History of Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
(also known as Mi'kma'ki and Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
) is a Canadian province located in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's Maritimes
Maritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the colony was primarily made up of Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. This time period involved four colonial wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
between New England and New France as well as two local wars (Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
and Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
) before Britain defeated France in North America. Throughout these wars, Nova Scotia was the site of numerous battles, raids and skirmishes. The Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
happened in 1710. Just prior to the last colonial war - the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
- the capital was moved from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
to the newly founded Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. After the colonial wars, New England Planters
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion...
and Foreign Protestants
Foreign Protestants
The "Foreign Protestants" were a group of immigrants to Nova Scotia in the mid-18th century and the ethnonymical basis behind the name "New Brunswick", as well as support behind naming "Prince Edward Island" for a representative of the Braunschweiger dynasty....
settled Nova Scotia. After the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the colony was settled by Loyalists. During the nineteenth century, Nova Scotia became self-governing
Self-governing colony
A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...
in 1848 and joined the Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1867.
This history of Nova Scotia includes the Canadian Maritime provinces, all of which were at one time part of Nova Scotia. In 1763 Cape Breton Island and St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
) became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony. Nova Scotia included present-day New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
until that province was established in 1784.
Mi'kmaq
The oldest evidence of humans in Nova Scotia indicates the Paleo-IndiansPaleo Indians
Paleo-Indians or Paleoamericans is a classification term given to the first peoples who entered, and subsequently inhabited, the American continent during the final glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene period...
were the first, approximately 11,000 years ago. Natives are believed to have been present in the area between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago. Mi'kmaq, the First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
of the province and region, are their direct descendants.
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and northeastern New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Míkmaw is the singular form of Mí'kmaq.
In 1616 Father Biard believed the Mi'kmaq population to be in excess of 3,000. However, he remarked that, because of European diseases, including smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and alcoholism, there had been large population losses in the previous century.
The Mi'kmaq were originally allies with other nearby Algonquian nations including the Abenaki, forming the seven nation Wabanaki Confederacy
Wabanaki Confederacy
The Wabanaki Confederacy, as it is known in English, is a historical confederation of five North American Algonquian language speaking Indian tribes....
, pronounced wɑbɑnɑːɣɔdi; this was later expanded to eight with the ceremonial addition of Great Britain at the time of the 1749 treaty. At the time of contact with the French (late 16th century) they were expanding from their Maritime base westward along the Gaspé Peninsula /St. Lawrence River at the expense of Iroquioian Mohawk tribes, hence the Mi'kmaq name for this peninsula, Gespedeg ("last-acquired"). They were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst. Between the loss of control of Acadia by France in the early 18th century and the deportation of the Acadians in the mid-eighteenth century an uneasy stalemate existed between the Mi’kmaq and English. With the complete loss by France during the Seven Years War of its North American territories, the Mi’kmaq lost their primary ally. The Mi’kmaq continued to suffer a population collapse and with the influx of Planters in the 1760s and Loyalists in the 1780s, soon found themselves overwhelmed. Later on the Mi'kmaq also settled Newfoundland as the unrelated Beothuk
Beothuk
The Beothuk were one of the aboriginal peoples in Canada. They lived on the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries...
tribe became extinct.
Port Royal established
The first European settlement in Nova Scotia was established in 1605. The FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, led by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Du Gua de Monts, was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Protestant, he was born in Royan, France and had a great influence over the first two decades of the 17th century...
established the first capital for the colony Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
at Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
. Other than a few trading posts around the province, for the next seventy-five years, Port Royal was virtually the only European settlement in Nova Scotia. Port Royal (later renamed Annapolis Royal) remained the capital of Acadia and later Nova Scotia for almost 150 years, prior to the founding of Halifax in 1749.
Approximately seventy-five years after Port Royal was founded, Acadians migrated from the capital and established what would become the other major Acadian settlements before the Expulsion of the Acadians: Grand Pré, Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
, Cobequid
Cobequid
The old name Cobequid was derived from the Mi'kmaq word "Wagobagitk" meaning "the bay runs far up", in reference to the area surrounding the easternmost inlet of the Minas Basin, a body of water called Cobequid Bay....
and Pisiguit
Pisiguit
In the Minas Basin of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, the settlement of Grand-Pré grew eastward towards the Pisiquid River. This settlement became known as Pisiguit or . Pisiguit came from the Mi'kmaq term Pesaquid, meaning "Junction of Waters". It became so large that it was viewed as...
.
Until the Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
, the English made six attempts to conquer Acadia by defeating the capital. They finally defeated the French in the Siege of Port Royal (1710)
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
. Over the following fifty years, the French and their allies made six unsuccessful military attempts to regain the capital.
Scottish Colony
From 1629-1632, Nova Scotia briefly became a Scottish colonyScottish colonization of the Americas
Scottish colonization of the Americas consisted of a number of failed or abandoned Scottish settlements in North America, a colony at Darien, Panama, and a number of wholly or largely Scottish settlements made after the Acts of Union 1707, and those made by the enforced resettlement after the...
. Sir William Alexander
William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling was a Scotsman who was an early developer of Scottish colonisation of Port Royal, Nova Scotia and Long Island, New York...
of Menstrie Castle
Menstrie Castle
Menstrie Castle is a three-storey castellated house in the town of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, near Stirling, central Scotland. From the early 17th century, it was home to Sir William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, who was instrumental in founding the colony of Nova Scotia. It was later owned by...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
claimed mainland Nova Scotia and settled at Port Royal, while Ochiltree claimed Ile Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
) and settled at Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island...
. There were three battles between the Scottish and the French: the Raid on St. John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
(1632), the Siege of Baleine
Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island...
(1629) as well as Siege of Cap de Sable (present-day Port La Tour, Nova Scotia
Port La Tour, Nova Scotia
Port La Tour is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Barrington Municipal District of Shelburne County.The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada erroneously assert that Fort Saint Louis is located at Port La Tour. The fort at Port La Tour was Fort Lomeron . ...
) (1630). Nova Scotia was returned to France through a treaty.
