French vernacular architecture in pre-deportation Acadia

Abstract

Traditional historiography maintains that the early French settlers to Nova Scotia forged a distinct ethnic identity through communal labour and unique farming practises, and the Acadian deportees of 1755 were considered a homogenous ethnic group. Through the examination of an element of this emerging culture: vernacular architecture, this thesis compliments the work of more recent researchers who argue that this group of settlers were more autonomous of one another. Rather that the emergence of common traits and practices the early colonists instead fostered a great amount of architectural diversity. With an understanding of theoretical perspectives such as critical cartography and post-processual archaeology, this thesis provides analysis of Acadian colonial architecture through primary documents, extant buildings in North America and the archaeological record. The results also show that tracing early settlers back to specific regions in their country of origin, as in the example of Belleisle, provides a richer understanding of who these people were and offers explanations why architectural diversity existed. Finally, the real value of this thesis is not that it ends the conversation on Acadian ethnogenesis but instead adds to the important conversation now underway.