Editing Nova Scotia (section)

===European settlement===
The first Europeans to settle the area were the French, who sailed into the Annapolis Basin in 1604, but chose to settle at [[Saint Croix Island, Maine|Saint Croix Island]] in Maine instead. They abandoned the Maine settlement the following year and, in 1605, established a settlement at [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port Royal]], which grew into modern-day [[Annapolis Royal]]. This would be the first permanent European settlement in what would later become Canada. The settlement was in the Mi'kmaw district of Kespukwitk and was the founding settlement of what would become [[Acadia]].<ref name="Morton1999">{{cite book |first=Desmond |last=Morton |title=Canada: A Millennium Portrait |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOxGQZg0KtoC&pg=PT19 |date=30 November 1999 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1-4597-1085-6 |page=19 |access-date=31 October 2015 |archive-date=18 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118083129/https://books.google.com/books?id=GOxGQZg0KtoC&pg=PT19 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/acadian/ Nova Scotia Archives – An Acadian Parish Remembered] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116002459/http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/acadian/ |date=16 January 2013 }}. Gov.ns.ca (1 December 2009). Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref>

In 1621, King [[James VI of Scotland]] granted a charter to allow a Scottish colony to be founded in North America. The charter which was granted by the King covered the area of the [[The Maritimes|Maritime Provinces]] and the [[Gaspé peninsula]], whilst the French had claimed territory in [[Acadia]]. The charter granted [[Sir William Alexander]], a Scottish noble, powers to establish a system of government, full rights over fishing and minerals and the power to execute law in the new colony. A Scottish colony was eventually established in 1629 following the arrival of around seventy Scots to settle in the area known as "New Scotland".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parks Canada Agency |first1=Government of Canada |title=Site history |url=https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/fortanne/culture/charles-fort/histoire-history |website=parks.canada.ca |access-date=7 December 2024 |date=24 November 2022}}</ref> "New Scotland" was captured by the French in 1632, with the Scots who had colonised the area forced to return to Scotland after the French occupation. Following a prolonged period of change between the French and British, Nova Scotia eventually returned to the British (which by now included Scotland as one of the [[countries of the United Kingdom]] following the [[Treaty of Union]]). As a result, many Scots grasped the opportunity to once again settle in Nova Scotia.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Colonisation of Nova Scotia |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Colonisation-of-Nova-Scotia/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=7 December 2024}}</ref>

Warfare was common in Nova Scotia during the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Landy |first1=Nicolas |last2=Chiasson |first2=Pere Anselme |title=History of Acadia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/history-of-acadia |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=25 November 2024 |date=August 19, 2013}}</ref> During the first 80 years the French and Acadians lived in Nova Scotia, nine significant military clashes took place as the English, Dutch, French and Mi'kmaq fought for possession of the area. These encounters happened at Port Royal, [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]],<ref>Until 1784, New Brunswick administratively formed part of Nova Scotia.</ref> Cap de Sable (present-day [[Pubnico (village), Nova Scotia|Pubnico]] to [[Port La Tour, Nova Scotia]]), [[Jemseg, New Brunswick|Jemseg]] (1674 and 1758) and [[Baleine, Nova Scotia|Baleine]] (1629). The [[Acadian Civil War]] took place from 1640 to 1645. Beginning with [[King William's War]] in 1688, a series of six wars [[Second Hundred Years' War|took place between the English and the French]], with Nova Scotia being a consistent theatre of conflict between the two powers.

====18th century====
[[File:EvacutionOfPortRoyal1710byCWJefferys.png|thumb|left|French forces withdrawing from [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port-Royal]] after being [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|defeated]] by the British in 1710]]

Hostilities between England and France in North America resumed from 1702 to 1713, known as [[Queen Anne's War]]. The [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|siege of Port Royal]] took place in 1710, ending French rule in peninsular Acadia. The subsequent signing of the [[Peace of Utrecht|Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713 formally recognized British rule in the region, while returning Cape Breton Island ({{lang|fr|Île Royale}}) and Prince Edward Island ({{lang|fr|Île Saint-Jean}}) to the French. Despite the British [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|conquest of Acadia]] in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq, who confined British forces to Annapolis and to Canso. Present-day New Brunswick formed a part of the French colony of Acadia. Immediately after the capture of Port Royal in 1710, [[Francis Nicholson]] announced it would be renamed [[Annapolis Royal]] in honour of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]].