The French quickly defeated the Scottish at Baleine
Baleine, Nova Scotia
Baleine is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island...
and established settlements on Ile Royale at present day Englishtown
Englishtown, Nova Scotia
Not to be confused with present-day St. Anns, Nova Scotia, which was also the former name of Englishtown.Englishtown is a small coastal community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located on St. Anne's Bay in Victoria County on Cape Breton Island...
(1629) and St. Peter's
St. Peter's, Nova Scotia
St. Peter's is a small incorporated village located on Cape Breton Island in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada....
(1630). These two settlements remained the only settlements on the island until they were abandoned by Nicolas Denys
Nicolas Denys
.Nicolas Denys was a French aristocrat who became an explorer, colonizer, soldier and leader in New France. Today, he is perhaps best known for founding settlements at St. Pierre , Ste...
in 1659. Ile Royale then remained vacant for more than fifty years until the communities were re-established when Louisbourg was established in 1713.
Civil War
Acadia was plunged into what some historians have described as a civil warCivil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
in Acadia (1640–1645). The war was between Port Royal, where Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
Charles de Menou d'Aulnay was a pioneer of European settlement in North America and Governor of Acadia .-Biography:D'Aulnay was a member of the French nobility who was at various times a sea captain, a lieutenant in the French navy to his cousin Isaac de Razilly, and Governor of Acadia...
de Charnisay was stationed, and present-day Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, where Governor of Acadia. Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, the French King's appointed Governor of Acadia from 1631–1642 and again from 1653–1657, was born in France in 1593 and died at Cap de Sable in 1666...
was stationed.
In the war, there were four major battles. la Tour attacked d'Aulnay at Port Royal in 1640. In response to the attack, D'Aulnay sailed out of Port Royal to establish a five month blockade of La Tour's fort at Saint John, which La Tour eventually defeated (1643). La Tour attacked d'Aulnay again at Port Royal in 1643. d'Aulnay and Port Royal ultimately won the war against La Tour with the 1645 siege of Saint John. After d'Aulnay died (1650), La Tour re-established himself in Acadia.
King William's War
There were four colonial wars - the French and Indian WarsFrench and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
- between New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
before the British defeated the French in North America. During these wars, Nova Scotia/ Acadia was on the border and experienced many military conflicts. The first colonial war was King William's War.
During King William's War
King William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Battle of Port Royal (1690)
Battle of Port Royal (1690)
The Battle of Port Royal occurred at Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, during King William's War , the first of the four French and Indian Wars. A large force of New England provincial militia arrived before Port Royal, which was surrendered without resistance not long after...
; Battle at Guysborough; a naval battle in the Bay of Fundy (Action of 14 July 1696
Action of 14 July 1696
The Action of 14 July 1696 was a naval battle between France and England toward the end of King Williams War in the Bay of Fundy off present-day Saint John, New Brunswick...
); Raid on Chignecto (1696)
Raid on Chignecto (1696)
The Raid on Chignecto occurred during King Williams War when New England forces from Boston attacked the Isthmus of Chignecto, Acadia in present-day Nova Scotia. The raid was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid at present day Bristol, Maine. In the English Province of...
and the Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)
Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)
The Siege of Fort Nashwaak occurred during King Williams War when New England forces from Boston attacked the capital of Acadia in present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick. The siege was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid at present day Bristol, Maine. In the English...
. At the end of the war England returned the territory to France in the Treaty of Ryswick
Treaty of Ryswick
The Treaty of Ryswick or Ryswyck was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick in the Dutch Republic. The treaty settled the Nine Years' War, which pitted France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces.Negotiations started in May...
.
Queen Anne's War
The second colonial war was Queen Anne's War. During Queen Anne's WarQueen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Raid on Grand Pre
Raid on Grand Pre
The Raid on Grand Pré was the major action of a raiding expedition conducted by New England militia Colonel Benjamin Church against French Acadia in June 1704, during Queen Anne's War...
; Siege of Port Royal (1707)
Siege of Port Royal (1707)
The Siege of Port Royal in 1707 was two separate attempts by English colonists from New England to conquer Acadia by capturing its capital Port Royal during Queen Anne's War. Both attempts were made by colonial militia, and were led by men inexperienced in siege warfare...
; and the Siege of Port Royal (1710)
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
and the Battle of Bloody Creek (1711).
During Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, the Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
(1710) was confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
of 1713. At this time the British Empire considered present-day New Brunwick as part of Nova Scotia. France retained possession of Île St Jean (Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
) and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island), on which it established a fortress at Louisbourg to guard the sea approaches to Quebec.
Dummer's War
During the excalation that proceeded Dummer's WarDummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
(1722–1725), Mi'kmaq raided the new fort at Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1720). Under potential siege, in May 1722, Lieutenant Governor John Doucett
John Doucett
John Doucett was probably of French descent although he did not speak the language and was likely born in England. He was a career military man and, from 1702 on, received several promotions....
took 22 Mi'kmaq hostage at Annapolis Royal to prevent the capital from being attacked. In July 1722 the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq created a blockade of Annapolis Royal, with the intent of starving the capital. The natives captured 18 fishing vessels and prisoners from present-day Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
to Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
. They also seized prisoners and vessels from the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
.
As a result of the escalating conflict, Massachusetts Governor Samuel Shute
Samuel Shute
Samuel Shute was a military officer and royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. After serving in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, he was appointed by King George I as governor of Massachusetts in 1716...
officially declared war on July 22, 1722. The first battle of Dummer's War happened in the Nova Scotia theatre. In response to the blockade of Annapolis Royal, at the end of July 1722, New England launched a campaign to end the blockade and retrieve over 86 New England prisoners taken by the natives. One of these operations resulted in the Battle at Jeddore
Battle at Winnepang (Jeddore Harbour)
The Battle at Winnepang occurred during Dummer's War when New England forces attacked Mi’kmaq at present day Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia. The naval battle was part of a campaign ordered by Governor Phillips to retrieve over 82 New England prisoners taken by the Mi'kmaq in fishing vessels off...
. The next was a raid on Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
in 1723. Then in July 1724 when a group of sixty Mikmaq and Maliseets raided Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
.
The treaty that ended the war marked a significant shift in European relations with the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet. For the first time a European Empire formally acknowledged that its domininion over Nova Scotia would have to be negotiated with the region's indigenous inhabitants. The treaty was invoked as recently as 1999 in the Donald Marshall case
R. v. Marshall
R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 S.C.R. 456 and R. v. Marshall [1999] 3 S.C.R. 533 are two decisions given by the Supreme Court of Canada on a single case regarding a treaty right to fish.-Decisions:...
