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In 1621, William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, was granted permission by King James VI of Scotland and I of England to establish a settlement in Acadian Canada. James VI and I was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. He became King of England after the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
The new settlement was called 'Nova Scotia' - New Scotland.
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In 1622, the first wave of settlers arrived in Canada. They were met by a wall of dense forest. The settlers had to clear the land before they could begin building proper shelters against the upcoming winter. Many of them lacked the practical skills they needed to build a successful colony. The Scots settlers' first winter was wretched. Their homes were poorly insulated against the bitter cold and they were plagued by disease and scurvy. Thirty of the original 70 settlers died before their first spring.
War with France made the colony impossible to maintain. French blockades stopped supplies from coming in and overland attacks from nearby French colonies made life unbearable for the Scots settlers. Many returned home or moved south to New England. It was almost a hundred years before a Scots settlement was re-established in Nova Scotia.
In 1773, the Scots passenger ship 'Hector' arrived at Pictou, Nova Scotia, carrying 170 Highlanders, and 10 men from Greenock. Most of the immigrants were Gaelic speakers.
The settlers had been encouraged to emigrate by the offer of free passage, a year’s supplies and free land grants. They spent 11 long weeks at sea suffering outbreaks of dysentery and smallpox that claimed the lives of 18 children.
When they arrived at Pictou, they set about building shelters against the upcoming winter, but the supplies they had been promised never came.
For a second time, a new Scots colony was forced to endure a desperate winter on the shores of Nova Scotia, but this time the settlers stayed. Once a Gaelic-speaking colony had been established, entire Highland villages began arriving.
In 1812, Hector, 22nd Chief of the Clan McLean, moved to Nova Scotia with 500 of his clansmen and neighbours.
Around 15,000 Scots, most from the Highlands and Islands, came to Canada between 1770 and 1815. They started a new life in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Gaelic became the third most common European language spoken in Canada.
The flag of Nova Scotia is a combination of the flags of Scotland: the Lion Rampant and the Saltire.
Since the arrival of the first Scots, Nova Scotians have maintained their Scottish roots. The Scots boat builders who settled in Nova Scotia developed fishing, farming and shipwright traditions that endure today. The Gaelic language and traditional music still flourish in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.
The images used above are licensed under Creative Commons on Flickr by the following photographers: Zach Bonnell, Bob Jagendorf and learningful_rcb.
The image of the Badge of the Order of Baronets of Nova Scotia is courtesy of National Museums Scotland.
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