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A Brief History
The word "CAJUN" is [derived from] the word "ACADIAN," starting off, in the French of course, "Acadien…Cadien…Cadjin…and in English, "Cajun". The word "Acadian" describes the 17th and 18th Century inhabitant of an area in eastern Canada called Acadia or, in French, Acadie. The popular meaning for the word "Acadie" is "earthly paradise," taken from the language of the Micmac Indians, who inhabited the area at the time. Acadia was comprised of what is today New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton and parts of the state of Maine.
Groups of Acadians settled in Louisiana in the late 1760s, after they were driven from their homes in Acadia .There is a rich diversity of peoples in Louisiana. The original French colonists were soon joined by the Spanish and Acadians, and later by French aristocrats fleeing slave revolts in the West Indies or the horrors of the French Revolution.
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Louisiana made the above flag the official flag of the Acadiana area in 1974.
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On the flag are 3 symbols. The gold castle on the red field represents the Spanish kingdom, who allowed and even assisted the Acadians in settling their new homeland. The silver fleur-de-lis on the blue field represents their French heritage. The gold star on the white background represents the Virgin Mary, patron saint of the Acadians. So this flag is identified with Acadians who migrated to Louisiana.
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The word "Cajun" did not come into being until sometime in the late 18th Century and is strictly a South Louisiana word. Up to World War II the word "Cajun" was somewhat of a source of embarrassment and ridicule. This came about because it suggested "a poor and uneducated person who spoke mostly French and some, if any, broken English." It was not until the late 1940's and early 1950's that the Cajun population realized that this negative attitude was causing the eradication of their culture and the loss of their identity as an ethnic group. The heart of the Cajun culture is its language and distinctive music along with the delicious food served in Acadiana.
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