.
King George's War
The third colonial war was King George's War. During King Georges War, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Raid on CansoRaid on Canso
The Raid on Canso was an attack by French forces from Louisbourg on the British outpost of Canso, Nova Scotia shortly after war declarations opened King George's War. The French raid was intended to boost morale, secure Louisbourg's supply lines with the surrounding Acadian settlements, and deprive...
; Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744); Siege of Port Toulouse
Siege of Port Toulouse
The Siege of Port Toulouse took place between May 2-10, 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Port Toulouse The Siege of Port Toulouse took place between May 2-10, 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Port Toulouse The Siege...
(St. Peter's); the Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
; the Duc d'Anville Expedition
Duc d'Anville Expedition
The Duc d'Anville Expedition was sent from France to recapture peninsular Acadia . The expedition was the largest military force ever to set sail for the New World prior to the American Revolution. The effort to take the Nova Scotian capital, Annapolis Royal was also supported on land by a force...
and the Battle of Grand Pré
Battle of Grand Pré
The Battle of Grand Pré, also known as the Battle of Minas, was a battle in King George's War that took place between British and French forces near present-day Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia in the winter of 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession...
.
During King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
, fortress Louisbourg was captured
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)
The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
by American colonial forces in 1745, then returned by the British to France in 1748.
Halifax established
Despite the British Conquest of AcadiaSiege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. To prevent the establishment of Protestant settlements in the region, Mi'kmaq raided the early British settlements of present-day Shelburne
Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Shelburne County.-History:-Settlers:...
(1715) and Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1720). A generation later, Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
began when Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis
Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...
arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on June 21, 1749. By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which were signed after Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
. The British quickly began to build other settlements. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian and French attacks on the new protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (Citadel Hill) (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
(1753) and Lawrencetown
Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia
There are several locations in Nova Scotia with the name Lawrencetown:* Lawrencetown in Annapolis County* Lawrencetown in Halifax County* Upper Lawrencetown, also in Halifax County* West Lawrencetown, also in Halifax County...
(1754). There were numerous Mi'kmaq and Acadian raids on these villages such as the Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on May 13, 1751 when an Acadian and Mi’kmaq militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers...
.
Within 18 months of establishing Halifax, the British also took firm control of peninsula Nova Scotia by building fortifications in all the major Acadian communities: present-day Windsor (Fort Edward)
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
; Grand Pre (Fort Vieux Logis
Fort Vieux Logis
The site of Fort Vieux Logis is in present-day Hortonville, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The site of the fort is on the field where the Acadian Cross and the New England Planters monument...
) and Chignecto (Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
). (A British fort already existed at the other major Acadian centre of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
. Cobequid remained without a fort.) There were numerous Mi'kmaq and Acadian raids on these fortifications such as the Siege of Grand Pre
Siege of Grand Pre
The Siege of Grand Pre happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and was fought between the British and a militia made up of Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Acadians. The siege happened at Fort Vieux Logis, Grand Pre...
.
French and Indian War
The forth and final colonial war was the French and Indian WarFrench and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. During the war, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Battle of Fort Beauséjour
Battle of Fort Beauséjour
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War andthe opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America...
; Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
; the Battle of Petitcodiac
Battle of Petitcodiac
The Battle of Petitcodiac was fought during the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the French and Indian War. The battle was fought between the British colonial troops and Acadian resistance fighters led by French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert on September 4, 1755 at the Acadian village of...
; the Raid on Lunenburg (1756)
Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1756)
The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the French and Indian War when a French-allied Mi'kmaw and Maliseet militia attacked a British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on May 8, 1756. The native militia raided two islands on the northern outskirts of the fortified Township of Lunenburg, [John]...
; the Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
The Louisbourg Expedition was a failed British attempt to capture the French fortress of Louisbourg on Île Royale during the Seven Years' War ....
; Battle of Bloody Creek (1757); Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
, Petitcodiac River Campaign
Petitcodiac River Campaign
The Petitcodiac River Campaign was a series of British military operations from June to November 1758, during the French and Indian War, to deport the Acadians that either lived along the Petitcodiac River or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean...
, Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and...
, St. John River Campaign
St. John River Campaign
The St. John River Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas in February 1759...
, and Battle of Restigouche
Battle of Restigouche
The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought during the French and Indian War on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of French Navy vessels. The French vessels had been sent to relieve New France after the fall of Quebec...
.
The British Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.
During the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The British began the Expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
. Over the next nine years over 12,000 Acadians were removed from Nova Scotia. During the various campaigns of the expulsion, the Acadian and Native resistance to the British intensified.
The war ended and Britain had gained control over the entire Maritime region.
New England Planters
Between 1759 and 1768, about 8,000 New England PlantersNew England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion...
responded to Governor Charles Lawrence's request for settlers from the New England colonies.
Government changes
The colony's jurisdiction changed during this time. Nova Scotia was granted a supreme court in 1754 with the appointment of Jonathan BelcherJonathan Belcher (jurist)
Jonathan Belcher was an American lawyer, chief justice, and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, second son of Jonathan Belcher and Mary Partridge, he received an Bachelor of Arts degree in 1728 and an Master of Arts degree in 1731 from Harvard College...
and a Legislative Assembly in 1758. In 1763 Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
) became a separate colony. The county of Sunbury
Sunbury County, Nova Scotia
Sunbury County was a county in the crown colony of Nova Scotia. The county ceased to exist when the crown colony of New Brunswick was created in 1784....
was created in 1765, and included all of the territory of current day New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and eastern Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
as far as the Penobscot River. In 1784, the western, mainland portion of the colony was separated and became the province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. Maine became part of the newly independent American state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, but the international boundary was vague. Cape Breton became a separate colony in 1784; it was returned to Nova Scotia in 1820.
Confronted with a large Yankee element sympathetic to the American revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Nova Scotian politicians in 1774-75 adopted a policy of enlightened moderation and humanism. Governing a marginal colony that received little attention from London, the royal governor, Francis Legge
Francis Legge
Francis Legge , was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776....
