“Indians and French Half-Breed Acadians”
“Indians and French Half-Breed Acadians”: This folder contains a copy of James Simon MacDonald’s article entitled, “Hon. Edward Cornwallis, Founder of Halifax: A Paper Read by James S. MacDonald, on June 21st, 1899, The 150th Anniversary of The Settlement of Halifax,” which was published in “Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society: Volume XII” in 1905.
James Simon MacDonald was born on May 07, 1837 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. According to the “Nova Scotia Archives’” summary of the “James Simon Macdonald fonds” (see https://memoryns.ca/james-simon-macdonald-fonds):
“James Simon Macdonald was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 7 May 1837, the son of Robert Macdonald of Dornoch, Scotland. He was educated at Dalhousie College School. He married Grace Thomson of Halifax on 7 June 1864. He joined the North British Society in 1861 and served as President in 1873 and 1882. He was elected historian of the Society in 1896 and compiled and issued the first volume of its Annals in 1868; second volume, 1893; and the third volume, 1905. He died on 24 October 1914 and was buried in Camp Hill Cemetery.”
Based on this excerpt it appears as if James Simon MacDonald was a very well-respected Historian in Nova Scotia in the late-1800s and early 1900s. A full description of his collection can be found at https://novascotia.ca/…/lis…/james-simon-macdonald-fonds.pdf and it appears as if a large portion of his research was focused on Governor Edward Cornwallis, who was discussed in detail in “Folder #158” of “Volume II” of this collection.
Now that we know a bit of information about James Simon MacDonald, we can proceed with the discussion about “Hon. Edward Cornwallis, Founder of Halifax: A Paper Read by James S. MacDonald, on June 21st, 1899, The 150th Anniversary of The Settlement of Halifax.”
So, just why is “Hon. Edward Cornwallis, Founder of Halifax: A Paper Read by James S. MacDonald, on June 21st, 1899, The 150th Anniversary of The Settlement of Halifax” so important? Well, its importance lies in a few select excerpts, the first of which I’ll provide shortly. However, I must note that James Simon MacDonald tends to glorify Governor Edward Cornwallis in this article and appears to try to make him and his “posse” members into “Saints” or “Saviours” to the English settlers.
The first important excerpt can be found on pages 21 and 22 and is as follows:
“… During the early days of settlement, days of great anxiety and trouble of various kinds to our founder, Cornwallis, the varied experience of Lawrence helped greatly to lighten the burden the home authorities had laid upon him, the general disorder, the character of the majority of the colonists, the discontent of the old soldiers and sailors, mortals ever hard to manage. During this trying period, Lawrence worked like a hero, and Cornwallis, from the day Lawrence was sworn in Councillor until the day he retired from his post of Governor, looked upon Lawrence as a strong executive officer of great courage and ability to grapple with the perplexing problems which daily presented themselves for solution. The splendid physique and personal appearance of Lawrence was in his favour. By Mr. Bulkeley's memoranda he was a man of most prepossessing appearance, a typical West Coast Englishman, standing six feet two inches, a picture of strength and rough health, of frank and pleasant manner and largely endowed with that mysterious element of character we to-day call for want of better name, — magnetism. In laying out the new town, in fortifying the various points selected, in cheering the settlers on in their needed work, in fighting or negotiating with the Indians and French half-breed Acadians, he, with Bulkeley, Gates, Hinchelwood and Gray, was constantly engaged. His grand manner, his magnificent physique, made him invaluable to Cornwallis and the colonists in the many difficulties they were all compelled to face. While Cornwallis remained in Halifax, he suffered greatly in health. The great anxiety attached to his responsible position, the brutal ignorance and obvious indifference of the ministry of the day to the almost insuperable difficulties and arduous duties in the new field, told heavily upon him, and had he not had the buoyant energy of those associates named to second him, he would have insisted upon resigning his position as Governor, when recovering from severe illness in 1751… ”
So where exactly lies the importance in that awful attempt to make Lieutenant-Governor Charles Lawrence (Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence is discussed in detail in “Folder #143” of “Volume I” of this collection) rival “Superman?” Well, the importance lies in the fact that the term “French half-breed Acadians” was used to refer to the mixed-blooded “Acadians” and they were considered a separate entity than the “Indians.” There’s really nothing much else worth noting about excerpt, so it’s on to the second excerpt!
