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French Neutral
Hist.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
one of the Acadian French who, after the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 had brought Acadia under British rule, refused to take the oath of allegiance, preferring to remain neutral in the strife between British and French.
See: Acadian Neutral
Quotations
1755
We are now hatching the noble and great project of banishing the French Neutrals from this province; they have ever been our secret enemies, and have encouraged our Indians to cut our throats.
1823
Acadians, who in submitting to a new yoke, had sworn never to bear arms against their former standards, were called the French neutrals.
1884
We defy all past history to present a parallel case, in which an unarmed and peacable people have suffered to such an extent as did the French Neutrals of Acadia at the hands of the New England troops.