(1772 to 1776) battled the popularly elected assembly for control of the policies regarding trade, commerce, and taxation. Desserud shows that John Day
John Day (Nova Scotia legislator)
John Day was a merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Newport township from 1765 to 1770 and Halifax town from 1774 to 1775 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly....
, elected to the assembly in 1774, called for Montesquieu-type fundamental reforms that would balance political power among the three branches of government. Day argued that taxes should be assessed according to actual wealth, and to discourage patronage there should be term limits for all officials. He thought members of the Executive Council should own at least ₤1000 of property to connect their personal interest in the welfare of the colony as a whole. He wanted the dismissal of judges who misused their offices. There reforms were not as yet enacted, but they suggest that politicians in Nova Scotia were aware of the demands being made by Americans, and hoped their moderate proposals would reduce possible tensions with the British government.
American Revolution
Until the outbreak of the American revolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
in 1775, Nova Scotia's New England-born merchants often sympathize with the rebels in the 13 colonies. But the Nova Scotia government was controlled by an Anglo-European mercantile elite for whom loyalty was more profitable than rebellion. The Yankees remained neutral during the war but experienced a religious revival that expressed some of their anxieties.
Throughout the war, American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities. There were constant attacks by American privateers, such as the Raid on Lunenburg (1782), numerous raids on Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...
(October 1776, March 1777, September 1777, May 1778, September 1780) and a raid on Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
(1781).
American Privateers also raided Canso, Nova Scotia
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1775). In 1779, American privateers returned to Canso and destroyed the fisheries, which were worth £50,000 a year to Britain.
To guard against such attacks, the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
The 84th Regiment of Foot was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries...
was garrisoned at forts around the Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
. Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
in Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
was the Regiment's headquarters to prevent a possible American land assault on Halifax from the Bay of Fundy. There was an American attack on Nova Scotia by land, the Battle of Fort Cumberland
Battle of Fort Cumberland
The Battle of Fort Cumberland was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776...
followed by the Siege of Saint John (1777). There was also rebellion from those within Nova Scotia: the Maugerville Rebellion
Maugerville, New Brunswick
Maugerville is a community in Sunbury County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. In 1759, members of the Perley Colony, land-seekers from present-day Maine, settled in the area...
(1776) and the Battle at Miramichi (1779)
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
.
During the war, American Privateers captured 225 vessels either leaving or arriving at Nova Scotia ports. In 1781, for example, as a result of the Franco-American alliance
Franco-American alliance
The Franco-American alliance refers to the 1778 alliance between Louis XVI's France and the United States, during the American Revolutionary War. Formalized in the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, it was a military pact in which France provided arms and money, and engaged in full-scale war with Britain. ...
against Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, there was also a naval engagement
Naval battle off Cape Breton
The Battle off Spanish River took place during the American Revolution between two French Navy frigates and a convoy of 18 British ships under protection of the Royal Navy off the harbour of Spanish River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia...
with a French fleet at Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
, near Spanish River, Cape Breton. The British also captured numerous American Privateers such as in the naval battle off Halifax
Naval battle off Halifax
The Battle off Halifax took place during the American Revolutionary War involving the American privateer Jack and a Royal Naval brig Observer off Halifax, Nova Scotia. The American privateer was commanded by Captain John Ropes and the Observer by John Crymes...
. The Royal Navy also used Halifax as a base from which to launch attacks on New England, such as the Battle of Machias (1777)
Battle of Machias (1777)
The Battle of Machias was an amphibious assault on the Massachusetts town of Machias by British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Local militia aided by Indian allies successfully prevented British troops from landing...
.
In 1784 the western, mainland portion of the colony was separated and became the province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and the territory in Maine entered the control of the newly independent American state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
became a separate colony in 1784 only to be returned to Nova Scotia in 1820.
Loyalists
As a result of the British defeat in the American Revolution, approximately 30,000 United Empire LoyalistsUnited Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
(American Tories) left the thirteen colonies and settled in Nova Scotia. Of these 30,000, 14,000 went to present-day New Brunswick and 16,000 went to Nova Scotia. They were not welcomed and as a result New Brunswick was split off for them. The newly arrived Loyalists felt no allegiance to Halifax and wanted to separate from Nova Scotia to isolate themselves from what they felt to be democratic and republican influences existing in that city. They felt that the government of Nova Scotia represented a Yankee population which had been sympathetic to the American Revolutionary movement, and which disparaged the intensely anti-American, anti-republican attitudes of the Loyalists. "They [the loyalists]," Colonel Thomas Dundas wrote in 1786, "have experienced every possible injury from the old inhabitants of Nova Scotia, who are even more disaffected towards the British Government than any of the new States ever were. This makes me much doubt their remaining long dependent." The colony of New Brunswick was officially created with Sir Thomas Carleton
Thomas Carleton
Thomas Carleton was a British army officer who was promoted to Colonel during the American Revolutionary War after relieving the siege of Quebec in 1776. After the war, he was appointed as Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, and supervised the resettlement of Loyalists from the United States in...
the first governor on August 16, 1784.
About 3,000 Loyalists were Black Loyalist
Black Loyalist
A Black Loyalist was an inhabitant of British America of African descent who joined British colonial forces during the American Revolutionary War...
s. About a third of whom, the Nova Scotian Settlers, soon moved to Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
in 1792 via the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
The Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor was a charitable organization founded in London in 1786 to provide sustenance for distressed people of African and Asian origin...
, becoming the Original settlers of Freetown.
Large numbers of Gaelic-speaking Highland Scots emigrated to Cape Breton and the western part of the mainland during the late 18th century and 19th century. In 1812 Sir Hector Maclean
Sir Hector Maclean, 7th Baronet
Sir Hector Maclean, 7th Baronet of Morvern was the 23rd Clan Chief of Clan Maclean who died before he had any children, and the title passed to his half brother.-Biography:...
(the 7th Baronet of Morvern
Maclean Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Maclean, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
and 23rd Chief of the Clan Maclean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
) emigrated to Pictou from Glensanda and Kingairloch
Glensanda
Glensanda was a Viking settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda on the Morvern peninsula within south west Lochaber, overlooking the Isle of Lismore and Loch Linnhe in the western Highlands of Scotland....
in Scotland bringing along almost the entire population of 500.
