Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia, Latin for New Scotland, is one of three provinces in eastern Canada that
comprise the Maritimes, along with
New Brunswick and
Prince Edward Island. The first settlers to the area known as the Maritimes were Micmac, who established
European trade, largely with the French and English. However, a European presence can be traced back to circa 1000 AD, at the Norse settlement
now known as L'Anse aux Meadows.
Novia Scotia is the home to the Mi'kmaq people. In 1497, John Cabot landed on Nova Scotia shores, and boatloads of European fishers
and explorers plied nearby waters until the establishment of Port-Royal in 1605, which
served as a prologue to the Acadian saga. Nova Scotia was thereafter a cauldron of trade conflict, immigration, exodus, and
political drama. It confederated in 1867 to become one of the first four provinces
of Canada. A year later, however, Nova Scotia parliament motioned to refuse the legitimacy
of Confederation, but as deep and long as the the anti-Confederation movement ran,
it did not in the years that followed gain the political traction necessary for Nova
Scotia to shake loose.