Halifax | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Halifax in July 2007 | |
 Map of the boundaries of the former Halifax and the relationship to the rest of theregional municipality | |
  Halifax Location of Halifax inNova Scotia | |
| Coordinates:44°40′12″N63°36′36″W / 44.67000°N 63.61000°W /44.67000; -63.61000 | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Nova Scotia |
| Municipality | Halifax |
| Founded | 21 June 1749 |
| City | 1842 |
| Amalgamated | 1 April 1996 |
| Area | |
| • Land | 61.961 km2 (23.923 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0–119 m (0–390 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 156,141 |
| • Density | 2,519/km2 (6,520/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
| Canadian Postal code | B3H to B3S |
| Area codes | 782,902 |
| GNBC Code | CAPHL |
| NTS Map | 011D12 |
TheHistory of Halifax, Nova Scotia, begins with its founding by the British in 1749 on territory gained from a war with the French. It was part of the traditional territory of the Mi'kmaq and settled by French Acadians. The new settlement was named for head of the British Board of Trade,Earl of Halifax, who authorized the settlement, becoming the colonial capital. Its location was chosen for its deep harbour. A permanent navy base, theHalifax Naval Yard was established in 1759. The city's fortunes were tied to the military presence. With the end of theFrench and Indian War in 1763, the French were no longer a threat and military personnel were deployed elsewhere. Nova Scotia was the fourteenth British colony on the Atlantic seaboard, and with political resistance on the southernThirteen Colonies that led to theAmerican War of Independence (1775-1783), the importance of Halifax to the British Empire increased. The importance remained through theWar of 1812 between Britain and the United States. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe in 1815, Britain relocated the major Royal Naval station toBermuda in 1818, leading to an economic slump in the aftermath. The city recovered economically through the efforts of local entrepreneurs. Halifax continued toplay a role in military conflicts in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The modern municipality ofHalifax,Nova Scotia was created on 1 April 1996, when theCity of Dartmouth, theCity of Halifax, theTown of Bedford, and theCounty of Halifax wereamalgamated, forming theHalifax Regional Municipality. As of 2021, the community (defined by the boundaries of the City immediately prior to the 1996 amalgamation) has 156,141 inhabitants within an area of 61.961 km2 (23.923 sq mi).
The Halifax area (and the entire peninsula of Nova Scotia) has been populated byMiꞌkmaq since long before recorded history. However, prior to European (French and British) colonization, Mi'kmaq communities were often mobile, alternating winter and summer seasons at different locations. In the area of Halifax, Mi'kmaq spent the summer on the shores of theBedford Basin, moving to points inland before the harsh Atlantic winter set in. Examples of Miꞌkmaq habitation and burial sites have been found fromPoint Pleasant Park to the north and south mainland. This seasonal cycle of Mi'kmaq occupation of this part of their lands remained largely unaffected by the initial establishment of French settlements elsewhere in the region during the 1600s and early 1700s,[citation needed] such as the colonial French capital,Port Royal. The Britishconquered Acadia in 1710, but initially made no serious attempt to settle the area.
A notable exception to this bypassing of Halifax by Europeans was the catastrophicDuc d'Anville Expedition, sent by France in 1746 to recapture of Annapolis Royal. It arrived in the Bedford Basin after a calamity-laden three-month crossing of the Atlantic, having suffered disease, lightning strikes that blew up ships, horrible storms, and attacks by the British Navy. After finally arriving in Nova Scotia, and bringing his fleet into the Bedford Basin, the Duc d'Anville died after suffering a stroke, throwing the expedition into even greater chaos. Eventually, the unfortunate expedition moved on towards Annapolis Royal, which it failed to attack, leaving the Mi'kmaq residents of the area, who had provided much-needed support to the French while they were based in the Bedford Basin, riven by the diseases (primarily typhus & typhoid fever) that had struck down many French sailors.[citation needed]
The British settled Halifax in 1749, which sparked a conflict known asFather Le Loutre's War.[1] To guard against Miꞌkmaq, Acadian, and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax(Citadel Hill) (1749), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1749),Dartmouth (1750), andLawrencetown (1754).[citation needed]
Despite theirconquest of Acadia in 1710, the British made no serious attempt to colonize Nova Scotia, aside from keeping a presence atAnnapolis Royal, the former French capital, andCanso. The peninsula was dominated by Catholic Acadians and Miꞌkmaq residents. The British founded Halifax in order to counter the influence of France'sFortress of Louisbourg at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River[2] after returning the fortress to French control as part of theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748).[3]
The British founded the Halifax under the direction of theBoard of Trade under the command of GovernorEdward Cornwallis in 1749.[4] The founding of Halifax and the influx of British Protestant settlers led to Father Le Loutre's War.[1] During the war, Miꞌkmaq andAcadians raided the capital region 13 times.[citation needed]
The first European settlement in the community was an Acadian community at present-dayLawrencetown. These Acadians joined theAcadian Exodus when the British established themselves onHalifax Peninsula. The establishment of theTown of Halifax, named after the BritishEarl of Halifax, in 1749 led to the colonial capital being transferred from Annapolis Royal.
The establishment of Halifax marked the beginning ofFather Le Loutre's War. The war began whenEdward Cornwallis arrived to establish Halifax with thirteen transports and asloop-of-war on June 21, 1749.[5] By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Miꞌkmaq (1726), which were signed afterFather Rale's War (1722-1725).[6] Cornwallis brought along 1,176 settlers and their families. In 1750, the sailing shipAlderney arrived with 151 immigrants. Municipal officials at Halifax decided that these new arrivals should be settled on the eastern side of Halifax Harbour.
During Father Le Loutre's War, the Miꞌkmaq and Acadians raided in the capital region (Halifax and Dartmouth) twelve times. On September 30, 1749, about forty Miꞌkmaq attacked six men who were in Dartmouth cutting trees. Four of them were killed on the spot, one was taken prisoner and one escaped.[7] Two of the men werescalped and the heads of the others were cut off. The attack was on thesawmill which was under the command of Major Gilman. Six of his men had been sent to cut wood. Four were killed and one was carried off. The other escaped and gave the alarm. A detachment of rangers was sent after the raiding party and cut off the heads of two Miꞌkmaq and scalped one.[8] This raid was the first of eight against Dartmouth.
The result of the raid, on October 2, 1749, Cornwallis offered a bounty on the head of every Miꞌkmaq. He set the amount at the same rate that the Miꞌkmaq received from the French for British scalps. As well, to carry out this task, two companies of rangers raised, one led by Captain Francis Bartelo and the other by CaptainWilliam Clapham. These two companies served alongside that of John Gorham's company. The three companies scoured the land around Halifax looking for Miꞌkmaq.[9]
In July 1750, the Miꞌkmaq killed and scalped seven men who were at work in Dartmouth.[10] Four raids were against Halifax Peninsula. The first of these was in July 1750: in the woods on peninsular Halifax, the Miꞌkmaq scalped Cornwallis' gardener, his son, and four others. They buried the son, left the gardener's body exposed, and carried off the other four bodies.[10]
In August 1750, 353 people arrived onAlderney and began the town of Dartmouth. The town was laid out in the autumn of that year.[11]The following month, on September 30, 1750, Dartmouth was attacked again by the Miꞌkmaq and five more residents were killed.[12]
In October 1750 a group of about eight men went out "to take their diversion; and as they were fowling, they were attacked by the Indians, who took the whole prisoners; scalped ... [one] with a large knife, which they wear for that purpose, and threw him into the sea ..."[13] The next year, on March 26, 1751, the Miꞌkmaq attacked again, killing fifteen settlers and wounding seven, three of which would later die of their wounds. They took six captives, and the regulars who pursued the Miꞌkmaq fell into an ambush in which they lost a sergeant killed.[14] Two days later, on March 28, 1751, Miꞌkmaq abducted another three settlers.[14]
The worst of these raids was theDartmouth Massacre (1751). Three months after the previous raid, on May 13, 1751, Broussard led sixty Miꞌkmaq and Acadians to attack Dartmouth again, in what would be known as the "Dartmouth Massacre".[15] Broussard and the others killed twenty settlers - mutilating men, women, children and babies, and took more prisoners.[16] A sergeant was also killed and his body mutilated. They destroyed the buildings. The British returned to Halifax with the scalp of one Miꞌkmaw warrior, however, they reported that they killed six Miꞌkmaq warriors.[17]
In 1751, there were two attacks onblockhouses surrounding Halifax. Miꞌkmaq attacked the North Blockhouse (located at the north end of Joseph Howe Drive) and killed the men on guard. They also attacked near the South Blockhouse (located at the south end of Joseph Howe Drive), at a sawmill on a stream flowing out ofChocolate Lake. They killed two men.[18] (Map of Halifax Blockhouses |Map 2)
In 1753, when Lawrence became governor, the Miꞌkmaq attacked again upon the sawmills near the South Blockhouse on theNorthwest Arm, where they killed three British. The Miꞌkmaq made three attempts to retrieve the bodies for their scalps.[19]
Prominent Halifax business personMichael Francklin was captured by a Miꞌkmaw raiding party in 1754 and held captive for three months.[20]
The town proved its worth as a military base in theFrench and Indian War (the North American Theatre of theSeven Years' War) as a counter to the French fortressLouisbourg in Cape Breton. Halifax provided the base for theSiege of Louisbourg (1758) and operated as a major naval base for the remainder of the war. OnGeorges Island (Nova Scotia) in the Halifax harbour, Acadians from theexpulsion were imprisoned.
