Beginning in 1755, Acadian villagers in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada, were caught in a power struggle between France and England and were uprooted from their homeland as families were torn apart, homes were burned, and possessions were confiscated. Deported from Acadia by the British, they were loaded onto overcrowded ships, and thousands died in filthy, unbearable living conditions as exiles were sent to the American colonies, England, France, and the West Indies. In the late 1700s, many of the exiles found refuge in Louisiana's bayou country, and Acadian family names recorded in census documents remain evident throughout Houma and Terrebonne Parish today.