Over the Border: Acadia, the Home of "Evangeline"

A sweeping portrait of early Acadia unfolds, guiding listeners from the first French landing in 1604 through a succession of forts, settlements, and fierce rivalries. The narrator sketches the rugged coastline, the hopeful colonies at Port Royal and St. Sauveur, and the relentless tug‑of‑war between French, English, and pirate forces that reshaped the region’s destiny. Each episode is anchored by vivid details—gold‑embroidered coats, powdered perukes, and the stark, wind‑blown valleys that cradled the fledgling community.

Interwoven with this chronicle is a moving meditation on the Acadians themselves: their open homes, devotion to faith, and the quiet abundance of their agrarian life. The account turns personal as it recounts the forced exile ordered by Lieutenant‑Colonel John Winslow, whose conflicted conscience offers a human lens on the tragedy. Listeners are invited to feel the echo of weeping families and to glimpse the resilient spirit that survived the upheavals of the eighteenth century.