The colonial province of Acadia was where the French first settled in North America. It was made up of what is now Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, , and a good portion of Northern Maine. In French the name that these people called themselves sounded like "Ah-cadj-ien". From that derives the word "Cajun". In the mid 18th century after England defeated France in endless wars all except Cape Breton was ceded to the English Crown.
The farms were cleared to make room for people loyal to the king and many of these displaced people ended in Louisiana. Some however returned to Acadia. Here their music still lives and although it differs from the Cajun style the relationship is obvious. The French descendants here on Cape Breton are very musical and share the same driving force to their tunes. The dominant instrument is the fiddle and the squeezebox is less common. The story of the deportation of these fine people is both sad and cruel. However it is wonderful to see that they have not only survived in the southern USA but have maintained both culture and language for 250 years.