cmac
akade, which, appended to place-names, signifies an abundance of
something. More probably, however, it is a corruption of Arcadia. The
Acadia of De Monts' grant in 1604 extended from the parallel of 40
degrees to that of 46 degrees north latitude, but in the light of actual
occupation the term can hardly be made to embrace more than the coast
from Cape Breton to Penobscot Bay.]

The early settlements of the French in America were divided into two
zones by the Gulf of St Lawrence. Considered from the standpoint of
colonization, this great body of water has a double aspect. In the main
it was a vestibule to the vast region which extended westward from Gaspe
to Lake Michigan and thence to the Mississippi. But while a highway it
was also a barrier, cutting off Acadia from the main route that led
to the heart of the interior. Port Royal, on the Bay of Fundy, was one
centre and Quebec another. Between them stretched either an impenetrable
wilderness or an inland sea. Hence Acadia remained separate from the
Laurentian valley, which was the heart of Canada--although Acadia and
Canada combined to form New France. Of these two sister districts Canada
was the more secure. The fate of Acadia shows how much less vulnerable
to English attack were Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal than the
seaboard settlements of Port Royal, Grand Pre, and Louisbourg.

It is a striking fact that Champlain had helped to found Port
Royal before he founded Quebec. He was not the pioneer of Acadian
colonization: De Monts deserves the praise of turning the first sod. But
Champlain was a leading figure in the hard fight at St Croix and Port
Royal; he it was who first charted in any detail the Atlantic seaboard
from Cape Breton to Cape Cod; and his narrative joins with that of
Lescarbot to preserve the story of the episode.

Although unprosperous, the first attempt of the French to colonize
Acadia is among the bright deeds of their colonial history. While the
death of De Chastes was most inopportune, the future of the French race
in America did not hinge upon any one man. In 1603 fishing on the Grand
Bank off Newfoundland was a well-established occupation of Normans and
Bretons, the fur trade held out hope of great profit, and the spirit of
national emulation supplied a motive which was stronger still. Hence it
is not surprising that to De Chastes there at once succeeds De Monts.

As regards position they belonged to much the same class. Both were