Trains & Diasporas

It’s always interesting to hear about US origins through the lens of a foreigner, as such a perspective usually offers a new orientation. It just so happens that the hotel in the photo, Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec, was built in 1893 by the Canadian national railroad whose business plan was to build a series of grand hotels all linked by rail, with the hope that an easy rail connection will promote tourism.

Prof. Casey jumpstarted some of my thinking, as I was trying to sort out the philosophies and operating styles of Catholics and Protestants in Europe which was then ferried over to the colonies. This Catholic-Protestant tension would naturally spill over to the developing country, following Plymouth in 1620 and the Jamestown settlement in 1625. Religion drove early 17th century policy, based in part on the administrative structure of the Roman Empire (Pope = Caesar), and continuing on to Charlemagne, though thwarted in 1521 by Martin Luther who nailed a paper to a church door in Worms, Germany, aka the Diet of Worms (Reichstag zu Worms). Luther was sick and tired of the Roman religion, and these folks wanted a change.

So, our country’s founding was based on preexisting European alliances, especially the English and French ones, both good and bad. When considering the past history of these two countries, it’s no wonder that their controversy would be played out in the colonies, then controlled by the British. During the Revolutionary War, the colonies were helped by Generals Lafayette from France and Kosciusko from Poland. Their countries had their own revolutionary movements. The Louisiana Purchase occurred some years later in 1803 when there was concern about the balance of power for England, France and Spain in this new world. These hotheads were sorting out their own stuff, some in areas far from New York and Washington, D.C.

In 1855, French living in the Canadian Maritime provinces, known as Acadia, were deported to various parts along the US east coast, and into Louisiana. Known as Le Grand Derangement, the majority of the French population was displaced from their homes, families separated and property seized, as they were sorted into waiting ships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Upheaval#Charles_Lawrence.27s_expulsion_orders
Thousands died and their misery inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write Evangeline, the classic poem about the expulsion, caused by the suspicion that the Acadians would not declare their sovereignty to British crown. Acadians, or Cajuns as they came to be known in Louisiana, made new lives in their new homes, though some did find their way back to Canada. Makes me think of crayfish and zydeco. Or lobster and step-dancing.

The Acadaian separatist movement lives on in Canada where in 1982 signage was mandated to be in two languages. Acadian culture continues, inspiring a band from Baie Sainte-Marie, NS to call itself Grand Derangement http://www.myspace.com/grandderangementacadie. Another article further dissects this culture, seen through the eyes of a Canadian Jewish writer http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/canadian-gothic.

My conclusion? None yet, other than a quick thought that people have long memories for past wrongs. In the meanwhile, I’ll listen to the music, enjoy the food, and maybe even contemplate a train ride from Halifax to a grand hotel in Quebec.

Maryann McKenzie
May 20, 2009