The embarkation of the Acadians, 1755. The Acadians were descendants of 17th-century French colonists who settled in what are now the Canadian Maritime provinces, Quebec, and Maine. After the British conquered Acadia in 1710, the Acadians lived under British rule for 45 years, at which point, during the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War) they became victims of the Great Expulsion of 1755-1763. Roughly 11,500 Acadians were deported, and about one-third died from disease and drowning. Many settled in Louisiana, where they became known as Cajuns.