The Fourteenth Colony: An Exam

The reasons why Nova Scotia did not revolt are numerous. The communities of the colony were scattered and the people were far from centralized. This, along with the fact that there were so many different peoples in the region led to a lack of nationalism in the colony. In 1775, Nova Scotia had a population of about 200,000 with 75% of those being New Englanders but there were also British, French, Acadians and Indians present as well.1 To throw together an effective revolution from this multi-cultured group would have called for great organization and a superior leader, of which Nova Scotia definitely had none.

The main points that show how close Nova Scotia was to revolting are:

While all this was going on, Halifax officials decided to finally respond to frantic letters by loyalist leaders in Chignecto by sending the Lieutenant Governor to scope out the situation and arrest those who were guilty of rebellious and treasonous actions.30 They however, did absolutely nothing until June when the British decided to occupy Fort Cumberland in the Isthmus.31

the legal reaction to sedation talk, the economic situation and policies of Halifax and a specific example of the Eddy Revolution. The Halifax government reacted strongly to rebellious talk, arresting and charging all perceived threats with sedation, a similar but lesser charge to treason. The government created laws to allow repression and harassment of suspected rebels.2 This use of formal law shows just how serious that the government thought the situation was. Also, economically, Nova Scotia was controlled by the mercantile elite of Halifax. These elite wanted to remain neutral during the war so they could profit from selling to both sides. This gave the impression that all of Nova Scotia wanted neutrality, causing feelings of alienation and isolation from the Thirteen Colonies. The Eddy Revolution was a miniscule and ultimately futile attempt at revolt led by Jonathan Eddy in the Chignecto region. There was no chance for its success but it shows that a real invasion of Nova Scotia would have been supported.

In conclusion, when all of the factors are examined, if Nova Scotia was not so scattered in its population and if the feeling of isolation between Nova Scotia and the Thirteen Colonies was not so great, Nova Scotia would have been the fourteenth colony and part of the Revolution. The use of formal law by the Halifax government in response to rebellious talk showed just how possible they thought a revolt could be. The economic situation of neutrality led to a misunderstanding of Nova Scotia's general opinion by the Thirteen Colonies because neutrality was not in fact the actual general opinion. Economic policy was controlled by the merchants of Halifax and they wanted to be neutral so they could sell to both sides and gain great profit. Most of Nova Scotia however, would have welcomed a rebellion but had no power to make it known. The ultimately futile Eddy Revolution served one purpose alone. It showed that a real revolt would have been supported by New Englanders in Nova Scotia but only one with a chance of success. All of the factors point to the fact that if Nova Scotia colonists and American colonists were on the same page and the Nova Scotians could have been organized, the United States would have included the colony of Nova Scotia. This possibly could have provided the Americans with a gateway to conquer all of what is now Canada.

Some topics in this essay:
Nova Scotia, Seven War21, Nova Scotians, Nova Scotian, Fort Cumberland, Thirteen Colonies, nova scotia, Eddy Allen, Revolution Halifax, Acadians Indians, Britain Mercantilism, thirteen colonies, fort cumberland, halifax government, rebellious talk, nova scotians, eddy revolution, englanders nova scotia, lesser charge, legal repression, englanders nova, rebellion nova scotia, nova scotia scattered, colonies nova scotia, lesser charge sedation,