History comes to life in the Annapolis-Digby region. It begins with the aboriginal cultural centre at Bear River, continues through time with the site of the first French settlers at l’Habitation at Port Royal and onto the first Scottish settlement at Annapolis Royal. We are also home to the first settlements of the Black Loyalists and the first Capital of Nova Scotia.

First Nations
There is evidence of inhabitants in Nova Scotia dating back 9,000 to 11,000 years ago. These nomadic hunter-gatherers are thought to have followed caribou into Nova Scotia in the Paleo-Indian Period. Ancestors of the Mi’kmaq inhabited the Kejimkujik National Park area over 10,000 years ago. Their history has been researched though petroglyphs (rock drawings), ancient burial sites, trails and encampments within the park. The history is also recorded in the oral historical tradition that exists within the descendant communities. Many sites within the park are considered sacred territory and are protected property.

Kejimkujik National Park was designated as a National Historic site In October of 2000 in honour of the Mi’kmaq cultural landscape. A monument was erected in Merrymakedge to pay tribute to these earliest known inhabitants of the area.

Annual celebrations take place at the park on June 21 for National Aboriginal Day. And each fall, usually in September, there is a Spiritual Gathering for ceremonial Aboriginal observances. This is a time of private reverence and reflection for people from those communities.

Learn more about the significance of the Annapolis Royal First Nations at the Bear River First Nation Heritage and Cultural Centre or Kejimkujik National Park.

Europeans
Together with Port Royal, the Annapolis Royal region comprises the oldest continuous European settlement north of St. Augustine, Florida. The area was settled by Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts in 1605 after spending their first winter at Isle Ste Croix in 1604. Known as Acadia, the area was subject to frequent capture by the British or its New England colonists only to be restored each time to French control by subsequent recapture or treaty stipulations.
 
In 1710, the current site of Annapolis Royal was occupied by British forces after the former capital of Acadia at Port Royal was abandoned. The name honours Queen Anne (1665-1714) and is formed through a mix of the former French name Port-Royal and combining the queen's name with that of 'polis', the Greek word for city.

The area remained in French hands until 1713 when, under the Treaty of Utrecht, present-day peninsula Nova Scotia was granted to the British. The treaty had transferred the French colony of Acadia, however the vague boundary definitions saw only the peninsula part of Nova Scotia granted to Britain.

Annapolis Royal served as the first capital of the Colony of Nova Scotia from 1710 until the founding of Halifax in 1749. Fort Anne was built by the British army to defend the colonial capital from seaward attack. Today, much of the original earthen embankments are preserved for tours by the public, as well as some original buildings of the military facility.

In 1776 a body of New Englanders settled here under the leadership of William MacDermott, but this settlement was largely broken up by frequent attacks of privateers. The town as it exists today was founded by Loyalists from New England in 1783. The locality was first known as Conway after Sir Henry Seymour Conway, a British Army General, and the grant from the Governor was dated Feb 20, 1784.

The name Digby was given to the town and to the county of which it is the capital, in honour of the Hon. Robert Digby, a British Admiral, who superintended the transportation of many of the Loyalist settlers.

Black Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists, totalling approximately 40,000, arrived in the British colony of Nova Scotia between 1776 and 1785, tripling the population. Of that group of 40,000, there were about 3,500 Black Loyalists. They included newly-freed slaves, those who had bought their freedom, and those born free, as well as indentured servants and slaves to White Loyalists and disbanded soldiers. They settled in Annapolis Royal and in the areas of Cornwallis/Horton, Weymouth, Digby as well as Windsor, Preston, Sydney, Fort Cumberland, Parrsboro, Halifax, Shelburne, Birchtown, and Port Mouton.

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