Spanish rule did not affect the pace of francophone immigration to the territory, which increased due to the expulsion of the Acadians. Several thousand French-speaking refugees from Acadia (now Nova Scotia, Canada) migrated to colonial Louisiana. The first group of around 200 arrived in 1765, led by Joseph Broussard (also referrerd to as "Beausoleil"). They settled chiefly in the southwestern Louisiana region now called Acadiana. The Acadian refugees were welcomed by the Spanish as additions of Catholic population. Their white descendants came to be called Cajuns and their black descendants, mixed with African ancestry came to be called Creole. Additionally, some Creole Louisianians also have Native American and/or Spanish ancestry.