On April 2, 1756, Miꞌkmaq received payment from the Governor of Quebec for twelve British scalps taken at Halifax.[21] Acadian Pierre Gautier, son ofJoseph-Nicolas Gautier, led Miꞌkmaw warriors from Louisbourg on three raids against Halifax in 1757. In each raid, Gautier took prisoners or scalps or both. The last raid happened in September and Gautier went with four Miꞌkmaq and killed and scalped two British men at the foot of Citadel Hill. (Pierre went on to participate in theBattle of Restigouche.)[22]
By June 1757, the settlers at Lawrencetown had to be withdrawn completely from the settlement ofLawrencetown (established 1754) because the number of Native raids eventually prevented settlers from leaving their houses.[23] In April 1757, a band of Acadian and Miꞌkmaw partisans raided a warehouse at near-byFort Edward, killing thirteen British soldiers and, after taking what provisions they could carry, setting fire to the building. A few days later, the same partisans also raidedFort Cumberland.[24] Because of the strength of theAcadian militia andMiꞌkmaw militia, British officerJohn Knox wrote that "In the year 1757 we were said to be Masters of the province of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, which, however, was only an imaginary possession." He continues to state that the situation in the province was so precarious for the British that the "troops and inhabitants" atFort Edward,Fort Sackville andLunenburg "could not be reputed in any other light than as prisoners."[25][26]
In nearby Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in the spring of 1759, there was another Miꞌkmaq attack onEastern Battery, in which five soldiers were killed.[27] In July 1759, Miꞌkmaq and Acadians killed five British in Dartmouth, opposite McNabb's Island.[28]
After theFrench conquered St. John's, Newfoundland in June 1762, the success galvanized both the Acadians and Natives. They began gathering in large numbers at various points throughout the province and behaving in a confident and, according to the British, "insolent fashion". Officials were especially alarmed when Natives concentrated close to the two principal towns in the province, Halifax and Lunenburg, where there were also large groups of Acadians. The government organized an expulsion of 1,300 people, shipping them to Boston. The government ofMassachusetts refused the Acadians permission to land and sent them back to Halifax.[29]
The most famous event to take place at theGreat Pontack (Halifax) was on May 24, 1758, whenJames Wolfe, who was headquartered on Hollis Street, Halifax, threw a party at the Great Pontack prior to departing for theSiege of Louisbourg (1758). Wolfe and his men purchased 70 bottles ofMadeira wine, 50 bottles ofclaret and 25 bottles ofbrandy.[30] Four days later, on May 29 the invasion fleet departed.[31] Wolfe returned to his headquarters in Halifax and the Great Pontack before hisBattle of the Plains of Abraham. By the end of the year theSambro Island Lighthouse was constructed at the harbour entrance to develop the port city's merchant and naval shipping.[32]
A permanent navy base, theHalifax Naval Yard was established in 1759. For much of this period in the early 18th century, Nova Scotia was considered a frontier posting for the British military, given the proximity to the border with French territory and potential for conflict; the local environment was also very inhospitable and many early settlers were ill-suited for the colony's wilderness on the shores of Halifax Harbour. The original settlers, who were often discharged soldiers and sailors, left the colony for established cities such asNew York and Boston or the lush plantations of the Virginia and Carolinas. However, the new city did attract New England merchants exploiting the nearby fisheries and English merchants such as Joshua Maugher who profited greatly from both British military contracts and smuggling with the French at Louisbourg. The military threat to Nova Scotia was removed following British victory over France in the Seven Years' War.
With the addition of remaining territories of the colony of Acadia, the enlarged British colony of Nova Scotia was mostly depopulated, following thedeportation of Acadian residents. In addition, Britain was unwilling to allow its residents to emigrate, this being at the dawn of theirIndustrial Revolution, thus Nova Scotia invited settlement by "foreignProtestants". The region, including its new capital of Halifax, saw a modest immigration boom comprisingGermans,Dutch,New Englanders, residents ofMartinique and many other areas. In addition to the surnames of many present-day residents of Halifax who are descended from these settlers, an enduring name in the city is the "Dutch Village Road", which led from the "Dutch Village", located inFairview. Dutch here referring to the German "Deutsch" which sounded like "dutch" to Haligonian ears.
Lawrencetown was raided numerous times during the war and eventually had to be abandoned as a result (1756). For many decades Dartmouth remained largely rural, lacking direct transportation links to the growing military and commercial presence in Halifax, except for a dedicated ferry service. The former Halifax County was one of the five original counties of Nova Scotia created by an Order in Council in 1759.
Halifax was the headquarters for the BritishRoyal Navy'sNorth American Station for sixty years (1758–1818). Halifax Harbour had served as a Royal Navy seasonal base from the founding of the city in 1749, using temporary facilities and a careening beach onGeorges Island. Land and buildings for a permanent Naval Yard were purchased in 1758 and the yard was officially commissioned in 1759. Land and buildings for a permanent Naval Yard were purchased by theRoyal Naval Dockyard, Halifax in 1758 and the Yard was officially commissioned in 1759. (The yard served as the main base for the Royal Navy in North America during theSeven Years' War, theAmerican Revolution, theFrench Revolutionary Wars and theWar of 1812. In 1818 Halifax became the summer base for thesquadron which shifted to theRoyal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda for the remainder of the year.)
After agreeing to several peace treaties, the seventy-five year period of war ended with theBurial of the Hatchet Ceremony between the British and the Mi'kmaq. On June 25, 1761,[34] a "Burying of the Hatchet Ceremony" was held at GovernorJonathan Belcher's garden on present-daySpring Garden, Halifax in front of theCourt House. (In commemoration of these treaties, Nova Scotians annually celebrateTreaty Day on October 1.)
Halifax's fortunes waxed and waned with the military needs of theempire. While it had quickly become the largest Royal Navy base on the Atlantic coast and had hosted large numbers of British army regulars, the complete destruction of Louisbourg in 1760 removed the threat of French attack. With peace in 1763, the garrison and naval squadron was dramatically reduced. With naval vessels no longer carrying the mail, Halifax merchants banded together in 1765 to buildNova Scotia Packet aschooner to carry mail to Boston, latercommissioned as the naval schoonerHMS Halifax, the first warship built in English Canada.[35] Meanwhile, Boston and New England turned their eyes west, to the French territory now available due to the defeat ofMontcalm at thePlains of Abraham. By the mid-1770s the town was feeling its first of many peacetime slumps.
