The Acadians (
French: Acadiens) are the descendants of the 17th-century
French colonists who settled in
Acadia (located in the Canadian Maritime provinces —
Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island — and some of the American state of
Maine). Although today both Acadians and
French-Canadian Québécois are
francophone Canadians, Acadia was founded in a geographically separate region from
Quebec ("
Canada" at this time) leading to their two distinct cultures. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians did not necessarily all come from the same region in France. Acadian family names have come from many areas in France from the Maillets of Paris to the Leblancs of Normandy. Some Acadian families did not even originate in France; for example the popular Acadian surname 'Melanson' (originally 'Mallinson') has its roots in
England, and those with the surname 'Bastrache', 'Basque', or 'Bascom' can find their origin in the
Basque Country which is located between France and Spain.
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DELL'ACADIA. ACADIANO