Brigadier-General Charles Lawrence (December 14, 1709 – October 19, 1760) was a British military officer who, as lieutenant governor and subsequently governor of Nova Scotia, was responsible for overseeing the expulsion of Acadians from the colony in the Great Upheaval. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1709 ( MDCCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 1760 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap A Lieutenant Governor is a high officer of state whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French The Great Upheaval, also known as the Great Expulsion, The Deportation, the Acadian Expulsion, or to the deportees Le Grand Dérangement, was He was born in Plymouth, England and died in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The City of Halifax (est 1841 is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's

Lawrence's background

Lawrence followed his father into a military career. His father was General Charles John Lawrence and is said to have served in Flanders under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands.

Charles Lawrence's earlier life is obscure. He was commissioned in the 11th Regiment of Foot in 1727 and served in the West Indies from 1733 until 1737. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting He then served in the War Office. He was made lieutenant in 1741 and then captain in 1742. He was wounded while serving with the 54th Foot in the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. The 54th Regiment of Foot was an Infantry regiment of the British Army. This battle should not be confused with the two battles of Fontenay, which occurred at a different location in 841 and 1944 He transferred to the 45th Foot and as a Major went with it to Nova Scotia, arriving at Louisbourg, Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) in 1747. The 45th (Nottinghamshire Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment Major is a Military rank the use of which varies according to country Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's In 1749 he transferred again, to the 40th Foot. The 40th (2nd Somersetshire Regiment of Foot was an Infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1717 and amalgamated into The Prince of He built Fort Lawrence on the south bank of the Missaguash River in the fall of 1750, and was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel the same year. Lieutenant Colonel ( Lieutenant-Colonel in English from the French grade 's spelling is a rank of Commissioned officer in the armies In 1753, he directed the settlement of European Protestants on the coast south of Halifax, Nova Scotia . The City of Halifax (est 1841 is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's the behest of Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts, he helped raise forces that under Robert Monckton captured the French Fort Beauséjour (near Sackville, New Brunswick) on June 16, 1755, and Lawrence's involvement with the expulsion of the Acadians was connected to a desire to maintain that conquest. For the English cricketer of the same name see William Shirley (cricketer William Shirley ( December 2, 1694 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Robert Monckton ( 24 June 1726 &ndash 21 May 1782) was an officer of the British army and a colonial administrator Fort Beauséjour, also referred to as Fort Cumberland, is a National Historic Site located in Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada.

Governor of Nova Scotia

Charles Lawrence was named lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia in late 1753 when Governor Peregrine Thomas Hopson left on November 1 due to health problems. A Lieutenant Governor is a high officer of state whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction Lawrence was officially sworn in on October 21, 1754, holding this position until 1756, when Hopson resigned the post and Lawrence was made governor. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. He served as governor until his death in 1760.

To his new post, he brought considerable distrust of the French. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The French Acadians of Nova Scotia had become British subjects by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), but exhibited no willingness to participate in the British-French quarrels that were ongoing in the region at the time. This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French The Treaty of Utrecht that established the Peace of Utrecht, rather than a single document comprised a series of individual peace treaties signed in the Dutch The French and Indian War (1754&ndash1763 was the North American chapter of the Seven Years' War. Lawrence adopted a view that he found in the correspondence of previous governors: that though the Acadians should not be antagonized, they should be required to take an oath of allegiance. In July 1755, he attempted to force a visiting delegation from Minas (Grand Pré region) to take the oath. When the delegation refused to submit without consulting the population they represented, Lawrence imprisoned them. The council then decided the expulsion of individuals refusing the oath was appropriate, and that "it would be most proper to send them to be distributed amongst the Several Colonies on the Continent. " Although there was no military plan in Britain mandating the expulsion, Lawrence was never rebuked for acting without orders.

As lieutenant governor, it was he who was responsible for writing the 1755 Acadian deportation order, securing the approval and co-operation of William Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts. For the English cricketer of the same name see William Shirley (cricketer William Shirley ( December 2, 1694 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Together with the refusal to take the loyalty oath, one of the major reasons for the deportation was lust for the fertile Acadian farmlands. Lawrence was convinced these rich meadows would make excellent farms for English Protestant settlers. The deportation, known to Acadians as the Grand dérangement (see Great Upheaval), was a form of ethnic cleansing; historians estimate that approximately half of all Acadians died as a direct result of it, primarily due to shipwrecks, disease, and exposure. The Great Upheaval, also known as the Great Expulsion, The Deportation, the Acadian Expulsion, or to the deportees Le Grand Dérangement, was Ethnic cleansing is a Euphemism referring to the persecution through imprisonment expulsion or killing of members of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethnic homogeneity Some survivors eventually reached sanctuary in south Louisiana where they formed the basis for what would become the Cajuns. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other

As governor of Nova Scotia, Lawrence saw the settlement of the Acadian lands as his most important task. He fell into conflict with merchants like Joshua Mauger, and was the object of formal complaints against him in the form of petitions to the Board of Trade. Lawrence issued proclamations in 1758 and 1759 seeking settlers for the Acadian lands, directed mainly at New Englanders. Since settlers were reluctant to break new forest land, he combined new and old land in each grant; merchants interested chiefly in taking advantage of the lands the expelled Acadians had settled, as well as those interested in using the lands as awards for military veterans, opposed this policy. But Lawrence wrote privately to Lord Halifax that "drunken, dissolute, and abandoned" habits, especially the habit of idleness, made veterans bad settlers. Edward Frederick Lindley Wood 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC ( 16 April 1881 &ndash

In 1757, Lawrence was further promoted to the title of brigadier general and commanded the successful siege of the French fortress at Louisbourg on Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) in 1758. Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General. Fortress of Louisbourg (in French, Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a Canadian National Historic Site and the location of a partial reconstruction Cape Breton Island ( French: île du Cap-Breton - formerly île Royale, Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Cheap Breatuinn,

It was during his tenure, but not with his approval, that Nova Scotia had its first elected legislative assembly which met in 1758. Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a Legislature, or to one of its chambers. This elected body is the oldest representative body in Canada. He is said to have died of pneumonia in 1760, after over-indulging in a local Halifax, Nova Scotia banquet; others report that he died "after catching a chill. The City of Halifax (est 1841 is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's " He is buried under St. Paul's Church (Halifax)

After Lawrence's death, the Board of Trade ordered an investigation into complaints against him. St Paul's Church is an evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax Nova Scotia within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince He was criticized for approving excessively large land grants and concealing of the true cost of his land policy, but was exonerated from the most serious charges. His role in the expulsion of the Acadians occasioned very little commentary at the time of his demise.

References

• Brasseaux, Founding of New Acadia (1987); Brasseaux, Scattered to the Wind (1991); Dominick Graham, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (2000); Rushton, The Cajuns (1979).

External links

• Blupete.com biography
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• proclamation of 1756
• Bartleby
• Girouard
• Cajun