Many of these
took up their abode in Ile St Jean at Port La Joie
(Charlottetown), where they soon formed a prosperous
settlement and were able to supply not only the fortress
but the town of Louisbourg with provisions. Those who
were not engaged in agricultural pursuits found profitable
employment in the fisheries. There were also thriving
settlements at Point Prince, St Peter, and Malpeque. It
is computed that in 1755 there were at least four thousand
Acadians in Ile St Jean. A much larger estimate is given
by some historians. Now, on the fall of Louisbourg in
1758, some of the British transports which had brought
out troops from Cork to Halifax were ordered to Ile St
Jean to carry the Acadians and French to France. The
largest of these transports was the Duke William; another
was named the Violet. Some of the Acadians made good
their escape, but many were dragged on board the vessels.
On the Duke William was a missionary priest, and before
the vessels sailed he was called upon to perform numerous
marriages, for the single men had learned that if they
landed unmarried in France they would be forced to perform
military service, for which they had no inclination.
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