War of 1812
During the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Nova Scotia’s contribution to the war effort was communities either purchasing or building various privateer ships to seize American vessels. Three members of the community of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
purchased a privateer schooner and named it Lunenburg on August 8, 1814. The Nova Scotian privateer vessel captured seven American vessels. The Liverpool Packet
Liverpool Packet
Liverpool Packet was a privateer schooner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, which captured 50 American vessels in the War of 1812. During the war the privateer ship was briefly captured by American privateers, eventually being recaptured by the British...
from Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...
was another Nova Scotia privateer vessel that caught over fifty ships in the war - the most of any privateer in Canada. The Sir John Sherbrooke (Halifax) was also very successful during the war, being the largest privateer on the Atlantic coast.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment in the war for Nova Scotia was the HMS Shannon
HMS Shannon (1806)
HMS Shannon was a 38-gun Leda-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806 and served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...
's led the captured American Frigate USS Chesapeake
USS Chesapeake (1799)
USS Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships...
into Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
(1813). Many of the prisoners were kept at Deadman's Island, Halifax
Deadman's Island, Halifax
Deadman's Island is a small peninsula containing a cemetery and park located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada.It was first known as "Target Island" after use by the British military for target practice....
. At the same time, there was the HMS Hogue's
HMS Hogue (1811)
HMS Hogue was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 October 1811 at Deptford.During the War of 1812, while under the command of Thomas Bladen Capel, the HMS Hogue successfully trapped the American Privateer Young Teazer of the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.She was...
traumatic capture of the American Privateer Young Teazer
Young Teazer
The Young Teazer was an American privateer schooner that the 74-gun third rate trapped in a naval battle off Chester, Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. Young Teazer was under the command of William D. Dobson and Hogue was under the command of Captain Thomas Bladen Capel...
off Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester is an incorporated Canadian village located in and part of Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.-History:...
.
On September 3, 1814 a British fleet from Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
began to lay siege to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to re-establish British title to Maine east of the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
, an area the British had re-named "New Ireland". Carving off "New Ireland" from New England had been a goal of the British government and settlers of Nova Scotia ("New Scotland") since the American Revolution. The British expedition involved 8 war-ships and 10 transports (carrying 3,500 British regulars) that were under the overall command of Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
John Coape Sherbrooke
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean , and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811.His active defense of the colony during the War of 1812...
, then Lt. Gov. of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. On July 3, 1814, the expedition captured the coastal town of Castine, Maine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
and then went on to raid Belfast
Belfast, Maine
Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,668. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River on Penobscot Bay, Belfast is the county seat of Waldo County...
, Machias, Eastport
Eastport, Maine
Eastport is a small city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by causeway...
, Hampden and Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
(See Battle of Hampden
Battle of Hampden
The Battle of Hampden, though a minor action of the War of 1812, was the last significant clash of arms in New England, in this instance, in the District of Maine . It represented the end of two centuries of violent contest over Maine by surrounding political units...
). After the war, Maine was returned to America through the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. The British returned to Halifax and, with the spoils of war they had taken from Maine, they built Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
(established 1818).
The most famous soldier that was buried in Nova Scotia during the war was Robert Ross (British Army officer). Ross was responsible for the Burning of Washington
Burning of Washington
The Burning of Washington was an armed conflict during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following...
, including the White House.
The Black Refugees
Black Refugee (War of 1812)
The Black Refugees from the War of 1812 were African American slaves who fought for the British and were relocated to Nova Scotia. The Black Refugees were the second group of African Americans, after the Black Loyalists, to flee American enslavement in wartime and be relocated to Canada...
from the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
were African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
slaves who fought for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and were relocated to Nova Scotia. The Black Refugees were the second group of African Americans, after the Black Loyalists, to defect to the British side and be relocated to Nova Scotia.
There was also migration out of the colony because of the hardships immigrants faced. Reverend Norman McLeod led a large group of approximately 800 Scottish residents from the St. Anns, Nova Scotia to Waipu, New Zealand, during the 1850s.
Workers
Working conditions in the Halifax Naval Yard during the 1775-1820 era included officials who took bribes from workers and widespread nepotism. The laborers endured poor working conditions and limited personal freedoms. However, the laborers were willing to remain there for many years because wages were high and more steady than any alternative. Unlike almost any other jobs the yards paid disability benefits for men injured at work and gave retirement pensions to those who spent their career in the yards.Nova Scotia had one of the first labour organizations in what became Canada. By 1799 workers set up a Carpenters' Society at Halifax, and soon there were attempts at organization by other craftsmen and tradesmen. Businessmen complained, and in 1816 Nova Scotia passed an act against trade unions, the preamble of which declared that great numbers of master tradesmen, journeymen, and workmen in the town of Halifax and other parts of the province had, by unlawful meetings and combinations, endeavored to regulate the rate of wages and effectuate other illegal aims. Unions remained illegal until 1851.
Responsible government
Nova Scotia was the first colony in British North AmericaBritish North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
and in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
to achieve responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
in January–February 1848 and become self-governing
Self-governing colony
A self-governing colony is a colony with an elected legislature, in which politicians are able to make most decisions without reference to the colonial power with formal or nominal control of the colony...
through the efforts of Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
. (In 1758, Nova Scotia also became the first British colony to establish representative government. A feat that was later commemorated by erecting the Dingle Tower
Sir Sandford Fleming Park
Sir Sandford Fleming Park, known locally as The Dingle Park , is a urban park located in the Halifax Regional Municipality in the subdivision of Jollimore, Canada....
(1908).)
American Civil War
Over 200 Nova Scotians have been identified as fighting in the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
(1861-1865). Most joined Maine or Massachusetts infantry regiments, but one in ten served the Confederacy (South). The total probably reached into two thousand as many young men had migrated to the U.S. before 1860. Pacifism, neutrality, anti-Americanism, and anti-Yankee sentiments all operated to keep the numbers down, but on the other hand there were strong cash incentives to join the well-paid Northern army and the long tradition of emigrating out of Nova Scotia, combined with a zest for adventure, attracted many young men.