TheAmerican Revolutionary War was not at first uppermost in the minds of most residents of Halifax. The government did not have enough money to pay for oil for theSambro lighthouse. The militia was unable to maintain a guard, and was disbanded.[when?] TheSugar Act, or American Revenue Act, of April 1764 was the first from the Parliament at Westminster to explicitly state that its purpose was not merely to regulate trade but to raise revenue, and, toward this end, the Act established a viceadmiralty court in Halifax for the purpose of cracking down on alleged smugglers evading customs. Provisions were so scarce during the winter of 1775 thatQuebec had to send flour to feed the town. While Halifax was remote from the troubles in the rest of the American colonies, martial law was declared in November 1775 to combat lawlessness.
On March 30, 1776,General William Howe arrived, having been driven from Boston by rebel forces. He brought with him 200 officers, 3000 men, and over 4,000loyalist refugees, and demanded housing and provisions for all. This was merely the beginning of the capital city of Halifax's role in the war. Throughout the conflict, and for a considerable time afterwards, thousands more refugees, often "in a destitute and helpless condition"[36] had arrived in Halifax or other ports in Nova Scotia.
During the American War of Independence, Halifax became the staging point of many attacks on rebel-controlled areas in theThirteen Colonies, and was the city to which British forces from Boston and New York were sent after the Americans retook those major cities.
After the War, tens of thousands of Loyalists from the United States flooded Halifax, and many of their descendants still reside in the city today. The number of Loyalist refugees peaked with the orderly evacuation of New York, and continued until well after the formal conclusion of war in 1783. Although Halifax officials expected an influx of refugees and made some preparation of their arrival, the numbers who came were far beyond the city's provisions for them. Many had been propertied members of society in the former American colonies, who arrived with very little of their material wealth.
At the instigation of the newly arrived Loyalists who desired greater local control, Britain subdivided Nova Scotia in 1784 with the creation of the colonies ofNew Brunswick andCape Breton Island. This political had the effect of considerably diluting Halifax's power in the region, but it remained capital of the province and the naval station remained the base for the Royal Navy until the base was moved to Bermuda in 1818.
Nearby Dartmouth continued to develop slowly. In 1785, after the American Revolutionary War, a group ofQuakers fromNantucket, Massachusetts arrived in Dartmouth to set up awhaling enterprise. They built homes, a Quaker meeting house, a wharf for their vessels and a factory to producespermaceti candles and other products made from whale oil and carcasses. It was a profitable venture and the Quakers employed many local residents, but within ten years, around 1795, the whalers moved their operation toWales.[citation needed] Only one Quaker residence remains in Dartmouth and is believed to be the oldest structure in Dartmouth. Other families soon arrived in Dartmouth, among them was the Hartshorne family. They were Loyalists who arrived in 1785, and received a grant that included land bordering present-day Portland, King and Wentworth Streets.[citation needed] Woodlawn was once part of the land purchased by a Loyalist, named Ebenezer Allen who became a prominent Dartmouth businessman. In 1786, he donated land near his estate to be used as a cemetery. Many early settlers are interred in the Woodlawn cemetery.[citation needed]
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was ordered to live in at the headquarters of the Royal Navy's North American Station in Halifax (1794–1800). He became theCommander-in-Chief, North America. He had a significant impact on the city. He was instrumental in shaping that port's military defences for protecting the important Royal Navy base, as well as influencing the city's and colony's socio-political and economic institutions. He also designed thePrince of Wales Tower, theHalifax Town Clock onCitadel Hill (Fort George),St Georges (Round) Church,Princes Lodge (only the round music room remains) and others. The Prince and his mistress,Madame de Saint-Laurent, lived at Prince's Lodge for the six years they stationed in Halifax.[37][38] (The Duke visitedKings County, Nova Scotia in 1794. As a result, in 1826, the inhabitants of the county voted to name their townKentville after him). While in Halifax he was promoted tolieutenant-general in January 1796.[39]
Not until after suffering a fall from his horse in late 1798 was he allowed to return to England.[39] On April 24, 1799,[40] he was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin, received the thanks of parliament and an income of £12,000 and was later, in May, promoted to the rank ofgeneral and appointed Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America.[39] He took leave of his parents on July 22, 1799[41] and sailed to Halifax. Just over twelve months later he left Halifax[42] and arrived in England on August 31, 1800 where it was expected his next appointment would beLord Lieutenant of Ireland.
By the early 19th century, Dartmouth consisted of about twenty-five families. Within twenty years, there were sixty houses, a church,gristmill, shipyards, sawmill, two inns and a bakery located near the harbour.
Halifax was now the bastion of British strength on the East Coast of North America. Local merchants also took advantage of the exclusion of American trade to the British colonies in the Caribbean, beginning a long trade relationship with theWest Indies. However, the most significant growth began with the beginning of what would become known as theNapoleonic Wars. Military spending and the opportunities of wartime shipping and trading stimulated growth led by local merchants such asCharles Ramage Prescott andEnos Collins.
By 1796,Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, was sent to take command of Nova Scotia. Many of the city's forts were designed by him, and he left an indelible mark on the city in the form of many public buildings of Georgian architecture, and a dignified British feel to the city itself. It was during this time that Halifax truly became a city. Many landmarks and institutions were built during his tenure, from theTown Clock on Citadel Hill to St. George's Round Church, fortifications in the Halifax Defence Complex were built up, businesses established, and the population boomed. At the same time, the towns people and especially seafarers were constantly on-guard of thepress gangs of the Royal Navy.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The Royal Navy's manning problems in Nova Scotia peaked in 1805. Warships were short-handed from high desertion rates, and naval captains were handicapped in filling those vacancies by provincialimpressment regulations. Desperate for sailors, the Royal Navy pressed them all over the North Atlantic region in 1805, from Halifax and Charlottetown to Saint John and Quebec City. In early May, Vice AdmiralAndrew Mitchell sent press gangs from several warships into downtown Halifax. Theyconscripted men first and asked questions later, rounding up dozens of potential recruits.[43]
The breaking point came in October 1805, when Vice Admiral Mitchell allowed press gangs fromHMS Cleopatra to storm the streets of Halifax armed withbayonets, sparking a major riot in which one man was killed and several others were injured. Wentworth lashed out at the admiral for sparking urban unrest and breaking provincial impressment laws, and his government exploited this violent episode to put even tighter restrictions of recruiting in Nova Scotia.[44]
Stemming from impressment disturbances, civil-naval relations deteriorated in Nova Scotia from 1805 to theWar of 1812.HMS Whiting was inLiverpool for only about a week, but it terrified the small town the entire time and naval impressment remained a serious threat to sailors along the South Shore. After leaving Liverpool,Whiting terrorizedShelburne by pressing inhabitants, breaking into homes, and forcing more than a dozen families to live in the forest to avoid further harassment.[45]
Though the Duke left in 1800, the city's prosperity continued to grow throughout the Napoleonic Wars and theWar of 1812. While the Royal Navy squadron based in Halifax was small at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, it grew to a large size by the War of 1812, fought between the United States and Great Britain, and ensured that Halifax was never attacked. The Naval Yard in Halifax expanded to become a major base for the Royal Navy and while its main task was supply and refit, it also built several smaller warships including the namesakeHMS Halifax in 1806.[46]
_(cropped).jpg)
Several notable naval engagements occurred off the Halifax station. Most dramatic was the victory of the Halifax-based BritishfrigateHMS Shannon which captured the American frigateUSS Chesapeake and brought her to Halifax as prize. As the first major victory in the naval war for the British, the capture raised the shaken morale of the Royal Navy. Two-thirds of the men that followed British CaptainPhilip Broke in the boarding party were wounded or killed.[47] The casualties, 228 dead or wounded between the twoships' companies, were high, with the ratio making it one of the bloodiestsingle ship actions of theage of sail.[47] It had the single highest body count in an action between two ships in the entirety of the war.[48] By comparison,HMS Victory suffered fewer casualties during the much longerBattle of Trafalgar.
