The little-known story of how Canada's Acadians became the Louisiana Cajuns The forced expulsion of some 10,000 Acadians from their home in the Maritimes beginning in 1755 signaled a human disaster unequalled in North American history. The Acadians (forerunners of today's Cajuns) were forced onto ships and dropped along the eastern seaboard. Many children and the elderly died of disease along the way; many became indentured servants. Marking the 250th anniversary of their deportation, The Cajuns: A People's Story of Exile and Triumph describes the harrowing ordeal that a people endured to set down new roots in the southern U.S. and create a culture that has thrived and is today renowned around the world.