Following the launch of trove.scot in February 2025 we are now planning the retiral of some of our webservices. Canmore will be switched off on 24th June 2025. Information about the closure can be found on the HES website: Retiral of HES web services | Historic Environment Scotland
Records of settlement of Scottish Diaspora in Canada
551 2541
Description Records of settlement of Scottish Diaspora in Canada
Collection Records of settlement of Scottish Diaspora in Canada
Catalogue Number 551 2541
Category All Other
Scope and Content Scottish people began migrating to and settling in the British colonies that would become Canada in significant numbers from the last quarter of the 18th century. They have left a lasting mark its provinces and many of their communities. Evidence of transatlantic relations between Scotland and Nova Scotia exists in various forms. There are numerous examples of both intangible and tangible heritage: from cultural traditions and food culture, the Gaelic language, songs, dances, nicknames and stories to St. Francis Xavier University, the North British Society, and a unique and varied built environment. This collection of images has two parts. The first comes from the preliminary visit undertaken in May 2023 entitled A Community Apart, to collect evidence of Scottish migration and settlement in eastern Nova Scotia. The second part of this collection is linked to the One People Two Islands project and includes images collected in June 2024 from one settlement: An Gleann Mór (Rear Beaver Cove) on Cape Breton Island. Together, these collections provide a useful overview of the built environment that was either created by Scottish people or influenced by them. Measurable Scottish migration to Nova Scotia started in the late 18th century and was influenced by a range of factors including the desire to acquire land, resettlement following the American Revolution, and a search for religious freedom. It was also a response to displacement from traditional lands. Migrants came from all over Scotland, but after the turn of the nineteenth century, the majority were from the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Land tenure in the colonies that would become Canada varied. Nova Scotia differed from Prince Edward Island, for example, in that individual people, as opposed to large landowners, could acquire land grants in their own names. Although land was easier to acquire in places like Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, the process of obtaining legal title still presented challenges – particularly for those who lacked money. Squatting on Crown land and on land used by the Mi’kmaq people was common. The colonization of Nova Scotia accelerated over the course of the 18th century, but the acceleration of Scottish settlement from the 1810s was irreversibly disruptive to the Mi’kmaq. They were displaced and forced or coerced on to reserves which undermined completely their traditional ways of life and seasonal subsistence patterns.
Accession Number 2024/81
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/2734088