Shannon, commanded by Halifax's ownProvo Wallis, escortedChesapeake into Halifax, arriving there on June 6. On the entry of the two frigates into the harbour, the naval ships already at anchor manned their yards, bands played martial music and each shipShannon passed greeted her with cheers.[49] The 320 American survivors of thebattle were interned onMeville Island in 1813, and many later buried at nearbyDeadman's Island. The American ship, renamedHMSChesapeake, was used to ferry prisoners from Melville to England'sDartmoor Prison.[50] Many American officers were paroled to Halifax, but some began a riot at a performance of a patriotic song aboutChesapeake's defeat.[51] Parole restrictions were tightened: beginning in 1814, paroled officers were required to attend a monthly muster on Melville Island, and those who violated their parole were confined to the prison.[52]
An invasion force sent from Halifax attackedWashington D.C. in 1813 in theBurning of Washington, setting theU.S. Capitol andWhite House ablaze. The leader of the force wasRobert Ross, who died in the battle, was buried in Halifax.
Early in the war, an expedition left Halifax under the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia,John Coape Sherbrooke, to capturedMaine. They renamed the new colonyNew Ireland, which the British held for the entirety of the war. The revenues which were taken from this conquest were used after the war to finance amilitary library in Halifax and to foundDalhousie University which is today Atlantic Canada's largest university. There remains a street on campus called Castine Way, named afterCastine, Maine. The city also thrived in the War of 1812 on the large numbers of captured American ships and cargoes captured by the British navy and provincialprivateers. The wartime boom peaked in 1814. Present day government landmarks such as Government House, built to house the governor, andProvince House, built to house theHouse of Assembly, were both built during the city's peak of prosperity at the end of the War of 1812.
Saint Mary's University was founded in 1802, originally as an elementary school. Saint Mary's was upgraded to a college following the establishment of Dalhousie University in 1819; both were initially located in the downtown central business district before relocating to the then-outskirts of the city in the south end near the Northwest Arm. Separated by only few minutes walking distance, the two schools now enjoy a friendly rivalry.
The next major migration of blacks into Nova Scotia occurred between 1813 and 1815.Black Refugees from the United States settled in many parts of Nova Scotia including Hammonds Plains,Beechville,Lucasville andAfricville.[citation needed]
In the peace after 1815, the city at first suffered an economic malaise for a few years, aggravated by the move of the Royal Naval yard toBermuda in 1818. However the economy recovered in the next decade led by a very successful local merchant class. Powerful local entrepreneurs included steamship pioneerSamuel Cunard and the bankerEnos Collins. During the 19th century Halifax became the birthplace of two of Canada's largest banks; local financial institutions included theHalifax Banking Company,Union Bank of Halifax,People's Bank of Halifax,Bank of Nova Scotia, and theMerchants' Bank of Halifax, making the city one of the most important financial centres in colonialBritish North America and later Canada until the beginning of the 20th century. This position was somewhat rivalled by neighbouringSaint John, New Brunswick during the city's economic hey-day in the mid-19th century. Halifax was incorporated as the City of Halifax in 1842.
Throughout the nineteenth century, there were numerous businesses that were developed in HRM that became of national and international importance: The Starr Manufacturing Company, theCunard Line,Alexander Keith's Brewery,Morse's Tea Company, among others. A modern water works system was built in 1844 to replace the city's original array of private and public wells. The Halifax Water Company, a private firm under contract to the City of Halifax built a gravity-fed main to deliver water to fire hydrants, public fountains and private customers in downtown Halifax from the Chain Lakes andLong Lake system near the city. It went into full operation in 1848 and was purchased by the City from the private company in 1861.[54]
Having played a key role to maintain and expand British power in North America and elsewhere during the 18th century, Halifax played less dramatic roles in the many decades of peace during the 19th century. However, as one of the most important British overseas bases, the harbour's defences were successively refortified with the latest artillery defences throughout the century to provide a secure base for British Empire forces. Nova Scotians and Maritimers were recruited through Halifax for theCrimean War. The city boomed during theAmerican Civil War, mostly by supplying the wartime economy of the North but also by offering refuge and supplies toConfederateblockade runners. The port also saw Canada's first overseas military deployment as a nation to aid the British Empire during theSecond Boer War.
Halifax was founded below adrumlin that would later be namedCitadel Hill. The outpost was named in honour ofGeorge Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, who was thePresident of the Board of Trade. Halifax was ideal for a military base, with the vastHalifax Harbour, among the largest naturalharbours in the world, which could be well protected withartillery battery atMcNab's Island, theNorthwest Arm,Point Pleasant,George's Island andYork Redoubt. In its early years, Citadel Hill was used as a command and observation post, before changes in artillery that could range out into the harbour.
In 1814,Walter Bromley opened theRoyal Acadian School, which included many black children and adults. Bromley taught on the weekends because they were employed during the week.[55] Some of the black students entered into business in Halifax while others were hired as servants.[56]
New Horizons Baptist Church (formerly known as the African Chapel and the African Baptist Church) is aBaptist church in Halifax, Nova Scotia that was established by Black Refugees in 1832. When the chapel was completed, black citizens of Halifax were reported to be proud of this accomplishment because it was evidence that former slaves could establish their own institutions in Nova Scotia.[57] Under the direction ofRichard Preston, the church laid the foundation for social action to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians.[58]
Preston and others went on to establish a network of socially active Black baptist churches throughout Nova Scotia, with the Halifax church being referred to as the "Mother Church."[57] Five of these churches were established in Halifax:Preston (1842), Beechville (1844), Hammonds Plains (1845), and another in Africville (1849) and Dartmouth.[59] From meetings held at the church, they also established the African Friendly Society, the African Abolition Society, and theAfrican United Baptist Association.
The church remained the centre of social activism throughout the 20th Century. Reverends at the church includedWilliam A. White (1919-1936) andWilliam Pearly Oliver (1937-1962).[citation needed]
After a protracted struggle between residents and theViceroys of Nova Scotia, the City of Halifax was incorporated in 1842.
The cause of self-government for the city of Halifax began the political career ofJoseph Howe and would subsequently lead to this form of accountability being brought to colonial affairs for the colony of Nova Scotia. Howe was later considered a great Nova Scotian leader, and the father ofresponsible government in British North America. After election to the House of Assembly as leader of the Liberal party, one of his first acts was the incorporation of the City of Halifax in 1842, followed by the direct election of civic politicians by Haligonians.
Halifax became a hotbed of political activism as the winds of responsible government swept British North America during the 1840s, following the rebellions againstoligarchies in the colonies ofUpper andLower Canada. The first instance of responsible government in the British Empire was achieved by the colony of Nova Scotia in January–February 1848 through the efforts of Howe. The leaders of the fight for responsible or self-government later took up theAnti-Confederation fight, the movement that from 1868 to 1875 tried to take Nova Scotia out ofConfederation.
During the 1850s, Howe was a heavy promoter ofrailway technology, having been a key instigator in the founding of theNova Scotia Railway, which ran from Richmond in the city's north end to theMinas Basin atWindsor and toTruro and on toPictou on theNorthumberland Strait. In the 1870s Halifax became linked by rail toMoncton and Saint John, New Brunswick through theIntercolonial Railway and on intoQuebec andNew England, not to mention numerous rural areas in Nova Scotia.
Citizens of the former City of Halifax fought in theCrimean War. TheWelsford-Parker Monument in Halifax is the oldest war monument in Canada (1860) and the only Crimean War monument in North America.[60] It commemorates theSiege of Sevastopol (1854–1855).
Located at the mouth of the Sackville River, Bedford was originally known by several names, such as Fort Sackville, Ten Mile House, and Sunnyside. It used the name Bedford Basin (named after theBedford Basin) from 1856 to 1902, when it was shortened to just Bedford, taking its name from theDuke of Bedford who was theSecretary of State in 1749.
Dartmouth saw a surge of local industries in the 1850s. TheDartmouth Marine Slips opened in 1858 just in time to benefit from the surge in shipping during the American Civil War. Nearby, the Starr Manufacturing Company was built near theShubenacadie Canal in the late 1850s. The factory employed over 150 workers and manufactured ice skates, cut nails, vault doors, iron bridge work and other heavy iron products. The Mott's candy and soap factory, employing 100, opened at Hazelhurst (near present-day Hazelhurst and Newcastle Streets). The Symonds Foundry employed a further 50 to 100 people. The Stairs Ropeworks, later Consumer Cordage, was built in the North End of Dartmouth on Wyse Road, constructing an industrial suburb for its 300 workers and surviving the Halifax Explosion. The ropeworks survived as a pub until 2012 when it was demolished bySobeys to construct a supermarket. As the population grew, more houses were erected and new businesses established. Subdivisions such as Woodlawn, Woodside and Westphal developed on the outskirts of the town.
