词汇提示

1.expulsion 驱逐

2.tragedies 悲剧

3.heart-rendering 心碎

4.expedition 探险队

5.treaty 条约

6.oath 宣誓

7.allegiance 效忠

8.skirmishes 小规模冲突

9.troops 部队

10.greedy 贪图

11.eluded 逃脱

12.exile 流放地

原文

The Expulsion of the Acadians

The history of the Americas, from their discovery by Columbus till the founding of modern nation states has been the struggle among European powers for the largest and richest sections of the continents

In particular, England and France have struggled for control of most of North America.

Many tragedies and disasters have marked this conflict, but few have been as heart-rendering as the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755.

"Acadia"refers to what are now the Maritime Provinces of Canada - New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

In 1605, a French expedition under De Monts and Champlain established an agricultural settlement at Port-Royal in present day Nova Scotia.

Although Port-Royal and other colonies had very mixed success, there was a gradual increase of French settlement through the seventeenth century.

By 1710,the French, or Acadian, population had reached 2,100.

In 1710, Port-Royal fell to the English, and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 confirmed British ownership of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

By this treaty, the Acadians, that is the French-speaking inhabitants, were allowed to stay or leave the country as they pleased.

The majority of inhabitants of Acadia were French and were still being influenced by agents from France and Quebec.

This made their loyalty to Britain very doubtful in time of war.

Governor Philipps attempted to get the Acadians to swear an oath of allegiance to King George of England.

And Philipps was able in 1729 to get the French settlers to agree to a modified oath, with the understanding that they would not have to fight against the French and their Indian allies.

The Acadians remained neutral during the fighting between Britain and France in 1744-45 in Nova Scotia.

In 1749, the British established a new capital for Nova Scotia at Halifax, and began to bring in English-speaking settlers.

Because of threats from the French and Indians most of these settlers remained close to Halifax.

British skirmishes with the French and Indians continued, and a new war between France and England was approaching.

Governor Lawrence decided that it was time to settle the Acadian question.

He ordered the Acadians either to take an unqualified oath of allegiance to England, or to face expulsion from the colony.

At that time, in 1755, there were troops and ships from New England in the area, and it seemed like an opportune time to round up the Acadians and ship them out.

When the Acadians refused to take the oath which might oblige them to fight against France,the British rounded up about 6,000 of the 8,000 Acadians,burned their homes,and shipped them away to the British colonies of Virginia, the Carolinas, and as far as the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Several of the transport ships sank, drowning all on board, and the Acadians died from disease and hardship.

Since the expulsion order did not come from London,it has been suggested that Governor Lawrence had personal reasons for the expulsion.

He may have been greedy for the land and possessions confiscated from the Acadians.

Others say that there was the genuine fear for the English position in North America,and that Lawrence was only protecting the interests of the colony.

Acadians still live in Maritime Canada today.

Almost 2,000 fled into the woods and eluded the round-up.

Another 2,000 Acadians later returned from exile to take the oath of allegiance.

Many stories were told of their sufferings.

One tale relates how on the very day of his wedding, a bridegroom was seized by the British and transported from the colony.

His bride wandered for many years through the American colonies trying to find him.

At last, when she was old, she found him on his deathbed.

The shock of finding him, and his death, soon caused her death.

This is the story of Henry W. Longfellow's poem "Evangeline."

翻译

阿卡迪亚人的驱逐

美洲的历史，从哥伦布发现美洲到现代民族国家的建立，一直是欧洲列强之间争夺这块大陆最大、最富裕地区的斗争
特别是，英国和法国一直在争夺对北美大部分地区的控制权。
这场冲突发生了许多悲剧和灾难，但很少有像1755年阿卡迪亚人被驱逐那样令人痛心。
“阿卡迪亚”指的是现在加拿大的沿海省份——新不伦瑞克省、爱德华王子岛省和新斯科舍省。
1605年，德蒙茨和尚普兰率领的一支法国探险队在今新斯科舍省的罗亚尔港建立了一个农业定居点。
虽然罗亚尔港和其他殖民地取得了好坏参半的成功，但在整个17世纪，法国人的定居点逐渐增加。
到1710年，法国人或阿卡迪亚人的人口已经达到了2100人。
1710年，罗亚尔港落入英国人之手，1713年的乌得勒支条约确认了英国对新斯科舍省和新不伦瑞克省的所有权。
根据这个条约，阿卡迪亚人，也就是讲法语的居民，被允许随意离开或留在这个国家。
阿卡迪亚的大多数居民是法国人，他们仍然受到来自法国和魁北克的代理人的影响。
这使得他们在战争时期对英国的忠诚令人怀疑。
总督菲利普斯试图让阿卡迪亚人宣誓效忠英国国王乔治。
1729年，菲利普斯成功地让法国定居者同意修改后的誓言，前提是他们不必与法国人和他们的印第安盟友作战。
1744年至1745年英法在新斯科舍的战争中，阿卡迪亚人保持中立。
1749年，英国人在哈利法克斯为新斯科舍省建立了一个新的首都，并开始引进说英语的定居者。
由于受到法国人和印第安人的威胁，大多数移民都留在哈利法克斯附近。
英国人与法国人和印第安人的小规模冲突仍在继续，法国和英国之间的一场新的战争即将来临。
劳伦斯州长认为是时候解决阿卡迪亚人的问题了。
他命令阿卡迪亚人要么无条件宣誓效忠英国，要么被驱逐出殖民地。
当时，也就是1755年，有来自新英格兰的军队和船只在这个地区，这似乎是一个围捕阿卡迪亚人并将他们运出的好时机。
当阿卡迪亚人拒绝宣誓与法国作战时，英国人围捕了8000名阿卡迪亚人中的6000人，烧毁了他们的房屋，并将他们运往英国殖民地弗吉尼亚、卡罗来纳，甚至远至密西西比河的入海口。
几艘运输船沉没了，船上所有人都淹死了，阿卡迪亚人死于疾病和艰苦。
由于驱逐令并非来自伦敦，因此有人认为劳伦斯总督有驱逐的个人原因。
他可能对从阿卡迪亚人那里没收的土地和财产很贪婪。
还有人说，英国在北美的地位确实受到了威胁，劳伦斯只是在保护殖民地的利益。
今天，阿卡迪亚人仍然住在加拿大海事区。
近2000人逃进了树林，躲过了围捕。
后来又有2000名阿卡迪亚人从流放中返回，宣誓效忠。
关于他们的苦难，人们讲了许多故事。
有一个故事讲的是，就在新郎举行婚礼的当天，新郎被英国人抓住并从殖民地运走了。
他的新娘为了找他，在美洲殖民地徘徊了许多年。
最后，当她老了，她发现他在临终的床上。
发现他的震惊和他的死亡很快导致了她的死亡。
这是亨利·w·朗费罗的诗《伊万杰琳》的故事。

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Level 4-Day 71.The Expulsion of the Acadians