Editing Hants County, Nova Scotia (section)

=== 19th century - shipbuilding and confederation ===

==== Plaster War ====
Windsor developed its [[gypsum]] deposits, usually selling it to American markets at [[Passamaquoddy Bay]]. Often this trade was illegal. In 1820 an effort to stop this smuggling trade resulted in the "Plaster War", in which local smugglers resoundingly defeated the efforts of [[New Brunswick]] officials to bring the trade under their control.<ref>Smith, Joshua (2007). Borderland Smuggling: Patriots, Loyalists, and Illicit Trade in the Northeast, 1780-1820. Gainesville, FL: UPF. pp. passim. {{ISBN|0-8130-2986-4}}.</ref>

==== Shipbuilding ====
Productive timber lands and tidal building sites made Hants County an important shipbuilding centre in the 19th century. Loyalist merchant [[Abraham Cunard]] was an early shipbuilder in the county. Cunard's efforts were surpassed by much larger yards by the mid 19th century, including the [[William Dawson Lawrence]] shipyard in [[Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia|Maitland]] which built the ''[[William D. Lawrence (ship)|William D. Lawrence]]'', the largest wooden ship ever built in Canada, and [[Ezra Churchill]]'s in Hantsport.

====Great Hants Campaign (1869)====
[[Image:Joehowe.JPG|thumb|[[Joseph Howe]], MP for Hants County]]
The Honourable [[Joseph Howe]] was the first member of parliament for Hants County (1867).<ref name="ReferenceA">Joseph Howe: The Briton Becomes Canadian, 1848-1873 By J. Murray Beck</ref> He campaigned in the county with an agenda to punish those politicians who have forced Nova Scotia to participate in the formation, and [[Canadian Confederation|become a part of Canada]] without a mandate or referendum from the people. Over the next two years in office, deciding not to mobilize to join America or become a colony independent of Britain, Howe determined that Nova Scotia's best option was to remain in Canada and to fight for "better terms. While most Nova Scotians remained supportive of the [[Anti-Confederation Party|Anti-Confederation Campaign]] during this time period, Howe ran in Hants County bi-election of 1869 to get a mandate from the people to see if they wanted him to continue to support Nova Scotia's entry into Canada. What ensued was one of the most expensive political campaigns in Nova Scotia's history.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The whole country watched to see if Howe would be returned to Ottawa to lead Nova Scotia into Confederation on the best terms possible. Howe toured the whole county and eventually won, which eventually led to all of Nova Scotia accepting Canada.<ref>Joseph Schull. "The Night They Killed Joe Howe" ''Ottawa Citizen'' - Jun 30, 1956</ref>