New Brunswick's Ancient History

New Brunswick, a province of Canada, was founded in 1784. It was named in honour of King George III, who was descended from the House of Brunswick. The capital, Fredericton, was also named after royalty – it was named for King George III's son, Prince Frederick.

The province's founding and naming

The history of New Brunswick dates back to the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago, with the land being inhabited by several First Nations groups, including the Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, and Passamaquoddy. In the early 1600s, European explorers, including Samuel de Champlain, began to explore the area, encountering the indigenous peoples who lived along the rivers and coasts.

The region that became New Brunswick was the subject of conflicts between the French and British empires during the 17th and 18th centuries. The French established settlements as part of the colony of Acadia, with the entire Maritime region being called Acadia. However, in 1710, the region was ceded to Great Britain, and the French were defeated in 1755, leading to the exile of over 5,000 Acadians from their lands.

In the late 1700s, the area saw an influx of refugees loyal to the British Crown, fleeing persecution in the aftermath of the American Revolution. These refugees included people of British, German, Dutch, and Black Loyalist descent, with some bringing their slaves. Discontent with the government in Halifax led to the establishment of the areas north of the Bay of Fundy as the new Province of New Brunswick in 1784. The capital was established at Fredericton, and Saint John became Canada's first incorporated city in 1785.

The province was named in honour of King George III, who was descended from the House of Brunswick, with Fredericton being named for his second son, Prince Frederick. New Brunswick was one of the original four provinces that formed the Dominion of Canada in 1867, along with Ontario, Québec, and Nova Scotia.

The First Nations groups

New Brunswick, Canada, was first inhabited by several First Nations groups, most notably the Mi'kmaq, the Maliseet (also known as Wolastoqiyik or Wəlastəkwiyik), and the Passamaquoddy. The Mi'kmaq territories are mostly in the east of the province, while the Maliseets are located along the length of the St. John River. The Passamaquoddy are situated in the southwest, around Passamaquoddy Bay.

The Maliseet are a First Nations people who inhabit the St. John River valley and its tributaries, extending to the St. Lawrence in Quebec. Their territory included the entire watershed of the St. John River on both sides of the International Boundary between New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada, and Maine in the United States. The name Maliseet comes from the Mi'kmaq description of the Wəlastəkwiyik, as the Wəlastəkwey language seemed to the Mi'kmaq to be a slower version of their own language. The Wəlastəkwiyik so named themselves because their territory and existence centred on the St. John River, which they called the Wəlastəkw, meaning "good river" for its gentle waves.

The Passamaquoddy are a First Nations people who live in northeastern North America, in Maine and New Brunswick. They are also known as Peskotomuhkati or Pestomuhkati in their own language, which means "pollock-spearer", reflecting the importance of this fish in their culture. Like the Maliseet, the Passamaquoddy maintained a migratory existence, but in the woods and mountains of the coastal regions along the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine and along the St. Croix River and its tributaries.

The Mi'kmaq are a First Nations people indigenous to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspe peninsula in Quebec, and the eastern half of New Brunswick. In 1616, Father Biard believed the Mi'kmaq population to be in excess of 3,000, but he remarked that there had been large population losses in the previous century due to European diseases, including smallpox. During the colonial wars, the Mi'kmaq were allies with the four Abenaki nations (Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet), forming the Wabanaki Confederacy.

The First Nations of New Brunswick number more than 16,000, mostly Mi'kmaq and Maliseet. There are 15 First Nations in New Brunswick, and the province is home to 32 Indian reserves, of which 18 are recognized as census subdivisions by Statistics Canada. The Passamaquoddy maintain a land claim at Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, but they have no reserves in the province and no official status in Canada.

French and British colonial rule

New Brunswick was originally claimed as part of the New France colony (Acadia) in the early 1600s, which also included Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. French explorers first arrived in the 16th century and began to settle the region in the 17th century. During this time, small groups of French settlers established small communities along the coast, trading fur and pelts with the local tribes.

In 1621, the French claim was countered by an English claim when King James gave the Plymouth Company permission to settle the lands named Nova Scotia, which at the time was a composite of present-day Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine. This began a century-long battle between England and France for control over the Canadian waterways and lands.

