (Founded by Louis Blanchette French-Canadian, A Historic Main Street, Shopping, family friend, starting point of Louis & Clark expedition)
- Ste. Genevieve (Festivals Galore!, tons of French Acadian History, Oldest permanent settlement in Missouri & West of the Mississippi River)
- Lamberts (Throwed Rolls, Cajun family-style community dining – Much like La Cabane à Sucre)
- Memphis (Home of the Jump Blues & Big Band Blues)
- Mississippi Blues Trail (Tells the history of blues, expands the evolution of Blues into R&B and rock n’ roll)
- Graceland (Historic Site of Elvis Presley the King of rock n’ roll; expands on his Country, Blues & Rock influences early on)
- Boyhood home of Johnny Cash
- Boyhood home of Jimmie Rodgers
- New Orleans (Historic French-Canadian Catholic Cemeteries, Many Historical site, Preservation Hall – Old Juke Joint performing traditional Jazz 7 days a week, Bourbon Street, Festivals – Mardi Gras, Musical Festivals, Zydeco shows, Cajun & Creole cuisine)