People walking along Moncton’s waterfront trails will be able to take in a new plaque that honours a piece of Acadian history.
Unveiled on Thursday by Parks Canada, it honours Joseph Broussard, also known as Beausoleil, a leader of the Acadian resistance against British rule in the Maritimes in the 1700s.
“We’re moving now towards trying to represent the more diverse side of our society,” said Bernard Thériault, mayor of Caraquet and member of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
The plaque was placed along the Petitcodiac River, in downtown Moncton’s Bore Park, because Beausoleil spent much of his life navigating the region and settled for a time in what is now Salisbury.
“Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil helped shape the Acadia of today, a resilient Acadia that continues to flourish despite the absence of a defined territory,” said Moncton-Dieppe-Riverview MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor, at a ceremony before the unveiling.
Beausoleil’s life
Born in Port Royal in what is now Nova Scotia, Beausoleil became outspoken against British rule around 1750.
“Beausoleil was just a simple Acadian farmer, but for one reason or another he got involved in armed or military resistance to the British,” retired historian Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc told CBC’s Information Morning Moncton.
“Beausoleil was among the 21 most dangerous Acadians in the eyes of the British.”
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During his life, Beausoleil was deported not just once, but twice: first to Charleston, North Carolina, in 1755 and then to England in 1762. He left the region a third time in 1764, headed to Louisiana with a group of more than 500 Acadians.
“They made their way to the Mississippi in the winter. They arrived in New Orleans in February,” said LeBlanc. “They offered Beausoleil and the other Acadians land … in southwestern Louisiana. So Beausoleil settled there with his family.”
Important piece of history
Beausoleil died in 1765, but his legacy has had a lasting impact on Acadian people in the region.
“It’s always important for us, the Acadians of New Brunswick, to have a person like him be recognized,” said Nicole Arseneau-Sluyter, president of the Acadian Society of New Brunswick.
“It’s important to remind the young people especially, since in New Brunswick we probably are lacking a bit of teaching our history. So more than ever, to have a person like him be recognized, it’s very important and very proud,” she said.
Arseneau-Sluyter said that she learned about Beausoleil in history class, but that having this reminder of his life in a public setting will ensure that people don’t forget what he did.
“Mr. Broussard took a lot of Acadians and moved them to Louisiana during that period,” she said. “I would say he was sort of a warrior and a very important figure for the Acadians at that time and still today. He saved a lot of lives.”
A long-time coming
The process to get the plaque in place was no small feat. It began in 2020, with Parks Canada’s nominations process for historical commemoration.
“Once nominations are approved, our team then works with the local stakeholders to establish where the proper location for the plaque would be,” said Denny Richard, Parks Canada’s field-unit superintendent for northern N.B.
“Once that’s done, there’s a plaque inscription that is drafted and reviewed and then we move on to the casting of the plaque and insulation and the unveiling. So it’s a process that can take some time.”
The plaque has an inscription in both English and French with details about Beausoleil’s life. (Victoria Walton/CBC)
Richard said to date, more than 2,200 designations have been made across Canada, just 37 of which focus on Acadians.
It was moving for Richard to see people gather for the unveiling of the plaque.
“It’s important to reflect those periods of Acadian history that are more difficult,” he said. “So it’s a way to not forget those periods and to recognize the important contributions to that Acadian heritage and culture.