Where it all began
Marking Nova Scotia’s 400th anniversary with a visit to Annapolis Royal
I’m making my way along the tops of the steep, grassy slopes of Fort Anne at the south end of present-day Annapolis Royal. These high berms or “glacis” were designed to absorb cannon fire and leave attacking forces exposed, but today, they’re the best vantage point for views of the fort and the adjacent Annapolis River.
The path leads down between the slopes, then up to the top again where heavy cannons on wheeled carriages point downriver. Buried beneath my feet are the ruins of the star-shaped fort built in the early 18th century.
Interpretive plaques, displays and remnants of the former stronghold tell the story of the fort, but also of the people and the structures that came before. It’s on one of these plaques that I make a discovery.
There’s something buried even deeper than the remains of Fort Anne, and it’s nothing less than the story of Nova Scotia’s origins.
I read the plaque entitled ‘Charles Fort’ several times to make sure I fully understand its significance.
“A group of about 70 Scottish settlers began a colony here in 1629, eight years after King James I granted ‘Nova Scotia’ to Sir William Alexander. The Scots built a small fort, the remains of which lie beneath Fort Anne. Despite many deaths during the first winter, the surviving colonists thrived on agriculture, fishing, and trade with the Mi’kmaq.”
Interesting, but it’s the last sentence that really grabs me.
“Although the colonization attempt was short-lived,” reads the plaque, “the Province of Nova Scotia owes its name, flag and coat of arms to this early Scottish settlement.”
Doing the math, I realize that King James I granted Nova Scotia to the Scotsman in 1621. That makes this year Nova Scotia’s 400th anniversary.
Of course, no one asked the Mi’kmaq if they were OK with a foreign king granting their lands to a foreign courtier, neither of whom ever set foot on the continent.
Mi’kmaq traditional territory known as Mi’kma’ki encompassed what is now the Maritimes and parts of New England. For over 10,000 years, they’ve called this region home. Without their help, few - if any - of the earliest European settlers would have survived.
HOW IT BEGAN
Sir William Alexander sent his son of the same name and his son’s expedition partner, James Stewart, to set up shop on the ground beneath my feet, known at the time as Port Royal. Most of those 70 Scots returned to Scotland just three years after they arrived because France reclaimed the region in 1632.
It turns out Sir William Alexander the elder was more interested in poetry and teaching than he was in colonization. He even had a hand in crafting the King James version of the psalms of King David. Sir William lost his fortune because of the failed settlement.
It could have been very different. Just 16 years before, in 1605, Samuel de Champlain built a settlement on the opposite bank. His fort burned in 1613. A replica of it, called l’habitation, now stands near that spot and is well worth a visit. These first French settlers were even less successful than the Scots, many of them dying in this early attempt at year-round occupation of Mi’kmaq territory.
Instead, here we are, exactly 400 years after Sir William Alexander was granted this land in a place he called Nova Scotia, Latin for New Scotland.
A coat of arms followed. It’s the oldest of any Canadian province and the oldest British coat of arms outside Great Britain. The design is an expression of friendship between Scotland and the Indigenous inhabitants of what Europeans thought of as a new world.
An Indigenous man holding an arrow stands next to a unicorn borrowed from the royal arms of Scotland. A bare hand embraces an armoured hand over a shield with a blue cross on a white background, the emblem on the provincial flag and the reversal of the Scottish flag. A Scottish thistle and mayflowers—nova Scotia’s provincial flower—decorate the scene.
BRITISH CONNECTIONS
By 1710, what is now the Town of Annapolis Royal was a British stronghold surrounded by French settlers and Mi’kmaq encampments. Today, that triple heritage is evident throughout the Annapolis Valley from here to its opposite end at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Grand-pré.
British heritage is stamped on Annapolis Royal. The name of the town, the county, the river and the Annapolis Valley honour Queen Anne (1665-1714), who created Great Britain by uniting England and Scotland. Route 8 into town becomes St. George Street, named for the patron saint of England. A stroll through town leads me to Victoria Street, Drury Lane and Prince Street.
Ornate Victorian-style houses from the days of wealthy sea captains, shipbuilders and merchants are one of the town’s great attractions. So are live performances and movies at Kings Theatre and a visit to the 17acre Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Of the many excellent dining spots in town, The Whiskey Teller on Church Street is a favourite. It’s in an 1884 heritage building that originally housed one of the first branches of the Bank of Nova Scotia. It’s where I end my visit to Annapolis Royal, sipping a Port Royal Pilsner, made just around the corner at Annapolis Brewing.
I take the time to contemplate the anniversary that no one seems to be acknowledging, let alone celebrating. Given the 400 years of betrayals by settlers of the promises of friendship emblazoned on that coat of arms, perhaps we shouldn’t celebrate.
Perhaps it’s too obscure an event. Maybe the creation of Nova Scotia in 1621 amounts to little more than a branding exercise.
And yet, it was 400 years ago this year that the identity of this province was conceived.
I believe that’s an event worthy of a toast, so I raise my glass of Port Royal to its namesake, the birthplace of Nova Scotia.