Long before theRoyal Military College of Canada was established in 1876, there were proposals for military colleges in Canada. At a pre-Confederation of Canada military school in Halifax, adult male students drilled and attended lectures on drill commands, military records,court-martial, theArticles of War, discipline and punishments, promotion of non-commissioned officers, military accounts and pay and messing. After Confederation, a military school was opened in Halifax to conduct officer training for cavalry, infantry and artillery. In 1870–71, Canadian militia staff replaced the British regulars who were recalled from overseas station.[61]
The first school for thedeaf in Atlantic Canada, theHalifax School for the Deaf, was established on Göttingen Street, Halifax (1856).[citation needed] TheHalifax School for the Blind was opened on Morris Street in 1871. It was the first residential school for the blind in Canada.[citation needed]
TheAmerican Civil War again saw much activity and prosperity in Halifax. Due to longstanding economic and social connections to New England as well as theAbolition movement, a majority of the population supported the North and many volunteered to fight in theUnion Army. However, parts of the city's merchant class, especially those trading in the West Indies, supported the Confederates. A few merchants in the city made huge profits selling supplies and sometimes arms to both sides of the conflict (see for exampleAlexander Keith, Jr.).Blockade runner carrying supplies and arms and destined for Confederate ports along with Confederate ships often called on the port to take on supplies, and make repairs. Halifax played a significant role in theChesapeake Affair. Another Confederate ship,CSS Tallahassee, became a notable in Halifax when she made a midnight escape through from Union warships believed waiting at the harbour entrance. The role in the Confederateblockade running in the city was so significant thatU.S. Secretary of StateWilliam H. Seward complained on March 14, 1865:
Halifax has been for more than one year, and yet is, a naval station for vessels which, running the blockade, furnish supplies and munitions of war to our enemy, and it has been made a rendezvous for those piratical cruisers which come out fromLiverpool andGlasgow, to destroy our commerce on the high seas, and even to carry war into the ports of the United States. Halifax is a postal and despatch station in the correspondence between the rebels at Richmond and their emissaries in Europe. Halifax merchants are known to have surreptitiously imported provisions, arms, and ammunition from our seaports, and then transshipped them to the rebels. The governor of Nova Scotia has been neutral, just, and friendly; so were the judges of the province who presided on the trial of the Chesapeake. But then it is understood that, on the other hand, merchant shippers of Halifax, and many of the people of Halifax, are willing agents and abettors of the enemies of the United States, and their hostility has proved not merely offensive but deeply injurious.[62]
Just before arriving in Halifax, the Confederate ship CSSTallahassee made a 19-day raid off the Atlantic coast.Tallahassee destroyed 26 vessels and captured 7 others that were bonded or released. Under the command ofJohn Taylor Wood sailed into Halifax Harbour for supplies, coal and to make repairs to hermainmast. Wood began loading coal at Woodside, on the Dartmouth shore. TwoUnion Navy ships were closing in onTallahassee, USSNansemont and USSHuron. While Wood was offered an escort out of the harbour he instead slipped out of the harbour under the cover of night by going through the seldom used Eastern Passage between McNab's Island and the Dartmouth Shore. The channel was narrow and crooked with a shallow tide so Wood hired the local pilot Jock Flemming.Tallahassee left the Woodside wharf at night in darkness. All the lights were out, but the residents on the Eastern Passage mainland could see the dark hull moving through the water, successfully evading capture.[63]
After the American Civil War, the five colonies which made up British North America,Ontario,Quebec,Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, held meetings to consider uniting into a single country. This was due to a threat of annexation and invasion from the United States. Canadian Confederation became a reality in 1867, but received much resistance from the merchant classes of Halifax, and from many prominent Halifax politicians due to the fact that both Halifax and Nova Scotia were at the time very wealthy, held trading ties with Boston and New York which would be damaged, and did not see the need for the colony to give up its comparative independence. After confederation Halifax retained its British military garrison until British troops were replaced by the Canadian army in 1906. The British Royal Navy remained until 1910 when the newly created Royal Canadian Navy took over the Naval Dockyard.
The city's cultural roots deepened as its economy matured. The Victorian College of Art was founded in 1887 (later to become theNova Scotia College of Art and Design.) Local artistJohn O'Brien excelled at portraits of the city's ships, yacht races and seascapes. The province's Public Archives and the provincial museum were founded in this period (first called the Mechanic's Institute, later theNova Scotia Museum.)
After Confederation, boosters of Halifax expected federal help to make the city's natural harbor Canada's official winter port and a gateway for trade with Europe. Halifax's advantages included its location just off the Great Circle route made it the closest to Europe of any mainland North American port. But the newIntercolonial Railway (ICR) took an indirect, northerly route for military and political reasons. Although the ICR did build a large new station and some port facilities known as the Deep Water Terminals in Halifax's North End, the national government made little effort to promote Halifax as Canada's winter port. Ignoring appeals to nationalism and the ICR's own attempts to promote traffic to Halifax, most Canadian exporters sent their wares by train though Boston or Portland. Port promoters fought an uphill battle for decades to finance the large-scale port facilities that Halifax needed. It took the First World War to at last boost Halifax's harbor into prominence on the North Atlantic.[64]
Halifax business leaders attempted to diversity with manufacturing under Canada'sNational Policy creating factories such as the Acadia Sugar Refinery, theNova Scotia Cotton Manufacturing Company, theHalifax Graving Dock and the Silliker Car Works. However, this embrace with industrialization produced only modest results as most Halifax manufacturers found it hard to compete with larger firms in Ontario and Quebec.
In 1873 Dartmouth was incorporated as atown and a Town Hall was established in 1877. In 1883The Dartmouth Times began publishing. In 1885 a railway station was built, and the first passenger service starts in 1886 with branch lines running toWindsor Junction by 1896 and theEastern Shore by 1904. Two attempts were made to bridge The Narrows of Halifax Harbour with a railway line during the 1880s but were washed away by powerful storms. These attempts were abandoned after the line to Windsor Junction was completed. The line running through Dartmouth was envisioned to continue along the Eastern Shore to Canso orGuysborough, however developers built it inland along theMusquodoboit River atMusquodoboit Harbour and it ended in theMusquodoboit Valley farming settlement ofUpper Musquodoboit, ending Dartmouth's vision of becoming a railway hub.
En route to England,George Scott Railton stopped at the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia and held the firstSalvation Army meeting in Canada on March 24, 1881. He was so engaged in his sermon he missed his boat to England. He preached in Halifax for the following week in various Halifax churches and a year later the Salvation Army was officially established in Canada.[citation needed]
Anna Leonowens lived in Halifax for 19 years (1878-1897) and had a significant cultural and social impact on the city. Her daughter Avis Annie Crawford Connybeare married Thomas Fyshe, the cashier (general manager) of the Bank of Nova Scotia in Halifax.[65] She was a stanch supporter of women's education, organizing and serving as librarian for the Pioneer Book Club and her Shakespeare Club for young women. She was also one of the founders of theLocal Council of Women of Halifax and the Woman's Suffrage Association, both of which advocated for the right for women to vote. She also was a founder of theNova Scotia College of Art and Design. After nineteen years, her daughter and family moved toMontreal, Quebec, Leonowens followed her there.
