Cajuns are a group of people mostly living in southern Louisiana, an area with a history of many cultures. Descendants of the Acadians, French immigrants from Atlantic Canada settled in that place, today they celebrate a different and vibrant culture than others.
In 1754, France went to war with Great Britain in North America due to the fishing issues between them known as the Seven Years' War. The conflict ended in defeat with the French in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. France was forced to give up its rights to the colonies in North America for a period of that treaty. During the war, the Acadians were deported from the land they had occupied for more than a century. The exiled Acadians were resettled with British North American colonies, France, England, the Caribbean, and in many places, including the Spanish colony in a place known as Louisiana.
Cajun settlement in Louisiana
New settlers began to cultivate the land for agriculture and started fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding Gulf. They sailed on the Mississippi River. People from other cultures, including Spanish, Canary Islands, Native Americans, descendants of enslaved people from Africa, and French Creole from the Caribbean, also settled in Louisiana during this same period.
People from these different cultures have been interacting with each other for many years to form the modern Cajun culture. The word "Cajun" is an evolution of the word "Acadian" in Creole from the French, which is widely spoken among the settlers in the area.
France acquired Louisiana from Spain in 1800, three years later France sold the area to the United States. The area inhabited by Acadians and other cultures became known as Orleans territory. Americans who eager to earn money also started to migrate over there and settled. Slowly, due to American's move, The Cajuns sold the fertile land across the Mississippi River and moved westward into modern south-central Louisiana, where they could settle in the land at no cost. There, they used the land for grazing and began to grow crops such as cotton and rice. This area is called Acadiana due to the influence of Cajun culture.
Cajun food
Cajun people have their own cultural traditions, including their unique cuisine. Cajuns love to cook with seafood. Particularly in the area of Atlantic Canada and the waters of southern Louisiana. Popular recipes include mac and cheese, a vegetable-based dish consisting of tomatoes, onions, corn, and peppers, and dense, often spicy seafood Tiger Shrimp. The last quarter of the 20th century brought a new interest in Cajun culture and traditions, which helped to popularize Cajun-style cuisine worldwide. Many supermarkets across North America sell Cajun-style foods.
As there is more exposure to other cultures through internet-based media, the Cajun culture continues to be popular and, no doubt continues to thrive.
