Acadia, a former French colony in North America, now known as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. To be exact, Acadia was that part of the continent lying east of a line drawn north from the mouth of the Penobscot to the St. Lawrence. At one time it comprised a part of Maine. The word is Micmac, signifying plenty. During Queen Anne's War, the province was annexed by England. The name was changed to Nova Scotia. In a narrower sense, the word has been associated with a region lying immediately on the Bay of Fundy. In 1755, during King George's War, word was sent to the Acadian French in this settlement that they must take the oath of allegiance to England. Very possibly the French priests, on whom the simple peasantry depended for information and guidance, withheld the order. At any rate, the Acadians did not comply. The British authorities feared that the Acadians might prove a source of strength to the French. It was believed also that the Acadians encouraged the Micmac Indians to side with the French against the British. At all events, the region was placed under martial law. The innocent and happy Acadians were driven on board English vessels, and were scattered up and down the Atlantic coast among the various colonies. Families were broken up and never reunited. Those who escaped to the woods were starved into surrender by the utter destruction of their homes, crops, and cattle. A considerable number of the unhappy refugees found their way to Louisiana, where their descendants still reside. It is here that the story of Evangeline and the sufferings of the Acadians, so well told by Longfellow, are current traditions. See EVANGELINE; NOVA SCOTIA.