New England Planters

Last updated
Acadian Memorial Cross and the New England Planters Monument, Hortonville, Nova Scotia GrandPreMonuments.jpg
Acadian Memorial Cross and the New England Planters Monument, Hortonville, Nova Scotia

The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor (and subsequently governor) of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) of the Acadian Expulsion.

Contents

History

Eight thousand Planters (roughly 2,000 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 and in the southern counties of what is now New Brunswick but was then part of Nova Scotia. Most of the fishermen went to the South Shore of Nova Scotia, where they got the same amount of land as the farmers. Many fishermen wanted to move there, especially since they were already fishing off the Nova Scotia coast.

The movement of some 2,000 families from New England to Nova Scotia in the early 1760s was a small part of the much larger migration of the estimated 66,000 who moved to New York's Mohawk River Valley, to New Hampshire, and to what later became the states of Vermont and Maine. From 1760 to 1775, some 54 new towns were established in Vermont, 100 in New Hampshire, 94 in Maine, and 14 in Nova Scotia. Land scarcity was the principal cause and free land the attraction, but the defeat of French power in North America, achieved in 1758 to 1760, explains the timing. [1]

Planters' Barracks, Starr's Point, Nova Scotia PlantersBarracksNovaScotia.jpg
Planters' Barracks, Starr's Point, Nova Scotia

The Planters were the first major group of English-speaking immigrants in Canada who did not come directly from Great Britain. Most of the Planters were Protestant Congregationalists, in contrast to the largely-Catholic Acadians.

The Planters in the Annapolis Valley revived the dykeland agriculture, which had been created by the Acadians in the Annapolis Valley and later expanded it with ambitious projects like the Wellington Dyke. The Planters were soon joined by Ulster and Yorkshire emigrants from Britain and United Empire Loyalists, who left New York and 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 many still-existing communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and their political and religious traditions (see Henry Alline) 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. [2]

The Planters have been the subject of considerable scholarly research in recent years, which has been led by a series of Planters Studies conferences at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. They are also commemorated by a Parks Canada exhibit at the Kings County Museum in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annapolis Valley</span> Economic region in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. 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. Statistics Canada defines the Annapolis Valley as an economic region, composed of Annapolis County, Kings County, and Hants County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Maritimes</span> Region of Atlantic Canada

The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Canada's population. Together with Canada's easternmost province, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Maritime provinces make up the region of Atlantic Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfville</span> Town in Nova Scotia, Canada

Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acadians</span> Descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia

The Acadians are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the descendants of a few Acadians who escaped the Expulsion of the Acadians re-settled. Most Acadians in Canada continue to live in majority French-speaking communities, notably those in New Brunswick where Acadians and Francophones are granted autonomy in areas such as education and health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acadia</span> Colony of New France in northeastern North America

Acadia was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early 18th centuries, Norridgewock on the Kennebec River and Castine at the end of the Penobscot River were the southernmost settlements of Acadia. The French government specified land bordering the Atlantic coast, roughly between the 40th and 46th parallels. It was eventually divided into British colonies. The population of Acadia included the various indigenous First Nations that comprised the Wabanaki Confederacy, the Acadian people and other French settlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hants County, Nova Scotia</span> County in Nova Scotia, Canada

Hants County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings County, Nova Scotia</span> County in Nova Scotia, Canada

Kings County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 62,914 in the 2021 Census, Kings County is the third most populous county in the province. It is located in central Nova Scotia on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, with its northeastern part forming the western shore of the Minas Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minas Basin</span>

The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annapolis Royal</span> Town in Nova Scotia, Canada

Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

New Minas is a village located in the eastern part of Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2011, the population was 5,135.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia</span> Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

Grand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great/Large Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin surrounded by extensive dyked farm fields, framed by the Gaspereau and Cornwallis Rivers. The community was made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Evangeline and is today home to the Grand-Pré National Historic Site. On June 30, 2012, the Landscape of Grand-Pré was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Alline</span> American–Canadian minister, evangelist, and writer

Henry Alline was a minister, evangelist, and writer who became known as "the Apostle of Nova Scotia."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)</span>

Fort Edward is a National Historic Site of Canada in Windsor, Nova Scotia, and was built during Father Le Loutre's War (1749-1755). The British built the fort to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The Fort is most famous for the role it played both in the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755) and in protecting Halifax, Nova Scotia from a land assault in the American Revolution. While much of Fort Edward has been destroyed, including the officers' quarters and barracks, the blockhouse that remains is the oldest extant in North America. A cairn was later added to the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Acadians</span> Acadia viewed from a historical point of view

The Acadians are the descendants of 17th and 18th century French settlers in parts of Acadia in the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé peninsula in eastern Québec, and the Kennebec River in southern Maine. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians primarily came from the southwestern and southern regions of France, historically known as Occitania, while some Acadians are claimed to be descended from the Indigenous peoples of the region. Today, due to assimilation, some Acadians may share other ethnic ancestries as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of New Brunswick</span> Historical account of New Brunswick, Canada

The history of New Brunswick covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day New Brunswick were inhabited for millennia by the several First Nations groups, most notably the Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, and the Passamaquoddy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Nova Scotia</span> Aspect of history

The history of Nova Scotia covers a period from thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Nova Scotia were inhabited by the Mi'kmaq people. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the region was claimed by France and a colony formed, primarily made up of Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. This time period involved six wars in which the Mi'kmaq along with the French and some Acadians resisted the British invasion of the region: the French and First Nation Wars, Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War. During Father Le Loutre's War, the capital was moved from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, to the newly established Halifax, Nova Scotia (1749). The warfare ended with the Burying the Hatchet ceremony (1761). After the colonial wars, New England Planters and Foreign Protestants immigrated to Nova Scotia. After the American Revolution, Loyalists immigrated to the colony. During the nineteenth century, Nova Scotia became self-governing in 1848 and joined the Canadian Confederation in 1867.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwallis River</span> River in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 48 kilometres (30 mi) through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower portion of the river beginning at Kentville is tidal and there are extensive tidal marshes in the lower reaches. In its upper watershed at Berwick, the river draws on the Caribou Bog while a longer branch continues to the official source, a stream on the North Mountain at Grafton.

Esther Isabelle Clark Wright, was a notable Atlantic Canadian historian who at the end of her life received the Order of Canada for her lifetime contributions to Canadian scholarship. She published many works in relation to her historic and genealogical research and was best known for her pioneer and genealogy studies of Nova Scotia & New Brunswick, Canada.

Scotch Village is an unincorporated community on the Kennetcook River in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of West Hants. This area was part of Newport Township at the time of settlement primarily by Rhode Island Planters in the early 1760s. It was referred to as “Scotchman’s Dyke” or “Scotch Village”, due to settlement of early families of Scottish descent. Prior to the arrival of the Planters, Scotch Village had been the home of Mi'kmaq and Acadians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay of Fundy campaign</span> Campaign during the French and Indian War

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 Fort Beauséjour (1755). The campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand-Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Annapolis Royal. Approximately 7,000 Acadians were deported to the New England colonies.

References

  1. Gwyn, Julian (2010). Planter Nova Scotia 1760-1815: Falmouth Township. Wolfville: Kings-Hants Heritage Connection. p. 17.
  2. Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (27 July 2004). "How the Bluenose Got Its Name". Province of Nova Scotia.
  3. "The history of Kings County, Nova Scotia, heart of the Acadian land" . Retrieved 7 October 2016.