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Acadia

by jan oskar engene 1995-10-31

The Acadians are the "other" Francophone community of Canada. They are also the people who settled Louisiana in large numbers at the conclusion of the French and Indian War (about 1760) hence the derevation of the Louisiana French term "Cajun" (from the dialectical pronunciation of Acadaien).
max stanton - 1995-10-30

Does anyone know if there was an Acadian flag in use during the 17th and 18th centuries, or did they use French flags?
Pam Sevier - 1996-09-08

The flag that was in use in Acadian during that time was the French Tricolor, blue-white-red, with a gold star in the canton.
James Stone - 1996-09-08

That would have been an impressive achievement, given that the Tricolour was adopted in 1794 :-) I don't know much about what flags were used in the region in this period, but I would guess French flags were used for as long France held territory in what is now Canada (to 1763). After that, I suppose no French flags were used until the rise of nationalism about a century later.
The Tricolour was introduced as a flag for the French in Canada, that is mostly in Quebec, in the 1840's and within 20 years became something of a national flag for the French Canadian nationalists. Among the Acadians, the first documented use of the Tricolour is 24 June 1867. There was opposition to the design, because it represented republicanism and anti-clericalism to many Acadians. Some people in Acadia favoured a white fleur-de-lis flag instead. The Acadian flag was adopted in August 1884 at the Acadian National Convention. It was designed by Father M-F Richard. The Tricolour represents the Motherland of the Acadians. The yellow star, the Stella Maris, is the symbol of Mary, Acadian national symbol and patron of the mariners. It is set on the blue stripe, because blue is the colour of Mary. The yellow colour of the star represents the Papacy.
Source: Perry Biddiscombe: ' 'Le Tricoloure et l'etoile'; The Origin of the Acadian National Flag ', _Acadiensis: Journal of the history of the Atlantic region_, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1990, pp. 120-147
Jan Oskar Engene - 1996-09-09

The Acadian flag with the gold star ("Stella Maris") was not in use until the late 19th Century. It was only about 4 years ago that we celebrated the centenary of the Acadian flag in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I suspect the French flag was used before that.
Rob Raeside, Wolfville, Nova Scotia - 1996-09-09

Interestingly, the Cajuns in Louisiana use a different flag. It is horizontally divided, blue over red, with a white triangle extending from the hoist about one third the length of the flag. In the white is centered a gold star (five-pointed); on the blue are three white fleur-de-lis; and on the red a golden castle (symbolizing Louisiana's Spanish heritage as well).
john andrew lowe - 1995-10-30