Prior to Nova Scotia's involvement in theNorth-West Rebellion, Canada's "first war", the province remained hostile to Canada in the aftermath ofhow the colony was forced into Canada. The celebration that followed theHalifax Provisional Battalion's return from the conflict by train across the county ignited a national patriotism in Nova Scotia. Prime MinisterRobert Borden, stated that "up to this time Nova Scotia hardly regarded itself as included in the Canadian Confederation... The rebellion evoked a new spirit... The Riel Rebellion did more to unite Nova Scotia with the rest of Canada than any event that had occurred since Confederation." Similarly, in 1907 Governor GeneralEarl Grey declared, "This Battalion... went out Nova Scotians, they returned Canadians." The wrought iron gates at theHalifax Public Gardens were made in the Battalion's honour.[67]
During theSecond Boer War from 1899 to 1902, the First Contingent was composed of sevencompanies from across Canada. The Nova Scotia Company (H) consisted of 125 men. (The total First Contingent was a total force of 1,019. Eventually over 8,600 Canadians served.) The mobilization of the Contingent took place at Quebec. On October 30, 1899, the shipSardinian sailed the troops for four weeks toCape Town. The Boer War marked the first occasion in which large contingents of Nova Scotian troops served abroad (individual Nova Scotians had served in the Crimean War).
TheBattle of Paardeberg in February 1900 represented the second time Canadian soldiers saw battle abroad (the first being the Canadian involvement in theNile Expedition).[68] Canadians also saw action at theBattle of Faber's Put on May 30, 1900.[69] On November 7, 1900, theRoyal Canadian Dragoons engaged the Boers in theBattle of Leliefontein, where they saved British guns from capture during a retreat from the banks of theKomati River.[70] Approximately 267 Canadians died in the war. 89 men were killed in action, 135 died of disease, and the remainder died of accident or injury. 252 were wounded.
In 1901,Halifax and Southwestern Railway (H&SW) was planned. The railway would run from Halifax toYarmouth along the province'sSouth Shore. In the years before the domination of publicly funded highways, the H&SW would form a critical transportation link between the various communities, as well as steam ship connections at Yarmouth (to Boston and New York) and Halifax (to Europe). Construction was completed in 1906 and H&SW tracks joined theIntercolonial Railway's mainline in Halifax at Southwestern Junction at Africville and ran into the Intercolonial's North Street Station. On December 19, 1906 the first H&SW through train reached Yarmouth from Halifax. At some point during the period following completion of the H&SW in 1906, the system was merged intoCanadian Northern Railway (CNoR) transcontinental system. The H&SW, along with the Inverness Railway, were isolated from the rest of CNoR's trackage which ran from Montreal toVancouver, not unlike rivalCanadian Pacific Railway'sDominion Atlantic Railway.
The CNR, along with several other railway lines in Canada, entered financial difficulties during the First World War. Encumbered by construction debts and low traffic, the CNoR was bankrupt and requested financial aid from the federal government in 1918. On September 6, 1918, CNoR wasnationalized and placed under a Board of Management by theDepartment of Railways and Canals. On December 20, 1918, CNoR, along with theCanadian Government Railways were placed under a new company namedCanadian National Railways (CNR).[71]
In April 1912, Halifax became the centre of recovery operations following the sinking ofRMS Titanic. The city was the closest to the disaster site with direct rail and steamship connections. Two Halifax-based ships,CS Mackay-Bennett and CSMinia, were sent to recover the bodies still floating in the North Atlantic.Mackay-Bennett was the first ship to reach the disaster area and retrieved most of the bodies that were recovered.
Only 333 bodies ofTitanic victims were recovered, one in five of the over 1,500 victims. (Titanic carried 2,224 passengers and crew.) A large temporarymorgue was set up in thecurling rink of theMayflower Curling Club and the present-dayMaritime Conservatory of Performing Arts building. The majority of recovered victims, 150 bodies, were buried in three Halifax cemeteries, 121 being buried inFairview Lawn Cemetery followed by the nearbyMount Olivet andBaron de Hirsch cemeteries.[72] Relatives from across North America came to identify and claim the remaining bodies.
An important port for the Caribbean-Canada-United Kingdom shipping triangle during the 19th century, Halifax's strategic harbour was also an integral part of Allied war efforts during both world wars.
It was inWorld War I that Halifax would truly come into its own as a world class port and naval facility in thesteamship era. The strategic location of the port with its protective waters of Bedford Basin shelteredconvoys from GermanU-boat attack prior to heading into the open Atlantic Ocean. Halifax's railway connections with the Intercolonial Railway of Canada and its port facilities became vital to the British war effort during the First World War as Canada's industrial centres churned out material for the Western Front. In 1914, Halifax began playing a major role in World War I, both as the departure point for Canadian soldiers heading overseas, and as an assembly point for all convoys (a responsibility which would be placed on the city again during World War II). Most Canadian troops left overseas from Halifax aboard enormous peacetimeocean liners converted totroopships such asRMS Olympic (sister ship ofTitanic) andRMS Mauretania as well as many smaller liners. The city also served as the return point for wounded soldiers returning onhospital ships. A new generation of gun batteries,searchlights and an anti-submarine net defended the harbour, manned by a large garrison of soldiers. TheUnited States Navy established anaval air station on August 19, 1918 to operateseaplanes. The base closed shortly after theFirst Armistice at Compiègne.[73] Halifax's limited 19th century housing and transit facilities were heavily burdened. In November 1917, a subway system plan was presented to City Hall, but the city did not pursue the scheme.
The war was seen as a blessing for the city's economy, but in 1917 a Frenchmunitions ship,Mont-Blanc, collided with a Norwegian ship,Imo. The collision sparked a fire on the munitions ship which was filled with 2,300 tons of wet and drypicric acid (used for makinglyddite for artillery shells), 200 tons oftrinitrotoluene (TNT), 10 tons of gun cotton, with drums ofBenzol (High Octane fuel) stacked on her deck. On December 6, 1917, at 9:04:35 AM[74] the munitions ship exploded in what was the largest man-made explosion before thefirst testing of anatomic bomb, and is still one of the largest non-nuclear man-made explosions. Items from the exploding ship landed 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away. TheHalifax Explosion decimated the city's north end, killing roughly 2,000 inhabitants, injuring 9,000, and leaving tens of thousands homeless and without shelter.[citation needed]
The following day a blizzard hit the city, hindering recovery efforts. Immediate help rushed in from the rest of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, andNewfoundland. In the following week more relief from other parts of North America arrived and donations were sent from around the world. The most celebrated effort came from the BostonRed Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee; as an enduring thank-you, since 1971 the province of Nova Scotia has donated the annual Christmas tree lit at theBoston Common in Boston.[75][76]
The explosion and the rebuilding which followed had important impacts on the city: reshaping the layout of North End neighbourhoods; creating a progressive housing development known as the Hydrostone; and hastening the move of railways to the South End of the city.[citation needed]
The city's economy slumped after the war, although reconstruction from the Halifax Explosion brought new housing and infrastructure as well as the establishment of theHalifax Shipyard. However, a tremendous drop in worldwide shipping following the war as well as the failure of regional industries in the 1920s brought hard-times to the city, further aggravated by theGreat Depression in 1929. One bright spot was the completion of Ocean Terminals and thePier 21 immigration complex in the city's south end, a large modern complex to trans-ship freight and passengers from steamships to railways. The harbour's strategic location made the city the base for the famous and successfulsalvage tugFoundation Franklin which brought lucrative salvage jobs to the city in the 1930s. While a military airport had been in operation at Dartmouth's Shearwater base since World War I, the city opened its first civilian airport in the city'sWest End atChebucto Field in 1931.Pan-Am began international flights from Boston in 1932.[77]
War Plan Red, a military strategy developed by the United States Army during the mid-1920s and officially withdrawn in 1939, involved an occupation of Halifax by US forces following a poison gas first strike, to deny the British a major naval base and cut links between Britain and Canada.
