Interesting discussion here on the difference, in Louisiana, between Cajun (France > Canada > Louisiana) and Creole (France > Louisiana).
http://www.city-data.com/forum/louisiana/1439535-what-difference-be...
Cajuns are actually Acadians (Cajun is just the way that word is commonly pronounced.) Acadians were originally French peasants who in the 17th century settled in the region of North America now known as Nova Scotia & New Brunswick Canada, and the surrounding region - even down into what is now the state of Maine. That area was named Acadia after the Greek word Arcadia, which meant something along the lines of "idyllic place. I'm descended from a variety of Cajun families - my earliest immigrant ancestors came from France to Acadia in 1684.
The British and French battled over control of the Acadian region, and the British eventually won. Between the 1740s and 1760s the British then proceeded to kick all people with allegiance to France off their land. If the Acadians weren't killed outright they were shipped off to any port which would take them - primarily French or Catholic communities. Some were sent to the Port of New Orleans, others were shipped to Baltimore, some were sent back to France. I'm descended from families who were first shipped back to France, then banded together to come to Louisiana in a floatilla of 3 ships ca. 1780 (without going through my records I can't remember the exact year.)
These Acadians then spread out in family settlements throughout South Louisiana. They mostly lead very isolated rural lives. Because of this isolation they retained much of their 17th century French culture. Because they remained rural and didn't assimilate into the greater Louisiana community there was a lot of prejudice against Cajuns pre WW 2. My Aunts say that they were treated very badly when they were children - I don't think City Data will allow me to write the words Cajuns were called by other Louisianans pre 1950s.
Over time people from other backgrounds moved into these settlements and adopted Acadian culture, but they are not true Cajuns.
The word "Creole" is a term which was originally used to mean a person born in any place whose parents had come there as colonizers. So, in New Orleans in 1740, for example, people you might meet walking down the street could be French or Spanish or African or French Creoles (people born in Louisiana whose parents had come from France) or Spanish Creoles (people born in Louisiana whose parents had come from Spain.) In other countries which were colonized by Europeans there were Dutch Creoles, German Creoles, and etc. My earliest Louisiana immigrant ancestors arrived from France in 1721. Their children, then, were Creole.