The British Empire (including Nova Scotia) declared neutrality, and Nova Scotia prospered greatly from trade with the North. There were no attempts to trade with the South. Nova Scotia was the site of two minor international incidents during the war: the Chesapeake Affair
Chesapeake Affair
The Chesapeake Affair was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On December 7, 1863 Confederate sympathizers from Canada’s Maritime Provinces captured the American Steamer Chesapeake off the coast of Cape Cod. The expedition was planned and led by...
and the escape from Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
of the CSS Tallahassee
CSS Tallahassee
The CSS Tallahassee was a twin-screw steamer and cruiser in the Confederate States Navy, purchased in 1864, and used for commerce raiding off the Atlantic coast.-History:...
, aided by Confederate sympathizers.
The war left many fearful that the North might attempt to annex British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
, particularly after the Fenian raids
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
began. In response, volunteer regiments were raised across Nova Scotia. One of the main reasons why Britain sanctioned the creation of Canada (1867) was to avoid another possible conflict with America and to leave the defence of Nova Scotia to a Canadian Government.
Anti-Confederation campaign
The British North America Act, by which Nova Scotia became part of the Dominion of Canada, went into effect on July 1, 1867. Premier Charles TupperCharles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...
had worked energetically to bring about the union. But it was controversial because localism, Protestant fears of Catholics and distrust of Canadians generally, and worries about losing free trade with America, were all intensified by the refusal of Tupper to consult Nova Scotia's voters on the subject. A movement for withdrawal from Canada developed, led by Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
. Howe's Anti-Confederation Party
Anti-Confederation Party
Anti-Confederation was the name used in what is now Atlantic Canada by several parties opposed to Canadian confederation.-Nova Scotia:In Nova Scotia, the "Anti-Confederates" were led by Joseph Howe. They attempted to reverse the colony's decision to join Confederation, which was initially highly...
swept the next election, on September 18, 1867, winning 18 out of 19 federal seats, and 36 out of 38 seats in the provincial legislature. A motion passed by the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1868 refusing to recognise the legitimacy of Confederation has never been rescinded. With the great Hants County bi-election of 1869, Howe was successful in turning the province away from appealing confederation to simply seeking "better terms" within it. Despite its temporary popularity, Howe's movement failed in its goal to withdraw from Canada because London was determined the union go forward. Howe did succeed in getting better financial terms for the province, and gained a national office for himself.
Long-term adverse factors came into play. In 1865 came the end of the American Civil War and all the extra business it had generated. In 1866 came the end of Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty
Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty
The Canadian American Reciprocity Treaty, also known as the Elgin-Marcy Treaty, was a trade treaty between the colonies of British North America and the United States. It covered raw materials and was in effect from 1854 to 1865...
, which led to higher and damaging American tariffs on goods imported from Nova Scotia. In the long run the transition at sea from wood-wind-water sailing to steel steamships undercut the advantages Nova Scotia had enjoyed before 1867. Many residents for decades grumbled that Confederation had slowed the economic progress of the province and it lagged other parts of Canada. Repeal, as anti-confederation became known, would rear its head again in the 1880s, and transform into the Maritime Rights Movement
Maritime Rights Movement
The Maritime Rights Movement arose in the 1920s in response to perceived unfair economic policies in Canada that were affecting the economies of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. At a time of rural protest in Canada from Ontario to the Prairies, the Movement was...
in the 1920s. Some Nova Scotia flags
Flag of Nova Scotia
The flag of Nova Scotia, created in 1858, is a banner of the coat of arms of Nova Scotia, which were granted to the Scottish colony by Charles I, in 1625....
flew at half mast on Dominion Day
Dominion Day
Dominion Day is a commemoration day of the granting of national status in various Commonwealth countries.-Canada:Dominion Day was the name of the holiday commemorating the formation of Canada as a Dominion on 1 July 1867...
as late as that time.
Economic growth
Most people were farmers and agriculture dominated the economy, despite all the attention given to ships. The rural situation peaked in 1891 in terms of total rural population, farmland, grain production, cattle production, and number of farms, then fell steadily into the 21st century. Apples and dairy products resisted the downward trend in the 20th century.The pattern of Nova Scotia's trade and tariffs between 1830 and 1866 suggests that the colony was already moving toward free trade before the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 with the U.S. took effect. The treaty produced modest additional direct gains. The Reciprocity Treaty complemented the earlier movement toward free trade and stimulated the export of commodities sold primarily to the United States, especially coal.
Halifax was the home of Samuel Cunard
Samuel Cunard
Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet was a British shipping magnate, born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line...
. With his father, Abraham, a master ship's carpenter, he founded the A. Cunard & Co. cargo shipping company and later the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
, a pride of the British Empire. Samuel parlayed his father's modest waterfront properties into a succession of businesses that revolutionized transatlantic shipping and passenger travel with the introduction of steam and steel. Cunard was a booster who was active in philanthropy and helped found the Chamber of Commerce, where he found business partners for his ventures in banking, mining, and other businesses. In the process he became one of the largest landholders in the Maritime Provinces.
John Fitzwilliam Stairs
John Fitzwilliam Stairs
John Fitzwilliam Stairs, also known as John Fitz William Stairs was an entrepreneur and statesman, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a member of the prominent Stairs family of merchants and shippers founded by William Machin Stairs that included the Victorian era explorer, William Grant...
(1848-1904), scion of the powerful Stairs family, enlarged the family's multiple businesses by merging the cordage firms and sugar refineries and then creating the steel industry in the province. In order to develop new regional sources of capital, Stairs became an innovator in building legal and regulatory frameworks for these new forms of financial structure. Frost contrasts Stairs's success in promoting regional development with the obstacles that he had encountered in promoting regional interests, particularly at the federal level. The family finally sold its businesses in 1971, after 160 years.
After Confederation, boosters of Halifax expected federal help to make the city's natural harbor Canada's official winter port and a gateway for trade with Europe. Halifax's advantages included its location just off the Great Circle route made it the closest to Europe of any mainland North American port. But the new Intercolonial Railway (ICR) took an indirect, southerly route for military and political reasons, and the national government made little effort to promote Halifax as Canada's winter port. Ignoring appeals to nationalism and the ICR's own attempts to promote traffic to Halifax, most Canadian exporters sent their wares by train though Boston or Portland. No one was interested in financing the large-scale port facilities Halifax lacked. It took the First World War to at last boost Halifax's harbor into prominence on the North Atlantic.