Halifax played an even bigger role in the Allied naval war effort ofWorld War II. The only theatre of War to be commanded by a Canadian was the North Western Atlantic, commanded from Halifax by Rear-AdmiralLeonard W. Murray. Halifax became a lifeline for preserving Britain during the Nazi onslaught of theBattle of Britain and theBattle of the Atlantic, the supplies helping to offset a threatened amphibious invasion by Germany. Many convoys assembled in Bedford Basin to deliver supplies to troops in Europe. The city's railway links fed large numbers of troopships building upAllied armies in Europe. The harbour became an essential base for Canadian, British and other Allied warships. Very much a front-line city, civilians lived with the fears of possible German raids or another accidental ammunition explosion. Well-defended, the city was never attacked although some merchant ships and two small naval vessels were sunk at the outer approaches to the harbour. However, the sounds and sometimes the flames of these distant attacks fed wartime rumours, some of which linger to the present day of imaginary tales ofGerman U-boats entering Halifax Harbour. The city's housing, retail and public transit infrastructure, small and neglected after 20 years of prewar economic stagnation was severely stressed. Severe housing and recreational problems simmered all through the war and culminated in theHalifax Riot on VE Day in May 1945. The war was also marked by a massive explosion of the Navy's Bedford ammunition magazine which accidentally blew up on July 18, 1945 causing the evacuation of the north end of Halifax and Dartmouth and fears of another Halifax Explosion.
DuringWorld War II, Dartmouth and Halifax were engaged in supporting Canada's war effort in Europe. On July 18, 1945, at the end of World War II, a fire broke out at the magazine jetty on the Bedford Basin, north of Dartmouth. The fire began on a sunkenbarge and quickly spread to the dock. A violent series of large explosions ensued as stored ammunition exploded. The barge responsible for starting the explosion presently lies on the seabed near the eastern shoreline adjacent to the Magazine Dock.[78][79]
TheHalifax Riot happened onVE-Day, May 7–8, 1945 in Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia began as a celebration of the World War II Victory in Europe. This rapidly devolved into a rampage by several thousand servicemen, merchant seamen and civilians, who looted the City of Halifax. Although a subsequent Royal Commission chaired by JusticeRoy Kellock blamed lax naval authority and specifically Rear-Admiral Leonard W. Murray, it is generally accepted that the underlying causes were a combination of bureaucratic confusion, insufficient policing and antipathy between the military and civilians, fueled by the presence of 25,000 servicemen who had strained Halifax wartime resources to the limit.
After World War II, Halifax did not experience the postwar economic malaise it had so often experienced after previous wars. This was partially due to theCold War which required continued spending on a modern Canadian navy. However, the city also benefited from a more diverse economy and postwar growth in government services and education. The 1960s–1990s saw lesssuburban sprawl than in many comparable Canadian cities in the areas surrounding Halifax. This was partly as a result of local geographies and topography (Halifax is extremely hilly with exposed granite not conducive to construction), a weaker regional and local economy, and a smaller population base than, for example, central Canada or New England. There were also deliberate local government policies to limit not only suburban growth but also put some controls on growth in the central business district to address concerns from heritage advocates.
The late 1960s was a period of significant change and expansion of the city when surrounding areas of Halifax County were amalgamated into Halifax:Princes Lodge, Nova Scotia,Rockingham,Clayton Park,Fairview,Armdale, andSpryfield were all added in 1969.
A desire to promote development by Halifax downtown business interests proposed demolishing theHalifax Citadel and leveling Citadel Hill to provide parking and encourage development in the late 1940s.[80] However, recognition of the fort's historical significance and tourism potential led to the fort's preservation in 1956 and gradual restoration byParks Canada as a city landmark and top tourism draw.[81]
Urban renewal plans in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in the loss of much of its heritage architecture and community fabric in large downtown developments such as the Scotia Square mall and office towers. However, a citizens protest movement limited further destructive plans such as a waterfront freeway called Harbour Drive, which opened the way for a popular and successful revitalized waterfront. A remainder of the cancelled freeway plan is theCogswell Interchange.
Selective height limits were also achieved to protect the views from Citadel Hill. However, municipal heritage protection remained weak with only pockets of heritage buildings surviving in the downtown and constant pressure from developers for further demolition. Selective height restrictions were adopted to protect views from Citadel Hill which triggered battles over proposed developments that would fill vacant lots or add height to existing historical structures.
Another casualty during the 1960s and 1970s period of expansion and urban renewal was the Black community of Africville which was declared aslum, demolished and its residents displaced to clear land for industrial use as well as for theA. Murray MacKay Bridge. The repercussions continue to this day and a 2001United Nations report has called for reparations be paid to the community's former residents.
In 1980, Bedford incorporated as a separate municipality (a town).
Restrictions on development were relaxed somewhat during the 1990s, resulting in some suburban sprawl off the peninsula. Today the community of Halifax is more compact than most Canadian urban areas although expanses of suburban growth have occurred in neighbouring Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville. One development in the late 1990s was the Bayers Lake Business Park, where warehouse style retailers were permitted to build in a suburban industrial park west of Rockingham. This has become an important yet controversial centre of commerce for the city and the province as it used public infrastructure to subsidise multi-national retail chains and draw business from local downtown business. Much of this subsidy was due to competition between Halifax, Bedford and Dartmouth to host these giant retail chains and this controversy helped lead the province to force amalgamation as a way to end wasteful municipal rivalries. In the past few years, urban housing sprawl has even reached these industrial/retail parks as new blasting techniques permitted construction on the granite wilderness around the city. What was once a business park surrounded by forest and a highway on one side has become a large suburb with numerous new apartment buildings and condominiums. Some of this growth has been spurred by offshore oil and natural gas economic activity but much has been due to a population shift from rural Nova Scotian communities to the Halifax urban area. The new amalgamated city has attempted to manage this growth with a new master development plan.
The provincial government had sought to reduce the number of municipal governments in the province as a cost-saving measure.[citation needed] In 1992, a task force was created to pursue this cutback.
In 1995, theAct to Incorporate the Halifax Regional Municipality receivedRoyal Assent in the provincial legislature. On 1 April 1996, theTown of Bedford, theCity of Dartmouth, theCity of Halifax, and theCounty of Halifax were dissolved, and theHalifax Regional Municipality was created.
Although theamalgamation dissolved the aforementioned cities, suburbs, towns, and villages, residents of the former-places commonly refer to their locality their respective community (use of the colloquial term city is used for residents ofDartmouth-and-Halifax), and not as resident of the Halifax Regional Municipality. (E.g. if a person asks where they live in Nova Scotia, the person will say they are from Dartmouth—not from the Halifax Regional Municipality).
During the mid-to-late 1990s, HRM developed a strong national and international following to its music scene, particularly the alternative genre. Musical acts from HRM include such notable groups as:Sloan, The Nellis Complex, Thrush Hermit, Christina Clark, andSarah McLachlan.
Although discussions had been underway for decades in the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, a deal was finally signed in 2003 that saw the construction of several sewage treatment plants for the core urban area, as well as an extensive trunk collector system to link outfalls to each plant. For the first time since settlement came to the area, human sewage will be treated before it is discharged into the Atlantic Ocean; estimated start-up is for 2007.
On September 29, 2003, HRM was hit byHurricane Juan which made landfall west of the urban core. Juan was the most powerful hurricane to directly hit the Halifax-Dartmouth metropolitan area since 1893. The storm caused a serious disruption throughout the central and eastern part of the municipality during the first week of October. Although some areas of the urban core only lost electricity for a brief period, outlying rural regions in the eastern part of HRM were without electricity for up to two weeks. Millions of trees in HRM were damaged or destroyed in the dense forests along the Eastern Shore.
On January 13, 2008 the government of Nova Scotia proclaimed the "Halifax Regional Municipality Charter Act" giving the municipality more powers to address the specific needs of HRM.[82]
On February 24, 2010, Halifax MayorPeter J. Kelly made theAfricville Apology, apologizing for the eviction of those from Africville as part of a $4.5-million compensation deal. The city restored the name Africville to Seaview Park at the annual Africville Family Reunion on July 29, 2011.[83] The Seaview African United Baptist Church, demolished in 1969, was rebuilt in the summer of 2011 to serve as a church and interpretation centre. The nearly complete church was ceremonially opened on September 25, 2011.[84]
The community's total landmass is 6,196.1 hectares (61.961 km2). It accounts for less than 1.2% of the municipal landmass, and less than 27% of the urban landmass.
The community is located in the Atlantic Maritime ecozone, the Appalachian land-form region, and the wet-climate soil-region. Furthermore, Halifax is within the Atlantic Canada climate-region, and the Mixwood-forest vegetation-region.
