Louisiana Acadian (Cajuns) Homes The Acadians (French: Acadiens, IPA: [akadjɛ̃]) are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French colonists who settled in Acadia (located in the Canadian Maritime provinces — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and in the US state of Maine). The settlers whose descendants became Acadians did not all come from the same region in France. In the Great Expulsion of 1755-1763, mostly during the Seven Years' War, British colonial officers and New England legislators and militia deported more than 14000 Acadians from the maritime region in what could be called an ethnic cleansing . Approximately one third perished. Gradually, some managed to make their way to Louisiana, creating the Cajun population and culture after mixing with others When the Acadians first arrrived in Louisiana, some put up quick, temporary shelters made of wood and palmetto leaves. The Native Americans had been building such dwellings for years. Built upon a pole frame, palmettos would be uses on the roof (as was straw in France and Acadia). Many also used palmetto for walls until wood could be cut. When they had the time to build a more substantial structure, they often built homes by putting wood vertically into the ground for walls. These 2nd generation Acadian homes (1766-1827) were either poteaux en terre (post in ground) or planche debout (upright planks). The easiest of the two, poteaux en terre, was to cut logs, strip off the bark, and ...
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