Unionization, legal after 1851, was based on skilled crafts except in the coal mines and steel plants, where unskilled men could also join. There has been an increase in industrial unionism with the expansion of industry. International unionism with a strong American influence became important, as international unions began in 1869, when a local of the International Typographical Union was chartered in Halifax. In 1870 the woodworking trades started their union. Different unions banded together to support strike action, as seen in the organization of the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Halifax in 1889, which was succeeded by the Halifax District Trades and Labour Council in 1898. By the end of the 19th century there were more than 70 local unions in the province.
Golden age of sail
Donald McKay
Donald McKay was a Canadian-born American designer and builder of sailing ships.He was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne County on Nova Scotia's South Shore. In 1826 he moved to New York, working for shipbuilders Brown & Bell and Isaac Webb...
and William Dawson Lawrence
William Dawson Lawrence
William Dawson Lawrence was a successful shipbuilder, businessman and politician. He built the William D. Lawrence, which is reported to be the largest wooden ship ever built in Canada....
. Notable ships included the barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
Stag
Stag (barque)
Stag was a barque built in Nova Scotia which was renowned for her speed. Designed by a pioneering Canadian naval architect named Ebenezer Mosley, Stag was built with a dramatic "Aberdeen bow"...
, a clipper renowned for speed and the ship
Full rigged ship
A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....
William D. Lawrence
William D. Lawrence (ship)
William D. Lawrence was a full-rigged sailing ship built in Maitland, Nova Scotia along the Minas Basin and named after her builder, the merchant and politician William Dawson Lawrence ....
, the largest wooden ship
Full rigged ship
A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....
ever built in Canada. The fame Nova Scotia achieved from sailors was assured when Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Canadian born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he told the story of this in Sailing Alone Around the World...
became the first man to sail single-handedly around the world (1895). This international attention continued into the following century with the many racing victories of the Bluenose
Bluenose
Bluenose was a Canadian fishing and racing schooner from Nova Scotia built in 1921. She was later commemorated by a replica Bluenose II built in 1963. A celebrated racing ship and hard-working fishing vessel, Bluenose became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia as well as important Canadian symbol in...
schooner.
The population grew steadily from 277,000 in 1851 to 388,000 in 1871, mostly from natural increase since immigration was slight. The era has been called a golden age, but that was a myth created in the 1930s to lure tourists to a romantic era of tall ships and antiques. Recent historians using census data have shown that is a fallacy. In 1851-1871 there was an overall increase in per capita wealth holding. However most of the gains went to the urban elite class, especially businessmen and financiers living in Halifax. The wealth held by the top 10% rose considerably over the two decades, but there was little improvement in the wealth levels in rural areas, which comprised the great majority of the population. Likewise Gwyn reports that gentlemen, merchants, bankers, colliery owners, shipowners, shipbuilders, and master mariners flourished. However the great majority of families were headed by farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and laborers. Most of them-and many widows as well--lived in poverty. Out migration became an increasingly necessary option. Thus the era was indeed a golden age but only for a small but powerful and highly visible elite.
North West Rebellion
The Halifax Provisional BattalionHalifax Provisional Battalion
The Halifax Provisional Battalion was a military unit from Nova Scotia, Canada, which was sent to fight in the North-West Rebellion in 1885. The battalion was under command of Lieutenant-Colonel James J...
was a military unit from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, which was sent to fight in the North-West Rebellion
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
in 1885. The battalion was under command of Lieut.-Colonel James J. Bremner and consisted of 168 non-commissioned officers and men of the The Princess Louise Fusiliers
The Princess Louise Fusiliers
The Princess Louise Fusiliers is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.-History:Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this infantry regiment traces its local roots as a Halifax unit of Militia back to June 18, 1798 when Sir Edward Cornwalis formed a local Militia under his own command...
, 100 of the 63rd Battalion Rifles
The Halifax Rifles (RCAC)
The Halifax Rifles is a Canadian Army regiment that served between the years of 1860 and 1965 before being placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle, which meant that they were reduced to nil strength. The regiment was reactivated on May 10, 2009, as a reserve force unit performing the role of...
, and 84 of the Halifax Garrison Artillery, with 32 officers. The battalion left Halifax under orders for the North-West on Saturday, April 11, 1885, and they stayed for almost three months.
Heavy industry
Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation
The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation was a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company.Incorporated in 1928 and operational in 1930, DOSCO was predated by the British Empire Steel Corporation which was a merger of the Dominion Coal Company, the Dominion Iron and Steel Company and the...
) finally closed in the 1960s it was a blow to numerous towns that had counted on its well paid jobs and the political activism of its workers, such as Florence
Florence, Nova Scotia
Florence is a community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community is located north of Highway 105 and west of Sydney Mines.-History:...
, Reserve Mines
Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia
Reserve Mines is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.It is located immediately west of Glace Bay and 10 kilometres northeast of Sydney. The J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport is located in the western part of the community...
, Sydney Mines, Trenton, and New Glasgow
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait....
.
Rural decline and political response
Rural areas steadily lost population, especially the eastern counties. Liberal premiers George Henry MurrayGeorge Henry Murray
George Henry Murray was a Nova Scotia politician who served as the province's ninth Premier for twenty-seven years, the longest unbroken tenure for a head of government in Canadian history. He was born in Grand Narrows, Nova ScotiaDespite his later political longevity, Murray's early political...
(1896-1923) and Ernest H. Armstrong (1923-25) implemented programs to improve rural life and modernize agricultural industry. They secured federal assistance through loans and grants for agriculture, roads, and immigration. Murray was criticized for being too cautious in his reforms, while Armstrong, even with a Liberal federal government behind him, was unable to keep the assistance flowing. The situation only worsened with the post-war downturn which brought the United Farmers Party to power in 1920 in the hardest hit areas of eastern Nova Scotia. The Liberals' failure to stem the decline of the area brought their defeat in 1925 by "rejuvenated" Conservatives who capitalized on Armstrong's weakness.
