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travel / great places / canadian snapshots / cape breton
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Cape Breton Islands
History
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| Louisbourg fortress |
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The history of Cape Breton Island is a multicultural one. At
one time or another, it has been dominated by First Nations'
Mi'kmaq, French, British, and later predominantly Scottish peoples.
When Europeans arrived in the region, Mi'kmaq-speaking natives
occupied the coastal areas of Gaspé (now part of Quebec)
and the Maritime provinces east of New Brunswick's Saint John
River. Artifacts from what are believed to be former Mi'kmaq
camps have been found in coastal sites in Cape Breton. Before
European colonization, the Mi'kmaq frequented various river
estuaries along the Atlantic coast, living primarily on abundant
fish, clams and other shellfish. European settlers were attracted
to these same areas, drawn by the fisheries and the presence
of deep harbours from which timber and fish could be shipped.
In the early 1500s, long before European settlement, the Canso
area was an important fisheries post, as Nova Scotia's closest
land to the great North Atlantic fishing grounds.
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| Road winding along the Cabot Trail |
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Following the sighting and identification of Cape Breton Island
by European navigator John Cabot in 1497, it remained unsettled
until France staked a claim and fortified it between 1713 and
1758. In 1763, Cape Breton was ceded to Great Britain and remained
part of the colony of Nova Scotia until 1784 when it became
a separate colony. A large influx of Scottish Highlanders began
settling on Cape Breton Island after 1820, when the island rejoined
Nova Scotia. By 1840 more than 20,000 Scots had flowed into
the area, making Gaelic the third most common language spoken
in Canada in the late 1800s.
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