As a result of [[Dummer's War|Father Rale's War]] (1722–1725), the Mi'kmaq signed a series of treaties with the British in 1725. The Mi'kmaq signed a treaty of submission to the British crown.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mascarene's Treaty of 1725 |url=http://www.stmarysfirstnation.com/consult/Treaty1.pdf |access-date=15 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010214841/http://www.stmarysfirstnation.com/consult/Treaty1.pdf |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mascarene's Treaty of 1725 |url=https://www.apcfnc.ca/images/uploads/mascarenestreaty.pdf |access-date=20 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719200134/https://www.apcfnc.ca/images/uploads/mascarenestreaty.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, conflict between the Acadians, Mi'kmaq, French and the British persisted in the following decades with [[King George's War]] (1744–1748).

[[Father Le Loutre's War]] (1749–1755) began when [[Edward Cornwallis]] arrived to establish [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] with 13 transports on 21 June 1749.<ref>Grenier, John. ''The Far Reaches of Empire. War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008</ref><ref>Thomas Beamish Akins. ''History of Halifax,'' Brookhouse Press. 1895. (2002 edition), p. 7</ref> A General Court, made up of the governor and the council, was the highest court in the colony at the time.<ref name=nscourts/> [[Jonathan Belcher (jurist)|Jonathan Belcher]] was sworn in as chief justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on 21 October 1754.<ref name=nscourts>{{Cite web |url=http://www.courts.ns.ca/history/timeline.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017110236/http://www.courts.ns.ca/history/timeline.htm |url-status=dead |title=Timeline History of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court |archive-date=17 October 2013 |access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> The first legislative assembly in Halifax, under the Governorship of [[Charles Lawrence (British Army officer)|Charles Lawrence]], met on 2 October 1758.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nslegislature.ca/legc/index.htm |title=Statutes at Large of Nova Scotia |volume=1: 1758–1804. |date=24 March 2017 |access-date=23 December 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202113622/http://nslegislature.ca/legc/index.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[French and Indian War]] of 1754–1763 (the North American theatre of the [[Seven Years' War]]), the British [[Expulsion of the Acadians|deported the Acadians]] and recruited [[New England Planters]] to resettle the colony. The 75-year period of war ended with the [[Peace and Friendship Treaties|Halifax Treaties]] between the British and the Mi'kmaq (1761). After the war, some Acadians were allowed to return.

[[File:Deportation Grand-Pré.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Expulsion of the Acadians]] in [[Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia|Grand-Pré]]. More than 80 per cent of the Acadian population was expelled from the region between 1755 and 1764.]]

In 1763, most of Acadia (Cape Breton Island, St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), and New Brunswick) became part of Nova Scotia. In 1765, the county of [[Sunbury County, Nova Scotia|Sunbury]] was created. This included the territory of present-day New Brunswick and eastern Maine as far as the [[Penobscot River]]. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Prince Edward Island {{!}} History, Population, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Prince-Edward-Island |access-date=5 February 2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en |archive-date=22 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222154921/https://www.britannica.com/place/Prince-Edward-Island |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[American Revolution]] (1775–1783) had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, with the colony initially displaying ambivalence over whether the colony should join the revolution; Rebellion flared at the [[Battle of Fort Cumberland (1776)]] and at the [[St. John River expedition|Siege of Saint John (1777)]]. Throughout the war, American [[privateer]]s devastated the maritime economy by capturing ships and looting almost every community outside of Halifax. These American raids alienated many sympathetic or neutral Nova Scotians into supporting the British. By the end of the war, Nova Scotia had outfitted numerous privateers to attack American shipping.<ref>Roger Marsters (2004). ''Bold Privateers: Terror, Plunder and Profit on Canada's Atlantic Coast'', pp. 87–89.</ref>

British military forces based at Halifax succeeded in preventing an American occupation of Nova Scotia, though the [[Royal Navy]] failed to establish naval supremacy in the region. While the British captured many American privateers in battles such as the [[Battle off Halifax (1782)|Naval battle off Halifax]] (1782), many more continued attacks on shipping and settlements until the final months of the war. The Royal Navy struggled to maintain British supply lines, defending British convoys from American and French attacks as in the fiercely fought convoy battle, the [[Action of 21 July 1781|Naval battle off Cape Breton]] (1781).

