The History

The Micmac Indians inhabited Nova Scotia long before the first explorers arrived from Europe. The first visitors were Norsemen in the early 11th century, and in 1497, Italian explorer John Cabot had noted the rich fishing grounds in the area.

In the 17th century, all of Nova Scotia, as well as parts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Maine, which made up an area known as Acadia, were settled by the French. Pierre de Monts established the first successful agricultural settlement in Canada at Port Royal in 1605.

In the next century, the British and the French feuded over the area. Control passed back and forth until 1713, when Acadia was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Utrecht. Conflict between Britain and France continued. The Acadians, mainly settlers from France, tried to convince both sides of their neutrality, but by 1755 the British had decided that the Acadians posed too great a security threat. They expelled all Acadians who would not swear allegiance to the British Crown. Many returned to France, some settled in New

France and others moved to the United States. Over time, many would return to their Acadian homeland.

In 1783, thousands of United Empire Loyalists from the newly independent New England states immigrated to Nova Scotia. They wanted to remain British despite the formation of the United States of America. The influx of the Loyalists doubled Nova Scotia's population, and in 1784, it was partitioned to create the new colony of New Brunswick.

In 1848, largely through the efforts of newspaper owner and patriot Joseph Howe, Nova Scotia became the first British colony to win responsible government. Nova Scotia was one of the four provinces that constituted the new federation called the Dominion of Canada in 1867. At that time, the province was at the forefront of international shipbuilding and the lumber and fish trades. Confederation helped to finance the railroad to Quebec City, which opened the province to the interior of the continent. The First and Second World Wars emphasized the importance of Halifax, Nova Scotia's capital, as a staging point for convoys and confirmed it as one of the world's major ports.