In pursuit of history, we once went to take a look at a freedom schooner. It was, of course, a re-creation of the original. The very idea of such a ship -- that brought freedom to a people that had suffered so much, and found themselves strangers in what was once their own land, unwanted by their own kind -- well, that tickled my imagination and drove my need to know.

Was the original ship a three masted frigate, and could it be the same ship?

When you seek answers, you don't always get what you might expect or hope for. At the time, no authority could answer my question. However, years later, I guess enough people had asked the same question: "Was L'Amite and La Amistad the same ship? Was the famous slave ship of 1839, the same rescuer of the Acadian people fifty years earlier?

The answer is no. They were not the same ship. Most people are familiar with La Amistad, of the 1997 Steven Spielberg's movie fame -- the story of how slaves took over a slave ship, and once arrested, an abolitionist lawyer takes up their case before the Supreme Court, where John Quincy Adams pleas for their release. The movie was based on a true event.

Most people, however, are not familiar with the story of the other La Amistad - who departed France, as a French ship, and arrived in New Orleans as a Spanish vessel..

It would take more than a few hubs to tell the whole story of the Acadian people, up to the point of the La A'mitie departure for Louisiana. If you are not familiar with the historical facts, I've provided a few links below. In a brief, discussion, basically:

The Acadians originally came to settle in what is known today as Nova Scotia. We came as a result of Giovanni Caboto's discovery of an enormous supply of codfish off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the fur trade -- both of which had been going on for almost one hundred years (since before 1504) by the time the first Acadian colonist settled in the New World.

Fast forward another hundred years of Acadians in North America (1713) and the Treaty of Utrecht, when France sold the Acadians out to the British. For the next forty-two years, the British took Acadian land, homes, and assets and forced them to make an oath of allegiance to England, denounce their Catholic faith, and become Protestants, as well as to consent to bear arms against France.

In 1755, the British began a cruel deportation of Acadians, dooming almost seven thousand to being deported to the thirteen original British colonies. At the time, every colony had laws against Catholics being in their territories. One fourth of these Acadians, died during this deportation (by way of shipwrecks, epidemics, and starvation).

In the colonies, they fared no better. Some were sold into slavery, some became indentured servants, some were hunted down and killed -- a large number were so unwanted, that the British eventually brought them to England as prisoners. Children were taken away from their parents and given English surnames and lost forever.  The British imprisonment of men, women and children lasted more than seven years. Those released from prisons were shipped back to France, where they were burdens to communities and not wanted either.

Some who escaped the initial deportation made their way to French speaking Louisiana. Some who escaped when to Quebec, Martinique, Guadaloupe, the Canary Islands, and St. Domingue. There weren't that many that escaped.

It was only after over thirty years in exile, that the Acadian people were offered a way to reunite their torn families, and begin their lives again as one people.

History testifies to the fact that the Acadian price of freedom once cost the King of Spain, a mere thirty-six dollars per Acadian saved. Four farsighted and optimistic Acaidans -- Simon Masrole, Marin Gatreau, Pierre Jamlo, and Etienne Terrio stepped forward and signed a petition that was sent to King Charles the III, of Spain.

The petitioners stated that after years of exile, the Acadians were still stranded and had no lands to farm or fixed livelihoods. The petitioners pointed out that Spain now needed colonists to strengthen L'ouisiane.

Before, Spain had been sending unskilled colonists, who did not know anything about farming. If Spain were to send the Acadians who were skilled farmers, it could eliminate the expense of purchasing slaves -- as Spain was having to do then.

At the time, both the French and Spanish agreed upon one issue -- that the use of slaves corrupted the morals of the colonists, destroyed their purity of language, and desire to work.

The petition stressed that the Acadians would make superb colonists who would work hard, share the Catholic religion, and ask only to be let alone. Thus, by sending the Acadians in place of ill-equipped Spanish subjects -- Spain would be reaping great rewards from Louisiana's vast and fertile land.

King Charles, at first, was reluctant. He knew it would cost a great deal of money and that the treasury of Spain had been depleted by war. Fortunately, at the moment, another hero appeared on the scene. His name was Don Bernardo de Galvez. He was a man of great influence with the King of Spain.

In the end, Charles the III, agreed with the petitions and on October 22, 1783, he accepted the plan and assumed the expense of transporting and settling the Acadians in Louisiana.

Now, thirty-six dollars each today, doesn't sound like much to most of us, but in the end that amounted to $62,424.12 -- a great deal of money in that era. In all, some sixteen hundred and twenty-four Acadians (including twenty-eight stowaways) would make the journey to Louisiana on seven ships.

Sometimes I think we are a forgotten people, only in that many people don't connect being Cajun today, to our Acadian ancestors. Here in America, not much of our history is taught, lots of times, its barely a paragraph of mention over the course of twelve years of customary foundational education.

Then, there are the stereo-typing assumptions about another person's culture. What a Cajun person is, and isn't today -- sadly largely has to do with commercialism hype and not necessarily bloodlines or culture. In the past, there was a time in certain parts of the United States, when one simply didn’t admit freely to being Cajun, or the of French Acadian heritage.

My mother and her cousin grew up in Arizona, where their darker skin tones of this heritage, got them sent to the Indian school in the 1930s. My grandfather and his six siblings went to school in Louisiana in a time when being Cajun and speaking your own language -- meant being made to kneel upon corn kernels, as punishment for accidentally forgetting and speaking French on the school playground. There were stores and other businesses that would not wait on you if you were French speaking, or not as white looking as others.

Today, lots of people proudly claim their Cajun heritage, even if they can’t name a single Cajun surname on their family tree. One joke is that it is so popular to be Cajun, that even foreign crawfish and the shrimp are claiming to be Cajun. Part of that joke, is to not be deceived, because you’d better make sure your crawfish and shrimp came from bayou waters and the Gulf of Mexico -- because many of them sold today as Cajun -- are products of China and Vietnam.

For those of us who are of this heritage, it's a little bit of a slap in the face of our history, one more insult to endure -- as each subsequent generation is taught lots about an English speaking history, and now even a good bit of history of black America -- while ours and that of other minorities in this country, are barely included. We can't even seem to get it right when it comes to this country's Native peoples, and speaking the truth. So, all of this shouldn't surprise us.

Since much as been written both in books and online, about the passengers on-board these seven ships, I think it not prudent to re-invent the wheel and just leave the names of each passenger on each ship, for those inclined to search, there are many very fine links available.

What I prefer to tell you are some simple facts. The Acadians coming to Louisiana, were not just simple farmers and day laborers, many of them were:

• Seamen
• Carpenters
• Block Layers
• Caulkers
• Journeymen
• Clerks
• Engravers
• Sawyers
• Colorists
• Coopers
• Shoemakers
• Printers
• Rope makers
• Wood Polishers
• Tailors
• Borers
• Tanners
• Ploughmen

All of these skilled men were badly needed assets to the colonization of Louisiana. Along with them travelled over forty women, with one hundred and forty-five children in tow. More than a dozen children would be born during some of these voyages.

For anyone who wants to know about tall sailing ships and old ships in general, there isn't a better place that I could think of, than to visit Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. It's a delightful interactive vacation that is appropriate for all ages.

This part of the U.S. in terms of vacationing, isn't the least expensive in terms of cheap hotel prices and inexpensive meals. In this region, you are going to pay more per night than other parts of the country. However, it is well worth the extra few dollars per night.

This is a great area for seafood and lots to do besides the Mystic Seaport experience. Evening cruises on the river, ships to watch, great shopping, right down to McDonald's serving lobster sandwiches on it's menu make the experience unique.