The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph [Hardcover]

Dean W. Jobb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2005

From the Author's Introduction

This is the story of one of the great crimes of history, a brutal act of genocide committed two and a half centuries ago.More than 10,000 men, women and children were removed from their homeland at gunpoint and sent into exile. They were stripped of the farms that ad nurtured and sustained their families for four generations. Their homes and most of their possessions were destroyed. Five thousand of these unfortunate people, maybe more, died of disease and deprivation or perished in shipwrecks...

The deportation was a deliberate attempt to destroy a people and wipe out a distinct culture. It failed. The Acadians were too tough and too resilient. Today, there are an estimated 3 million Acadian descendants worldwide... Thousands of deportees made their way to Louisiana, where "Acadian" was transmuted to "Cajun," and the new surroundings forged a distinct culture although true to its northern roots. More than half-a-million Americans, most of them in Louisiana and eastern Texas, are descendants of those refugees...

The people survived against incredible odds. They preserved a vibrant culture, a zest for life, and a deep respect for their heritage. This is a story of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of cruelty and unimaginable hardship.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

One of the darkest events in North American history is replete with the drama of war, politics and untold human suffering. Beginning in 1755, 10,000 people of French ancestry were expelled from their homes along Canada's east coast by a tyrannical British governor who acted with the complicity of American sympathizers. The feeble and the ill, infants and the elderly, were herded onto leaky vessels to be taken to points south along the eastern seabord of the Colonies. Some ships were denied landing and sailed farther south to the Caribbean with their cargo. Some Acadians were sent to England and imprisoned; a few made their way to France. The suffering of the innocents was widespread.

While a few Acadians returned home to try to evade capture and forge a living, others made their way to the Spanish colony of Louisiana, where the word "Acadian" was transmuted into "Cajun." The Cajuns farmed and fished, built schools and industries, and preserved a vibrant culture that is today renowned around the world. Many Americans of Cajun descent attend reunions and festivals to celebrate their heritage and their roots. The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph is the story of their ancestors who against all odds started anew in a new world.

The year 2005 marks the 250th anniversary of what is known as "Le grand derangement"--a term that does not do justice to the inhumanity, sickness and death, and humiliation endured by a people whose courage, resourcefulness and sense of community enabled them to survive and endure.

About the Author

Dean Jobb is the author of four books, including Calculated Risk: Greed, Politics and the Westray Tragedy (Halifax: Nimbus Publishing, 1994), which won the City of Dartmouth book award and was runner-up for the National Business Book Award in Canada. Dean was a veteran staff reporter for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald for 20 years. In 2004 he was appointed as a sessional lecturer at the School of Journalism, University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (May 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470836091
• ISBN-13: 978-0470836095
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #194,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > History > Americas > Canada

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly moving storytelling..., February 28, 2009

By 

Toni McGee Causey (Baton Rouge) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph (Hardcover)

As a Cajun, I'd heard bits and pieces of the story, but never in a comprehensive enough manner to fully grasp the history. I picked up this book as part of my research for my next novel, and I'd expected a dry, historical account -- but not only was I engaged from the first page, I felt absolutely riveted by the story-telling style .... The author has done a superb job and I will be highly recommending it to all of my family and friends. I wish this book could be required reading of every high-schooler in Louisiana.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cajuns : A People's Story of Exile and Triumph, September 8, 2005

By 

N. M. Ockmond - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph (Hardcover)

I found this book very interesting. I am of Cajun decent. My father is originally from Vacherie and my mother's family is originally from Edgard. This is the history I wish I would have been taught in highschool when learning about Louisiana history. I had no idea about the deportation in Nova Scotia. The only thing I knew about was that my family was from france. My mom happens to have a book on the history of the Gravois family and after I read this book I went back and looked thru it. It mentions the same places and people. It was just cool to know why I am the way I am and the kind of people I came from. Makes me proud to claim my Cajun heritage.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars for The Cajuns; a People's Story of Exile and Triumph, August 27, 2009

By 

Anne E. Meny - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph (Hardcover)

Submitted by Angela Schneider: Author Dean Jobb has made a significant contribution with his book "The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph". He tells a factual history of the "derangement" of the free people called "the Acadians" who were later known as the "Cajuns". He validates his facts with historical documents, maps, and testimony of those people who were driven from ther homes in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. This book tells the sad and regrettable true story of family destruction and dispersal. This book will appeal to history buffs as well as to the many families whose ancestors were involved in this involuntary flight for survival. "The Cajuns" is not just a regional account. It is as far reaching as the Acadian people scattered around the world. I enthusiastically invite readers to buy Dean Jobb's book. "The Cajuns" will inform and astound the reader.