Introduction
If travelling to the Acadian village of Beaubassin today, one would encounter vast marshlands traversed by the highway connecting New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (Acadia). This territory belonged to the Mi'kmaq and had little outside influence until the mid-17th-century when the Mi'kmaq allowed a few dozen French migrants to settle amongst their lands. By the middle of the 18th century, it had become the center of a major struggle between the British, French, and Mi’kmaw forces in an attempt to control what is considered Maritime Canada today. Beaubassin lay on a border, entrenched between French and British imperial powers who were fighting to control their strategic positions in the New World and hoping to dominate on an international scale. These colonial powers attempted to control the inhabitants of the territory, primarily the Mi'kmaq, and a distinct group of French settlers known as Acadians.
This website explores the story of Beaubassin while following the first Acadian family to settle there, the Bourgeois family. We’ll explore the early settlement of the area, religious and cultural traditions, economic factors such as agriculture and trade, and that colonial-military rivalry. Our goal is to highlight the importance of this former Acadian village and the legacy that it carries.