The original settlements of Halifax occupied a small stretch of land inside a palisade at the foot ofCitadel Hill on theHalifax Peninsula, a sub-peninsula of the much largerChebucto Peninsula that extends intoHalifax Harbour. Over time, Halifax grew to incorporate all of the north, south, and west ends of the peninsula with a central business district concentrated in the southeastern end alongthe Narrows.
In 1969, the City of Halifax grew significantly. The City annexed several communities from the surroundingHalifax County;Armdale,Clayton Park,Fairview,Purcell's Cove,Rockingham, andSpryfield.
On 1 April 1996, theCity of Dartmouth,City of Halifax,County of Halifax, and theTown of Bedfordamalgamated and formed theHalifax Regional Municipality. Subsequently, the City of Halifax dissolved, and was reestablished as theCommunity of Halifax. Thenew community is coterminous with the former City.
The streets on the Halifax peninsula are a grid and numbered sequentially making it easy to get around. Numbered from south-to-north House Numbers start at 1 and reach 1000 block at Inglis Street, 2000 block at Quinpool Road, 3000 block at Almon Street and 4000 block at Duffus Street. Moving from east-to-west 5000 block is at Lower Water Street, 6000 block at Robie Street. One of the longest streets on the peninsula is Robie Street. When looking for 2010 Robie Street look one block north of Quinpool Road across from the Halifax Commons, move a block to the west and you will find 2010 Windsor Street; walk a few more blocks west and Quinpool will take you to 2010 Oxford Street. If you are moving west on Almon Street you will find 5200 Almon at the Göttingen Street intersection, 6000 Almon at Robie, 7000 Almon at Connaught Avenue, Chebucto Road numbers to 8000 at Joseph Howe Drive. The numbering system is consistent to the grid even when the streets are not perfectly parallel or perpendicular to one another on the map.
(including former villages, residential neighbourhoods; and modern names of housing developments and industrial parks)
Richmond, Needham and Mulgrave were voting district names. Historically, these working-class Catholic neighbourhoods used their parish names: Saint Stephen's, Saint Joeseph's, Saint Patrick's. Today they are the integrated and prosperous North End; the neighbourhood names are no longer in common use and the parish boundaries no longer exist.
Currently, the Community's is at its highest ever population. Within its relatively small landmass, there are 156,141 inhabitants as of 2021. Even if it was still an independent city with its former boundaries, it would be the largest city in Atlantic Canada.
From 2016 to 2021, the community's population increased by 19,621 people; from 136,520 people to 156,141 people. The increase represented very-strong growth of higher-than 14% over a time-period of five-years.
The community of Halifax consists of census tracts 2050001.00 to 2050027.00.
| Census Tract | Land area (km2) | Population (2021)[85] | Population (2016)[86] | Population Density (people per km2) (2021) | Population Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2050001.00 | 5.703 | 4,123 | 3,868 | 722 |  6.5 |
| 2050002.00 | 11.518 | 8,358 | 6,194 | 725 | 34.9 |
| 2050003.00 | 2.365 | 2,885 | 2,955 | 1,219 |  2.4 |
| 2050004.01 | 0.481 | 4,045 | 3,466 | 8,402 | 16.7 |
| 2050004.02 | 0.482 | 5,466 | 4,771 | 11,340 | 14.6 |
| 2050005.00 | 0.769 | 1,813 | 1,808 | 2,358 | 0.3 |
| 2050006.00 | 1.054 | 3,553 | 3,129 | 3,371 | 13.6 |
| 2050007.00 | 1.16 | 1,947 | 1,859 | 1,677 | 4.7 |
| 2050008.00 | 0.504 | 5,203 | 2,778 | 10,325 | 87.3 |
| 2050009.00 | 0.635 | 2,875 | 2,357 | 4,528 | 22 |
| 2050010.00 | 0.834 | 6,019 | 5,036 | 7,213 | 19.5 |
| 2050011.00 | 0.808 | 6,013 | 5,631 | 7,446 | 6.8 |
| 2050012.00 | 0.518 | 2,901 | 2,482 | 5,598 | 16.9 |
| 2050013.00 | 0.805 | 2,630 | 2,561 | 3,267 | 2.7 |
| 2050014.00 | 1.838 | 4,390 | 4,248 | 2,388 | 3.3 |
| 2050015.00 | 2.042 | 5,389 | 4,829 | 2,639 | 15.9 |
| 2050016.00 | 2.563 | 4,021 | 3,766 | 1,568 | 6.7 |
| 2050017.00 | 2.912 | 2,999 | 2,914 | 1,029 | 2.9 |
| 2050018.00 | 1.397 | 3,758 | 3,544 | 2,690 | 6 |
| 2050019.00 | 0.891 | 5,126 | 5,062 | 5,755 | 1.3 |
| 2050020.00 | 0.999 | 3,602 | 2,562 | 3,607 | 40.6 |
| 2050021.00 | 0.877 | 3,544 | 3,314 | 4,041 | 6.9 |
| 2050022.00 | 2.833 | 5,581 | 5,301 | 1,969 | 5.3 |
| 2050023.00 | 1.537 | 5,208 | 4,594 | 3,388 | 13.4 |
| 2050024.00 | 2.181 | 8,618 | 7,375 | 3,951 | 16.8 |
| 2050025.01 | 1.05 | 5,201 | 4,726 | 4,953 | 10 |
| 2050025.02 | 1.913 | 5,515 | 4,863 | 2,882 | 13.4 |
| 2050025.04 | 0.911 | 4,818 | 4,685 | 5,288 | 2.8 |
| 2050025.05 | 1.556 | 3,746 | 3,547 | 2,407 | 5.6 |
| 2050026.02 | 1.509 | 4,855 | 3,409 | 3,217 | 42.4 |
| 2050026.03 | 1.393 | 3,348 | 3,358 | 2,403 | 0.3 |
| 2050026.04 | 0.654 | 4,346 | 4,199 | 6,645 | 3.5 |
| 2050026.05 | 0.771 | 3,866 | 3,967 | 5,014 | 2.5 |
| 2050027.00 | 4.498 | 10,379 | 7,362 | 2,307 | 40.9 |
| Community | 61.961 | 156,141 | 136,520 | 2,519 | 14.3 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1749 | 2,576 | — |
| 1755 | 1,747 | −32.2% |
| 1762 | 2,500 | +43.1% |
| 1767 | 3,695 | +47.8% |
| 1790 | 4,000 | +8.3% |
| 1817 | 5,341 | +33.5% |
| 1828 | 14,439 | +170.3% |
| 1841 | 14,422 | −0.1% |
| 1851 | 20,749 | +43.9% |
| 1861 | 25,026 | +20.6% |
| 1871 | 29,582 | +18.2% |
| 1881 | 36,100 | +22.0% |
| 1891 | 38,437 | +6.5% |
| 1901 | 40,832 | +6.2% |
| 1911 | 46,619 | +14.2% |
| 1921 | 58,372 | +25.2% |
| 1931 | 59,275 | +1.5% |
| 1941 | 70,488 | +18.9% |
| 1951 | 85,589 | +21.4% |
| 1956 | 93,301 | +9.0% |
| 1961 | 92,511 | −0.8% |
| 1966 | 86,792 | −6.2% |
| 1971 | 122,035 | +40.6% |
| 1976 | 117,882 | −3.4% |
| 1981 | 114,594 | −2.8% |
| 1986 | 113,577 | −0.9% |
| 1991 | 114,455 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 113,910 | −0.5% |
| 2001 | 119,292 | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 123,612 | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 130,944 | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 136,520 | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 156,141 | +14.4% |
| From 1749 until 1842; Halifax was a Town. From 1842 until 1996; Halifax was a City. From 1996 until present; Halifax has been a Community. Source:[87][88][89][90][91][92] | ||
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| Politics |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Services and agencies | |||||||
| Articles of interest | |||||||
| Education |
| ||||||
| Neighbourhoods & communities |
| ||||||
| Topics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Events |
| ||
| Places | |||
| Research | |||
| Search | |||
Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
.svg)