The second important excerpt from this article can be found on pages 33 and 34 and is as follows:
“… At this date, 1754, the Indian and Acadian atrocities were at their height. The continued terror of the situation, we can, at this distant day, only feebly imagine. Each day had its lists of victims to the scalping knife of the savages. The troops would be sent out to scour the woods, but at the first movement to march the Indians were invisible ; at signals from their Acadian relatives lurking about the palisades, they would disappear. With the return of the troops to town, back they came to repeat their assaults on the poor settlers. Every mail sent away was guarded by a large convoy of troops, all supplies had to be conveyed by water. Baggage and provisions had to be sent to Windsor by water, a long voyage around by the Bay of Funday. This most exasperating state of affairs continued until the patience of Lawrence became exhausted. Le Loutre and his Acadians let slip no opportunity to ravage and annoy the hated colony. In the autumn of 1754, Le Loutre, finding that Lawrence's vigorous resistance to the incessant attacks of the Indians and half-breeds was likely to be successful, wrote a long letter to him, proposing a peace and demanding for the Indians all the territory in the eastern part of Nova Scotia which is now comprised in the Counties of Cumberland, Pictou, Colchester, Antigonish, Guysborough and the greater part of Halifax County, east of Dartmouth. He demanded that all this enormous area should be ceded for ever to the Indians ; also that Fort Lawrence be included, and that no British forts to be erected within these bounds, also a number of stipulations regarding the half breeds. The demand was so preposterous that the Governor and Council voted it too absurd and insolent to answer. After this letter was delivered, a body of three or four hundred Acadians of Annapolis, Minas and Pisiquid, went to Beausejour to work for the French. Lawrance issued a proclamation to inforce their return, but they paid no attention to it… ”
Hopefully the primary reason of why this excerpt is so important has become apparent to you. In case it hasn’t, the importance lies in the fact that the mixed-blooded “Acadians” are once again referred to as “Half-Breeds,” not just one, but two more times.
The distinction between the “Half-Breeds” and the “Indians” is still present in this excerpt as well.
It’s especially important to note that James Simon MacDonald claims that Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre had written a “long letter” to Lieutenant-Governor Charles Lawrence in the autumn of 1754 “proposing a peace and demanding for the Indians all the territory in the eastern part of Nova Scotia” and that he also “demanded that all this enormous area should be ceded for ever to the Indians ; also that Fort Lawrence be included, and that no British forts to be erected within these bounds, also a number of stipulations regarding the half breeds.” This later claim is especially important, as it suggests that there were conditions that Abbé Le Loutre demanded that were specific to the “French half-breed Acadians” that differed from what he demanded for the “Indians.”
We’ve seen Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre mentioned in other folders of this collection but he’s never formally been introduced. Therefore, I’ll now provide a bit of biographical information about him.
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was born on September 26, 1709 in the parish of Saint-Matthieu in Morlaix, France and throughout his life he served as a Priest, a Spiritan, and a Missionary. According to the “Dictionary of Canadian Biography” (see http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/le_loutre_jean_louis_4E.html):
“In 1730 Jean-Louis Le Loutre entered the Séminaire du Saint-Esprit in Paris; by that time he had lost both his parents. When his training was completed, he transferred to the Séminaire des Missions Étrangères in March 1737, intending to serve the church in foreign parts. As soon as he had been ordained, he sailed for Acadia and in the autumn of that year appeared at Louisbourg, Île Royale (Cape Breton Island). Le Loutre was supposed to replace Abbé Claude de La Vernède de Saint-Poncy, the parish priest at Annapolis Royal (N.S.), whose relations with the British governor, Lawrence Armstrong, had become strained [see Claude-Jean-Baptiste Chauvreulx]. By the time he set foot on the American continent, however, the difficulties between Saint-Poncy and Armstrong had been ironed out and the governor had agreed that the parish priest should retain his post. Taking advantage of this situation, Pierre Maillard, a missionary on Île Royale, wrote to the home authorities requesting that Le Loutre be allowed to replace Abbé de Saint-Vincent, a missionary to the Micmacs, and make his residence at Shubenacadie, on the river of the same name, 12 leagues from Cobequid (near Truro, N.S.). Before joining his flock Le Loutre spent some months at Maligouèche (Malagawatch) on Île Royale in order to learn the Micmac language. Maillard described him as a zealous missionary and diligent student, although Le Loutre had a difficult apprenticeship in this language without grammar or dictionary.
On 22 Sept. 1738 Le Loutre left Île Royale for the Shubenacadie mission, an immense territory stretching from Cape Sable to Chedabucto Bay in the north and present-day Cumberland Strait in the west. Le Loutre was to minister to the Indians as well as to the French posts at Cobequid and Tatamagouche, where Abbé Jacques Girard would replace him in 1742, and he concerned himself indirectly with the Acadians on the east coast of Nova Scotia. With the cooperation of the authorities at Louisbourg he immediately undertook to build chapels for the Indians. Although his relations with Armstrong were strained at first, the governor having protested because Le Loutre had not presented himself at Annapolis Royal, on the whole he remained on cordial terms with the British authorities until 1744.
