New England Planters
Encyclopedia
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...
colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the...
(and subsequently governor) 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...
, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by 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...
of the Acadian Expulsion. Eight thousand Planters (roughly 2000 families), largely farmers and fishermen, arrived from 1759 to 1768 to take up the offer. The farmers settled mainly on the rich farmland of the Annapolis Valley
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...
and in the southern counties of what is now 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...
but was then part of Nova Scotia. Most of the fishermen went to the South Shore
South Shore (Nova Scotia)
The South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Although it has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries, it is generally understood as the Atlantic coast running southwest from Halifax Harbour to the end of Shelburne County...
of Nova Scotia, where they got the same amount of land as the farmers did. Many fishermen especially wanted to move there because they were already fishing off the Nova Scotia coast.
The movement of some 2000 families from New England to Nova Scotia in the early 1760s was a small part of the estimated migration of 66,000 people to New York's Mohawk River valley, to New Hampshire, and to what later became the states of Vermont and Maine. In the year 1760 to 1775, some fifty-four new towns were established in Vermont, 100 in New Hamphsire, ninety-four in Maine, and fourteen in Nova Scotia. Land scarcity was the principal cause, free land the attraction, while the defeat of French power in North America, achieved in 1758-60, explains the timing.
The Planters were the first major group of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking immigrants in Canada who did not come directly from Great Britain. Most of the Planters were Protestant Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
s, in contrast to the largely Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Acadians. They were soon joined by Ulster and Yorkshire emigrants
Yorkshire Emigration to Nova Scotia
Migration from Yorkshire to Nova Scotia occurred between 1772 and 1775 and involved an approximate one thousand migrants from mainly Yorkshire, England arriving in Nova Scotia to settle the colony some years following the expulsion of its Acadian population....
from Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and United Empire Loyalists
United 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...
who left the New England colonies after the American War of Independence in 1783. The latter influxes greatly diminished the Planter political influence in Nova Scotia. However the Planters laid the foundations of a large number of the present day communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and their political and religious traditions had important influences on the culture of the region. In Nova Scotia, the New England Planters inspired the provincial nickname of "Bluenoser" as the term was first used to distinguish Planter candidates from Loyalist candidates in elections after the American Revolution.
The Planters have been the subject of considerable scholarly research in recent years, led by a series of Planters Studies conferences at Acadia University
Acadia University
Acadia University is a predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level...
in Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
Wolfville is a small town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. As of 2006, the population was 3,772....
. They are also commemorated by a Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
exhibit at the Kings County Museum
Kings County Museum
The Kings County Museum is a museum located in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada exploring the history of Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is housed in the restored 1903 Kings County Courthouse. The Museum hosts a variety of permanent and changing displays about Kings County...
in Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....
.
See also
- Planters and Pioneers