LOUISIANA'S FRANCOPHONE COMMUNITIES

Historically, Louisiana's Francophone communities have consisted of three primary groups: the Acadians (better known today as the Cajuns), the Creoles, and the Colonial French. The Acadians were Frenchmen who moved to and settled in the eastern most provinces of Canada, mainly in the Nova Scotia area during the early 17th century. Although the Acadians thrived in this area, they were expelled from their land by the British Government beginning in 1755. Some Acadians returned to France while others settled along the United States’ east coast and in Louisiana. Creole communities in Louisiana historically came from the State's slave population. Louisiana's slaves mainly come from the Senegambian region of Africa, and Louisiana Creole arose from their communication with their French-speaking masters. Colonial French is a variety of French that arrived with French colonists throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Colonial French has been spoken by a wide variety of groups in Louisiana, from free people of color, to plantation owners, to Native American tribes.