The Acadians were...

   

• Native Americans who were among the closest French allies in the Great War for Empire.
• British troops sent to North America to stiffen colonial defenses after Braddock's defeat in 1755.
• French settlers expelled from Nova Scotia after the British takeover, some of whom eventually made their way to Louisiana.
• Scots-Irish colonists who settled in Nova Scotia after the British expelled the French settlers. 

ANSWER: The Acadians were French settlers expelled from Nova Scotia after the British takeover, some of whom eventually made their way to Louisiana.