Indians
...In 1993 Harper's Bazaar described it as "the very anatomy of a hip city", and in 1917 over 2,000 people called it a final resting place. This is Halifax, Nova Scotia
the Mi'kmaq ranged over most of the Maritimes and Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula, speaking the Algonquin tongue
The aboriginal people of the Maritimes wintered on the Fundy side of the province, hunting deer and moose on expertly crafted snowshoes. When the ice broke in spring they traveled to traditional locations along the coast like Chebucto, 'the biggest harbour' to summer and fish. Their weirs harvested the runs of herring and smelts. They developed barbed hooks and lines to land salmon and larger sea mammals. Each spring when they had migrated to the coast the Mi'kmaq celebrated spring with a feast on the harbour shore.
When Europeans arrived they encountered the tribes at these traditional locations and recognized an affinity between the spring feast of the Mi'kmaq and their own Easter celebration. These rites of spring which celebrated the renewal of life, linked the two cultures and became a holy day bequeathed with the name St. Aspinquid of Agamenticus.
When Port Royal fell to the British in 1707, the French explored the Atlantic shore of Nova Scotia, eager to maintain a presence in Acadia. Two years before the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht snatched the mainland out of King Louis' hands, the royal engineer, De Labat was sent to Chebucto with instructions to design a mighty French fortress.
According to De Labat's plan, McNab's Island is the focal point of the town. With the primary fortification positioned on the opposite shore where York Redoubt is today, satellite batteries were planned at the fishing grounds, at Eastern Passage and at Point Pleasant Park to track movements up and down the Arm.
In the race to rule Acadia, French ambition to build a military stronghold was implemented up the...
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