The Acadians that ended up in English prisons spent five miserable years there. Out of the thousands of people who went to prison, only a few hundred were still alive in 1763 when the war ended. These Acadians were sent to France where they met other Acadians who had been sent there. Together, they formed a group of several thousand people who lived on the little money they received from the King. But, after seven years of war, France, and the King, had no more money to help Acadians. It looked like more hardship for the Acadians again.

The Acadians Take a Chance

At that time, the waters around Cape Breton Island, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were rich in fish. Charles Robin was a smart businessman from the Isle of Jersey. This island is near France but was governed by England. Robin had started a summer fishery in Richmond County a few years earlier and was making money from it. In 1772 and 1773, he decided to try a year-round fishery off Cape Breton Island. A number of the Acadian families living in France took a chance and went with him.