In 1710, the region was ceded to Great Britain, and the French lost their grip over the area during the Spanish War of Succession. The Treaty of Utrecht saw Britain gain control of the nearby peninsula of Nova Scotia, though the French held on to New Brunswick and the islands of Prince Edward and Cape Breton.

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) saw the British finish off French influence in Canada. Fort Beauséjour was captured by Lieutenant Colonel Monckton, and New Brunswick fell under British control, being amalgamated with Nova Scotia for administrative purposes. Following the final defeat of the French in 1755, more than 5,000 Acadians were forcibly exiled from their lands by the British.

During the period of British rule, the Acadians faced expulsion, religious conversion attempts, and encouragement to adapt the language and customs of their new rulers. The British also brought slavery to New Brunswick, though public opinion began to turn against the practice by the end of the 18th century.

In 1784, New Brunswick was officially separated from Nova Scotia, partly in response to the influx of Loyalists that settled British North America after the American Revolutionary War. The new colony was named in honour of the British monarch, King George III, and Fredericton, the capital city, was named after his son, Prince Frederick.

The American Revolution's impact

The Canadian province of New Brunswick was created in 1784, following the arrival of many loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. The impact of the American Revolution on the region, however, dates back to the beginning of the conflict in 1776.

At the time, the area that became New Brunswick was part of Nova Scotia, and the population's initial reaction to the war was one of ambivalence. Many Nova Scotians were New England-born and sympathetic to the American Patriots. However, as the war continued, this support slowly eroded due to American privateer raids on Nova Scotian villages and shipping. The presence of British military units, judicial prosecution by colonial governors, and the efforts of religious figures also influenced Nova Scotians to remain loyal to Britain.

The American Revolution had a significant impact on shaping the region. One notable example was the Maugerville Rebellion of 1776, led by Jonathan Eddy, which resulted in the Nova Scotia government using sedition trials as a formal response to the revolution. The revolution also led to the creation of new colonies, with loyalists settling in Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and New Brunswick, which was named in honour of King George III.

The revolution also had a direct impact on the city of New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey. General George Washington and his Continental Army troops arrived in the city in November 1776 during their retreat across New Jersey. Captain Alexander Hamilton's artillery battery provided cover for the army's retreat and engaged in a cannon duel with British troops stationed on the north side of the Raritan River. The city was occupied by British troops from December 1776 to June 1777.

The Declaration of Independence received one of its first public readings in New Brunswick in July 1776, and the city served as an important hub for colonial travellers and traders during the war. The impact of the American Revolution extended beyond the conflict itself, with New Brunswick becoming a notorious city for slave hunters enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

The province's demographics

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and its only officially bilingual province, with French and English as its official languages. The province's population in 2006 was estimated to be 729,997, with the majority being English-speaking, and a substantial French-speaking minority of mostly Acadian origin. The First Nations in New Brunswick include the Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet). The Acadians, descendants of French settlers, were expelled by the British in 1755 for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to King George II. Many English-Canadians in New Brunswick are descended from Loyalists who fled the American Revolution, which is commemorated in the province's motto, "Spem reduxit" ("hope was restored").

The province has a significant population of Irish ancestry, especially in Saint John and the Miramichi Valley. People of Scottish descent are scattered throughout, with higher concentrations in the Miramichi and Campbellton. A small population of Danish origin can be found in New Denmark in the northwest of the province.

New Brunswick has a relatively even split of French and English populations compared to other provinces. It has both French and English language hospitals, healthcare networks, school systems, universities, and media. About 33.2% of the population can speak both English and French, with Francophones making up two-thirds of those who are bilingual. Language policy remains a perennial issue, with debates arising over the interpretation of the provincial bilingualism policy and the specifics of its implementation.

In the 2021 Canadian Census, the most commonly spoken languages in the province were English (91.94%), French (41.86%), Spanish (1%), Arabic (0.8%), Tagalog (0.56%), and Hindi (0.49%).

According to the 2021 census, the religious groups in New Brunswick included Christianity (67.5%), Irreligion (29.7%), Islam (1.2%), Hinduism (0.4%), Sikhism (0.2%), Buddhism (0.1%), Indigenous Spirituality (0.1%), Judaism (0.1%), and other (0.5%).

New Brunswick's three major urban areas are in the south of the province: Greater Moncton (population 157,717), Greater Saint John (population 130,613), and Greater Fredericton (population 108,610).

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