With the declaration of war between France and Great Britain that year, the French authorities made a distinction in Acadia between the missionaries ministering to parishes with a French population and those serving among the Indians. The former were advised to remain neutral, at least in appearance, in order to avoid being expelled; the others were advised to support the intentions of the governor of Louisbourg and encourage the Indians to make as many forays into British areas as the military authorities considered necessary. The two major events of this period were the French siege of Annapolis Royal in 1744 under François Du Pont Duvivier, and the arrival in Acadia, two years later, of the French squadron commanded by the Duc d’Anville [La Rochefoucauld]. Despite the assertions of several historians, it was Abbé Maillard who accompanied Duvivier’s expedition. His presence, however, does not mean that Le Loutre was not also involved. From Canseau (Canso), Duvivier hastily dispatched a letter to Le Loutre asking him to keep watch on the route from Annapolis Royal to Minas, the place where they were to join forces, and Duvivier noted in his journal the value of Le Loutre’s presence during the siege of Annapolis Royal in September.
The siege was unsuccessful and less than a year later, in June 1745, Louisbourg fell to Anglo-American forces. The new masters of ile Royale tried to seize Le Loutre. Peter Warren* and William Pepperrell* invited him to come to Louisbourg, warning that his life would otherwise be in danger, but Le Loutre chose to go to Canada for consultation with the authorities. He arrived at Quebec on 14 September, accompanied by five Micmacs, and left seven days later with specific instructions which in fact made him a military leader; henceforth it was through him that the French government was able to exercise control over the Indians in Acadia. He was also to keep watch on communications between the Acadians and the British garrison at Annapolis Royal, and he spent the winter with his Micmacs near Minas for this purpose.”
It’s further stated that:
“Historians are unanimous in recognizing the importance of Le Loutre’s activity in Acadia but differ in their assessment of the significance of his role as a missionary. Several, particularly those writing in English, have criticized him for having acted more as an agent of French policy than as a missionary, and they hold him largely responsible for the deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755, because in threatening them with reprisals if they signed the oath of loyalty, he condemned them to a forced exile. Before a judgement is made on Le Loutre’s career in Acadia, however, three important points must be considered: in the 18th century France claimed to be the defender of the Catholic faith; Acadia was populated with French Catholics governed by the Protestant British; missionaries were the only representatives of the French government among the Acadians tolerated by Great Britain. According to Le Loutre almost any means could be used to remove the Acadians, who were in danger spiritually, from British domination. He used the means at his disposal: arguments of a religious nature and the Indians. His method was debatable, but it was in keeping with the logic of his age, when in France as in England religion was at the service of the state.
Le Loutre was a leader of men, and the situation in Acadia was favourable to his activity. He was a politically involved missionary, stubborn and prepared to make up for the lack of French civil government in Acadia. His activity was displeasing to the government in Halifax, and even to certain French officers. He was probably excessively zealous, and his conduct was often questionable, but his sincere devotion to the cause of French Acadia cannot be doubted. He cannot be held responsible for the deportation of the Acadians.”