[[File:AricanNovaScotianByCaptain William Booth1788.png|thumb|left|A [[Black Loyalist]] wood cutter, at [[Shelburne, Nova Scotia]], in 1788]]

After the Americans and their French allies won at the [[siege of Yorktown]] in 1781, approximately 33,000 [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] (the King's Loyal Americans, allowed to place "[[United Empire Loyalist]]" after their names) settled in Nova Scotia (14,000 of them in what became New Brunswick) on lands granted by the Crown as some compensation for their losses. (The British administration divided Nova Scotia and hived off Cape Breton and New Brunswick in 1784.) The Loyalist exodus created new communities across Nova Scotia, including [[Shelburne, Nova Scotia|Shelburne]], which briefly became one of the larger British settlements in North America, and infused Nova Scotia with additional capital and skills.

The migration caused political tensions between Loyalist leaders and the leaders of the existing New England Planters settlement. The Loyalist influx also pushed Nova Scotia's 2000 Mi'kmaq People to the margins as Loyalist land grants encroached on ill-defined native lands. As part of the Loyalist migration, about 3,000 [[Black Loyalist]]s arrived; they founded the largest free Black settlement in North America at [[Birchtown, Nova Scotia|Birchtown]], near Shelburne. There are several Black Loyalists buried in unmarked graves in the [[Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)|Old Burying Ground]] in Halifax. Many Nova Scotian communities were [[Nova Scotia in the American Revolution#Loyalist settlements|settled by British regiments that fought in the war]].

In 1786, during the tenure of [[John_Parr_(colonial_governor)|Lt. Gen. John Parr]] as governor, the Colony of Nova Scotia transitioned to being the Province of Nova Scotia, with the populace gaining a higher degree of autonomy and self-governance.

====19th century====
[[File:John Christian Schetky, H.M.S. Shannon Leading Her Prize the American Frigate Chesapeake into Halifax Harbour (c. 1830).jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Shannon|1806|6}} leading the [[Capture of USS Chesapeake|captured]] {{USS|Chesapeake|1799|6}} into [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] during the [[War of 1812]]]]

During the [[War of 1812]], Nova Scotia's contribution to the British war effort involved communities either purchasing or building various privateer ships to attack U.S. vessels.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boileau |first=John |title=Half-Hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia, New England and the War of 1812 |location=Halifax |publisher=Formac Publishing |year=2005 |page=53 |isbn=9780887806575}}</ref> Perhaps the most dramatic moment in the war for Nova Scotia occurred when {{HMS|Shannon|1806|6}} escorted the captured American frigate {{USS|Chesapeake|1799|6}} into [[Halifax Harbour]] in 1813. Many of the U.S. prisoners were kept at [[Deadman's Island (Nova Scotia)|Deadman's Island]].

Nova Scotia became the first colony in [[British North America]] and in the [[British Empire]] to achieve [[responsible government]] in January–February 1848 and become [[self-governing colony|self-governing]] through the efforts of [[Joseph Howe]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Joseph Howe: The Briton Becomes Canadian, 1848–1873 |last=Beck |first=James Murray |year=1982 |volume=2 |location=Kingston & Montreal |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=0-7735-0388-9}}</ref> Nova Scotia had established [[Representative democracy|representative government]] in 1758, an achievement later commemorated by the erection of [[Sir Sandford Fleming Park|Dingle Tower]] in 1908.

Nova Scotians fought in the [[Crimean War]] of 1853–1856.<ref name="MagocsiOntario1999poiujm">{{cite book |editor-last=Magocsi |editor-first=Paul R. |title=Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples |year=1999 |publisher=Multicultural History Society of Ontario |isbn=978-0-8020-2938-6 |page=165}}</ref> The 1860 [[Sebastopol Monument|Welsford-Parker Monument]] in Halifax is the second-oldest war monument in Canada and the only Crimean War monument in North America. It commemorates the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|1854–55 Siege of Sevastopol]].

[[File:Inauguration of the Welsford-Parker Monument, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 17 July 1860 - restored.jpg|thumb|right|Inauguration of the [[Sebastopol Monument]] in 1860. The monument was built to honour Nova Scotians who fought in the [[Crimean War]].]]

Thousands of Nova Scotians fought in the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865), primarily on behalf of the [[Union (American Civil War)|North]].<ref name="Marquis, Greg 1998">
Marquis, Greg. ''In Armageddon's Shadow: The Civil War and Canada's Maritime Provinces''. McGill-Queen's University Press. 1998.</ref> The British Empire (including Nova Scotia) [[s:British proclamation of neutrality in the American Civil War|declared itself neutral]] in the conflict. As a result, Britain (and Nova Scotia) continued to trade with both the [[Confederate States of America|South]] and the North. Nova Scotia's economy boomed during the Civil War.