Sir Adams George Archibald

The region of Nova Scotia was originally populated by Mi'kmaq. Venetian Italian explorer Zuan Chabotto was the first European to explore Nova Scotia.

 

The first European settlement in Nova Scotia was made in 1605. The French, led by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts created the first capital for the colony Acadia at Port Royal. Other than a few trading posts around the province,Port Royal was the only European settlement.

 

From 1629–1632, Nova Scotia was a Scottish colony. Sir William Alexander Scotland claimed mainland Nova Scotia and settled at Port Royal, while Ochiltree claimed Île Royale and settled at Baleine, Nova Scotia. There were three battles between the Scottish and the French: the Raid on St. John (1632), the Siege of Baleine (1629) as well as Siege of Cap de Sable (1630). Nova Scotia was returned to France through a treaty.

 

The American Revolution (1776–1783) had a huge impact on Nova Scotia. At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia,  over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. In the end Nova Scotia sided with the British Colonies.

 

Slavery

While many blacks who arrived in Nova Scotia during the American Revolution were free, others weren't. Black slaves also arrived in Nova Scotia as property of  American Loyalists. In 1772, prior to the American Revolution, Britain outlawed the slave trade, followed by the Knight v. Wedderburn decision in Scotland in 1778. This decision, in turn, influenced the colony of Nova Scotia. In 1788, abolitionist James Drummond MacGregor from Pictou published the first anti-slavery literature in Canada and began purchasing slaves freedom.