Halifax, Nova Scotia: History
Before the mid-1700s, when a European (British) settlement was established at Halifax, the Colony of Nova Scotia had been administered from Annapolis Royal, near the Western opening of the Bay of Fundy. However, in 1749, King George II ordered Edward Cornwallis to establish Halifax as a new capital. Equipped with 13 transports and a sloop of war, Cornwallis founded the Town of Halifax on what is now known as the Halifax Peninsula, on June 21, 1749.
The establishment of Halifax marked the beginning of Father Le Loutre's War. By unilaterally establishing Halifax, the British were violating treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726) that were signed after Father Rale's War. Cornwallis brought along 1,176 settlers and their families. To protect the new Protestant settlements from Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and French attacks, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (Citadel Hill, 1749), Bedford (Fort Sackville, 1749), Dartmouth (1750), and Lawrencetown (1754), all areas within the modern-day Municipality.
The community of St. Margaret's Bay, also in the Municipality, was first settled by French-speaking Foreign Protestants at French Village, Nova Scotia, who migrated from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, during the American Revolution.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Halifax grew to become a centre of government (particularly military), trade, and shipbuilding. The completion of the Intercolonial Railway in 1876 helped make Halifax a major gateway for Atlantic trade—particularly in winter, when ice made ports on the St. Lawrence River inaccessible.
This connection to trans-Atlantic trade and military enterprises bore deadly consequences on December 6, 1917. In one of the great disasters in Canadian history, the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship carrying munitions, collided with the Belgian Relief vessel SS Imo in "The Narrows" between upper Halifax Harbour and Bedford Basin. The resulting Halifax Explosion devastated the Richmond District in the North End of Halifax, killing about 2,000 people and injuring nearly 9,000 others. The blast was the largest artificial explosion before the development of nuclear weapons. Aid came from Boston, strengthening the bond between the two coastal cities.
In addition to the capital City of Halifax (on the western side of the harbour), the City of Dartmouth (eastern side) and the Town of Bedford (northern tip of the Bedford Basin) grew up through the 19th and 20th centuries. Halifax County was originally understood as a higher-level geographic unit responsible for, among other things, court services throughout both the incorporated Cities and Town, and the unorganized territory of the remainder of the county. However, by the mid-20th century, this structure had evolved such that "the County" was a distinct municipality including only the areas that were not included within the Cities and Town.
These four municipalities (City of Halifax, City of Dartmouth, Town of Bedford, Halifax County) coordinated delivery of some services through a body known as the Metropolitan Authority starting in the late 1970s, but remained independent municipal bodies until April 1, 1996, when the provincial government amalgamated all municipal governments within Halifax County to create the Halifax Regional Municipality. …