Now that we have that out of the way we can move on. The final important excerpt from this article can be found on pages 44 to 46 and is as follows:
“On 25th July this important meeting of Council and Admirals met. Thirty deputies arrived with the answer of the Acadians. The document they brought, signed largely by the leading Acadians, declared they would take or contract no new oath. The deputies were then told that the patience of the Government was exhausted and that the people must now take the oath without reserve or leave the Province. Time was given them till the following Monday (it was then Friday) to reconsider their determination. On that day the Council, with the Admirals, again met, when the deputies, with others from Minas and Canard, appeared before the Council and with one voice declared they would not take the oath. Nothing now remained but to decide what was to be done with them. After deliberation it was unanimously resolved that in order to prevent as much as possible their attempt to return and molest the settlers that might be settled on the lands now held by them, it would be most proper to send them to be distributed amongst the several colonies on the continent, and that a sufficient number of vessels should be hired for that purpose. What else could be done with them ? They could not be sent into the neighboring French territories of Cape Breton or the island of Saint John, now Prince Edward Island. It would supply the enemy with a large body of soldiers. There was nothing left but to disperse them among colonies where their disloyalty would not affect the safety of their fellow subjects. The spectacle of a long list of English Governors from 1710 to 1745, begging, beseeching, imploring, a refractory and foolish people, subjects by conquest, to do their duty, a most undignified position indeed. All this was at an end. It was a long story of reasoning and arguing as Cornwallis put it, instead of commanding and being obeyed. The trouble was almost over and Lawrence deserves the thanks of all British subjects for his decision in carrying out at such a crisis in our history the orders of his Sovereign's advisors. The decision to expel the Acadians was made on 29th July, and on 11th August, Lawrence issued orders or letters of instructions to carry out the decision of Council to Major Handheld, commanding the garrison at Annapolis, and to Lt.-Col. John Winslow, commanding at Minas. They bore date of 11th August, 1755, and circulars were sent to the different Governors of the colonies to which the Acadians were sent. These letters recommended them to the consideration of the colonies to which they were dispatched. In most cases, they found friends and help ; their sufferings during their removal were greatly exaggeratad. Doubtless there were mistakes made, but we must consider how unreasonable a people they were to deal with, and how difficult, under the circumstances, it was to make them at all contented. The removal of nearly 6,000 people was a big undertaking, and revolutions, we know, are not made in rosewater, but Winslow was a man noted for his humanity, and, in superintending the removal, he did his best for the comfort of the people. They were a strong, hardy race, and in the course of a very short time, the great majority, after the peace of 1763, all who chose to, came back to Nova Scotia, and gladly took the oath of allegiance when required, which would have saved them much trouble had they only decided to do so in the summer of 1755. The removal of the Acadians and the consequent dispersion of their relatives the Indians, gave peace to the province, and in 1756, for the first time since the settlement of Halifax, the inhabitants could feel themselves safe from the attacks of the Indians and their half-breed French friends. The flight of Le Loutre, the mainspring of all the troubles in the Province, to Quebec, and the presence of a large number of New England rangers at Halifax, who cleared the vicinity of all the red-skins, secured the safety of the town from fire and scalping-knives. But at the Isthmus and at Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, parties of savages held out and fell usual on settlers unprotected or isolated from settlements. But it was an expiring effort and was promptly dealt with by the Governor. The Payzant atrocity at Mahone Bay, when an entire family were taken captive by the savages, the houses burnt, several killed and others sent to Quebec, was destined to bring the outrages of years to an end. Lawrence and Council decided to give the Indians a dose of their own medicine. A proclamation was issued to the inhabitants of the Province to take and destroy the Indians wherever, found, and a reward was offered of £30 for every male Indian above 16 years of age brought alive to Halifax or any part in the Province ; for a scalp £25, and £25 for every squaw or child brought in alive. This proclamation was dated 14th May, 1756.”
Where to start with this excerpt? Well, this excerpt clearly reflects James Simon MacDonald’s true feelings about the “Acadians” and the “Indians.” Mr. MacDonald states that “their sufferings during their removal were greatly exaggeratad. Doubtless there were mistakes made, but we must consider how unreasonable a people they were to deal with, and how difficult, under the circumstances” in relation to the “Deportation” of the “Acadians,” which insinuates he had a strong dislike for the “Acadians.” He also states that “Lawrence and Council decided to give the Indians a dose of their own medicine” in relation to the attacks by the First Nations people on the English settlers and he appears to celebrate the fact that another scalping proclamation was issued on May 14, 1756. All I can really say about this is that Mr. MacDonald appears to have been extremely “pro-Britain.”
This however, is not the reason why I’ve chosen to discuss this excerpt. The real reason is simply because we once again see the use of the term “Half-Breed French” to refer to the mixed-blooded “Acadian” “friends” of the “Indians.” This is important because it shows a distinction between the “Indians” and the “Half-Breed French.”
In conclusion, James Simon MacDonald’s 1905 article entitled, “Hon. Edward Cornwallis, Founder of Halifax: A Paper Read by James S. MacDonald, on June 21st, 1899, The 150th Anniversary of The Settlement of Halifax” may not be a primary source record, but it is important nonetheless.
The importance lies in the fact that this article clearly portrays the negative attitude/prejudice toward the “Acadians,” the “Indians,” and especially the “French half-breed Acadians” at the turn of the 20th century (1899) by the general population in Nova Scotia.
Yes, James Simon MacDonald has a clear bias in his writing, but he was a well-respected Historian and his works are credible once the bias of his time is put aside.
However, the point of including “Hon. Edward Cornwallis, Founder of Halifax: A Paper Read by James S. MacDonald, on June 21st, 1899, The 150th Anniversary of The Settlement of Halifax” wasn’t to pick apart James Simon MacDonald’s character or his beliefs, it was simply to provide further examples of the term “French half-breed Acadians” (or some variant of the term) in documentation over one-hundred years old.
