Grand Desert, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Grand Désert is a small Acadian
community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia
on Route 207
situated between West Chezzetcook
and Seaforth
. The name of the community came from the Acadian word "Désert" meaning: land of no trees. The population in 2003 was 315.
It is known that Vikings traveled in this part of the world in the year 1000 and that Portuguese
, French
and Basque
fishermen were frequenting these shores in search of the plentiful cod in the late 1400s and early 1500s. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the coastline from Cape Breton to Florida for King Francis I of France and Jacques Cartier
followed in 1534-36. In 1604 Henry IV
granted a monopoly on these lands to Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons and the entire area was known as La Cadie or L'Acadie.
Grand Désert is one of the five villages located along the Chezzetcook
Inlet. It has been suggested that Acadians were living in this area as early as 1740 and by the 1750s the Chezzetcook Inlet was home to 10 Acadian families. It is also known that by the beginning of the 1770s, there were 12 Acadian families who had made their way here.
The loyalty of all Acadians was a concern for the British
in the 1750s, as they concentrated their efforts to establish a presence on the Atlantic seaboard. In the fall of 1755, the deportation (also referred to as the Great Expulsion) of the Acadians was authorized and carried out by the British under the command of Lieutenant-Governor Charles Lawrence. Many Acadians were deported and their valuable cultivated lands, houses and livestock were seized. Some, between 1758 and 1762, were brought to Halifax as prisoners. Those not deported were allowed to resettle in the province.
A few made their way to Chezzetcook Inlet and their names are reflected in the population of Grand Désert today: LaPierre, Bellefontaine and Wolfe. Other Acadian families trace their roots to the Cape Breton Acadians who were granted permission to settle in the Chezzetcook area. The family names represented in this group are: Petipas, Roma, Bonin (Bonang), Manet, and Mayet. The Breau and Bonnevie families came from the island of Miquelon and the Julien family descends from a soldier of the Napoleonic Wars
. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763)
, the Acadian population was allowed to live in peace in Nova Scotia. Many deported Acadians were granted permission to return to Nova Scotia and their number slowly grew. There were 47 families on the Chezzetcook Inlet by 1815.
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
on Route 207
Nova Scotia Route 207
Route 207 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the Halifax Regional Municipality and connects Dartmouth to Porter on the Eastern Shore.-Dartmouth:...
situated between West Chezzetcook
West Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia
West Chezzetcook is a Acadian community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Route 207. It's the location of an Acadian House Museum.-References:**...
and Seaforth
Seaforth, Nova Scotia
Seaforth is a community of the Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-References:* *...
. The name of the community came from the Acadian word "Désert" meaning: land of no trees. The population in 2003 was 315.
History
Ancestors of the native Mi'kmaq lived along these shores for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Europeans.It is known that Vikings traveled in this part of the world in the year 1000 and that Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
fishermen were frequenting these shores in search of the plentiful cod in the late 1400s and early 1500s. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the coastline from Cape Breton to Florida for King Francis I of France and Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
followed in 1534-36. In 1604 Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
granted a monopoly on these lands to Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons and the entire area was known as La Cadie or L'Acadie.
Grand Désert is one of the five villages located along the Chezzetcook
Chezzetcook
Chezzetcook may refer to the following places:*East Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia*Head of Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia*Lower East Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia*West Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia...
Inlet. It has been suggested that Acadians were living in this area as early as 1740 and by the 1750s the Chezzetcook Inlet was home to 10 Acadian families. It is also known that by the beginning of the 1770s, there were 12 Acadian families who had made their way here.
The loyalty of all Acadians was a concern for the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
in the 1750s, as they concentrated their efforts to establish a presence on the Atlantic seaboard. In the fall of 1755, the deportation (also referred to as the Great Expulsion) of the Acadians was authorized and carried out by the British under the command of Lieutenant-Governor Charles Lawrence. Many Acadians were deported and their valuable cultivated lands, houses and livestock were seized. Some, between 1758 and 1762, were brought to Halifax as prisoners. Those not deported were allowed to resettle in the province.
A few made their way to Chezzetcook Inlet and their names are reflected in the population of Grand Désert today: LaPierre, Bellefontaine and Wolfe. Other Acadian families trace their roots to the Cape Breton Acadians who were granted permission to settle in the Chezzetcook area. The family names represented in this group are: Petipas, Roma, Bonin (Bonang), Manet, and Mayet. The Breau and Bonnevie families came from the island of Miquelon and the Julien family descends from a soldier of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. With the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763)
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, the Acadian population was allowed to live in peace in Nova Scotia. Many deported Acadians were granted permission to return to Nova Scotia and their number slowly grew. There were 47 families on the Chezzetcook Inlet by 1815.