Second Boer War
During the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
(1899-1902), the First Contingent was composed of seven Companies from across Canada. The Nova Scotia Company (H) consisted of 125 men. (The total First Contingent was a total force of 1,019. Eventually over 8600 Canadians served.) The mobilization of the Contingent took place at Quebec. On October 30, 1899, the ship Sardinian sailed the troops for four weeks to Cape Town.
The Boer War marked the first occasion in which large contingents of Nova Scotian troops served abroad (individual Nova Scotians had served in the Crimean War).
The Battle of Paardeberg
Battle of Paardeberg
The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley....
in February 1900 represented the second time Canadian soldiers saw battle abroad (the first being the Canadian involvement in the Nile Expedition
Nile Expedition
The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition , was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan after Britain decided to abandon the country in the face of a...
). Canadians also saw action at the Battle of Faber's Put on May 30, 1900. On November 7, 1900, the Royal Canadian Dragoons engaged the Boers in the Battle of Leliefontein
Battle of Leliefontein
The Battle of Leliefontein was an engagement between Canadian/British and Boer forces during the Second Boer War on 7 November 1900, at the Komati River south of Belfast at the present day Nooitgedacht Dam....
, where they saved British guns from capture during a retreat from the banks of the Komati River
Komati River
The Komati River is a river in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. It is long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 111 m³/s at its mouth...
.
Approximately 267 Canadians died in the War. 89 men were killed in action, 135 died of disease, and the remainder died of accident or injury. 252 were wounded.
Of all the Canadians who died during the war, the most famous was the young Lt. Harold Lothrop Borden
Harold Lothrop Borden
Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden, was from Canning, Nova Scotia and the only son of Canada's Minister of Militia and Defence, Frederick William Borden. He became the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War. Queen Victoria asked F. W...
of Canning, Nova Scotia
Canning, Nova Scotia
Canning, Nova Scotia is a village in northeastern Kings County located at the crossroads of Route 221 and Route 358.-History:The area was originally settled by Acadians who were expelled in 1755 during the Acadian Expulsion...
. Harold Borden's father was Sir Frederick W. Borden, Canada's Minister of Militia who was a strong proponent of Canadian participation in the war. Another famous Nova Scotian casualty of the war was Charles Carroll Wood
Charles Carroll Wood
Lieutenant Charles Carroll Wood was a Canadian soldier, who became famous because he was the first Canadian to die in the Second Boer War. He is the namesake of the Chaswood, Nova Scotia....
, son of the renoun Confederate naval captain John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood was an officer in the United States Navy who became a "leading Confederate naval hero" as a captain in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
and the first Canadian to die in the war.
First World War
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Halifax became a major international port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and naval
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
facility. The harbour became a major shipment point for war supplies, troop ships to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
s returning the wounded. These factors drove a major military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
, industrial and residential expansion of the city.
On Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
of a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, that had accidentally collided with a Norwegian ship in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
. Approximately 2,000 people (mostly Canadians) were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. This is still the world's largest man-made accidental explosion.
1930s
Nova Scotia was hard hit by the worldwide Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
that began in 1929 as demand plunged for coal and steel, and the prices of fish and lumber plummeted. Prosperity returned in World War II, especially as Halifax again became a major staging point for convoys to Britain. Liberal premier Angus L. Macdonald dominated the political scene as premier (1933-40 and 1945-54). Macdonald dealt with the mass unemployment of the 1930s by putting the jobless to work on highway projects. He felt direct government relief payments would weaken moral character, undermine self-respect and discourage personal initiative. However, he also faced the reality that his financially strapped government could not afford to participate fully in federal relief programs that required matching contributions from the provinces.
Labour unions
The Provincial Workmen's Association began in 1879 as a miners' union; in 1898, faced by a challenge from the Knights of LaborKnights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
, it sought to embrace unions in all the industries of the province. The first local union of the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
was established in 1908. After a struggle for control of the labour movement among the miners, the Provincial Workmen's Association was dissolved in 1917, and by 1919 the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
took control of the coal miners. Success was due to the aggressive leadership of J. B. McLachlan (1869-1937), who left the coal mines of Scotland for Canada in 1902, became a Communist (1922 to 1936) and promoted a strong union and a tradition of independent labour politics. McLachlan’s battles with the American UMWA leadership, particularly the dictatorial John L. Lewis
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960...
, demonstrated his commitment to democratic unionism for the miners and a fighting union, but Lewis won and outsted McLachlan from power.
Women played an important, though quiet, role in support of the union movement in coal towns during the troubled 1920s and 1930s. They never worked for the mines but provided psychological support especially during strikes when the pay packets did not arrive. They were the family financiers and encouraged other wives who otherwise might have coaxed their menfolk to accept company terms. Women's labor leagues organized a variety of social, educational, and fund-raising functions. Women also violently confronted "scabs", policemen, and soldiers. They had to stretch the food dollar and show inventiveness in clothing their families.
World War 2
During World War 2,thousands of Nova Scotians went overseas. One Nova Scotian, Mona Louise ParsonsMona Louise Parsons
Mona Louise Parsons actress, nurse, member of Dutch resistance. Mona Parsons was a member of the Dutch resistance and became the only Canadian woman to be imprisoned by the Nazis...
, joined the Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, summitting in over 300,000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60,000 to 200,000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly...
and was eventually captured and imprisoned by the Nazis for almost four years.
Since 1945
After the war Macdonald initiated large-scale spending programs for such services as health, education, labor union protection measures, and pensions.Conservative Robert L. Stanfield served as premier during 1956-67. The pragmatic Stanfield, though in favor of some government intervention in economic affairs, was cautious about social policy and was unwilling to promote the welfare state. Nevertheless, new hospitals were built, funded by a sales tax. After 1960 there was increased emphasis on provincial assistance for local municipalities in health and education, with finances for university expansion. Generally, Stanfield, though a conservative, took a positive view of the state's role in helping citizens overcome poverty, ill-health, and discrimination and accepted the need to raise taxes to pay for such services.
See also
- Nova Scotia Federation of LabourNova Scotia Federation of LabourThe Nova Scotia Federation of Labour is the Nova Scotia provincial trade union federation of the Canadian Labour Congress.It was founded in 1956, and has a membership of 70,000. Its conventions are held every two years, normally in October...
- List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Nova Scotia
- History of Acadia