“They signed a treaty and our homes were taken, loved ones forsaken, they didn’t give a damn. Try to raise a family, end up an enemy over what went down on the Plains of Abraham.”
If you want a lifetime of trouble, be the first ones occupying land someone richer and more powerful wants. If you want to stay, they will not allow it. If you won’t leave, they won’t allow you to live.
There are plenty of examples of this throughout history. If you want confirmation, ask any Native American.
The example pictured here and the song lyrics at the beginning are an example from the 18th century that has redounded through the years. In the war we know as the French and Indian War (1756-63), the British won a climactic battle outside Quebec City in an area known as the Plains of Abraham.
The French had to abandon Canada, and the area in the east known as Arcadia, French settlers were told they had to leave their homes. Many went back to France, many others went all the way to Louisiana and a few stayed under the radar and remained in Canada,
It’s actually one of the best examples of people forced to leave who weren’t native or aboriginal or who weren’t part of an ethnic group seen as inferior.
Of course there doesn’t have to be anything wrong with you to lose your home. Someone with more power and/or money just has to want it.
It can even be done legally. We call it eminent domain, and to simplify, if they want your land as part of a package to build a shopping mall, start packing.
Too many people, too little land?
Yes and no. There are many more people than there once were, but there are also richer and richer people owning more and more of the land.
And if one thing is certain, whether it’s 18th century Acadians, 19th century American Indians or 21st century Palestinians, the have nots never make progress in battles with the haves.
“Sailed out of the Gulf, headed for St. Pierre. Nothing to declare, all we had was gone. Broke down along the coast, oh, what hurt the most when the people there said ‘You better keep movin’ on.'”