New Brunswick's Provincial Status

New Brunswick became a province in 1784, when the British divided Nova Scotia at the Chignecto Isthmus. The new province was named after the German duchy of Brunswick-Lunenburg, and its capital, Fredericton, was established in the same year. The colony was formed in response to discontent among refugees loyal to the British Crown, who had settled at the mouth of the St. John River following the American Revolution.

The arrival of Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution

The American Revolution (1775-1783) saw colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown become outcasts in the new United States. These Loyalists, facing persecution in the aftermath of the war, sought refuge in British territory. Between 1783 and 1785, approximately 14,000-15,000 Loyalists arrived in what would become the colony of New Brunswick. Most of them landed at the mouth of the St. John River, founding the city of Saint John.

The Loyalists who settled in New Brunswick came from a variety of backgrounds and places. They included German, Dutch, and Black Loyalists, as well as those of British origin. The Black Loyalists were a mix of freed slaves and those who were still enslaved, with their Loyalist owners, and they were settled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Loyalists also included farmers, artisans, small merchants, and disbanded soldiers, many of them native-born Americans from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and smaller numbers from Southern and New England states.

The arrival of the Loyalists in the area that became New Brunswick had a significant impact on the existing population. As they made their way up the St. John River Valley, they displaced around 5,000 people already living in the territory, including settlers from various parts of Britain and the United States, indigenous groups like the Wulstukwuik (Maliseet) and Mi'kmaq, and recently returned Acadians. The Acadians, in particular, were forced to migrate to Madawaska and other areas.

The Loyalists established settlements beyond Saint John as well. They settled in St. Andrews at the mouth of the Passamaquoddy, Fort Cumberland, along the Miramichi and Petitcodiac rivers, on the south shore of the Bay of Chaleur, and in Beaver Harbour, where a group of Loyalist Quakers resettled.

The influx of Loyalists led to the creation of the new Province of New Brunswick in 1784. Discontent with the government in Halifax, located in Nova Scotia, and the desire for self-governance resulted in the British government partitioning Nova Scotia and creating a separate province for the Loyalists. The new province was named after the royal house of Brunswick, and its capital, Fredericton, was named for King George III's son, Frederick.

The creation of the new colony

The area that would become New Brunswick was first inhabited by the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people. In 1604, the first permanent European settlement was established when Samuel de Champlain claimed the area as part of the French colony of Acadia. Over the next 150 years, the region was the subject of numerous conflicts between the French and British empires, with France and the United Kingdom vying for control.

In 1710, the region was ceded to Great Britain, and in 1755, the British expelled over 5,000 Acadians from their homes. While many fled to the United States or other faraway lands, those who settled in present-day eastern New Brunswick became the ancestors of the province's French-speaking population.

In 1783, refugees loyal to the British Crown began to land at the mouth of the St. John River, fleeing persecution in the aftermath of the American Revolution. These refugees included people of British, Dutch, German, and Black Loyalist origin, with the latter group consisting of freed slaves and those who brought their slaves with them to New Brunswick. 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 colony was created by partitioning the British colony of Nova Scotia, with Sir Thomas Carleton appointed as Lieutenant-Governor. The new colony was almost called New Ireland, but King George III replaced the name with New Brunswick, honouring his title of Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

The capital of the new colony was established at Fredericton, located about 150 km up the Saint John River from the coast, as it was felt that this would make the capital less vulnerable to American attack. The University of New Brunswick was also founded in Fredericton in 1785, making it the oldest English-language university in Canada and the first public university in North America. Saint John, which became Canada's first incorporated city in 1785, remained the province's largest city for 231 years until 2016.

The initial population growth of the new colony extended along the Fundy coastline and up the Kennebecasis and lower Saint John River valleys. The colony was predominantly rural, with the majority of residents having Anglo and Celtic heritage, but there was also a significant Francophone minority, predominantly of Acadian origin. The arrival of the Loyalists was followed by additional immigration from Scotland, western England, and Waterford, Ireland, in the early 19th century. A large influx of Irish immigrants also arrived in New Brunswick after 1845 due to the Potato Famine.

The first incorporated city

The city of Saint John was New Brunswick's first incorporated city. It was granted this status by the King in 1785, after thousands of refugees fleeing persecution in the aftermath of the American Revolution had settled at the mouth of the St. John River.

Saint John was also the first city in Canada to be incorporated. The King granted the city a charter, and it became the capital of the newly-created Province of New Brunswick. The capital was established in Fredericton, 114km up the St. John River.

The city of Saint John was named after the St. John River, which was itself named by Samuel de Champlain and other European explorers who began exploring the area in the early 1600s. They encountered the Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) and Mi'kmaq peoples, who lived along the river and the coasts.

In the 1800s, Saint John experienced economic growth and a rapid increase in population. The city's development was stimulated by the lumber trade and the emergence of shipbuilding. Saint John became the third most productive shipbuilding town in the Maritimes, producing over 500 vessels.

The establishment of the capital

The capital of New Brunswick, Fredericton, was established in 1785, a year after the province was created. Fredericton is located 114 km up the St. John River from the mouth of the river, where many refugees loyal to the British Crown had settled. The capital was placed inland, as it was felt that this would make it less vulnerable to American attacks. The colonial authorities also established the University of New Brunswick at Fredericton, making it the oldest English-language university in Canada and the first public university in North America.

The city was originally named St. Anne's Point, but was later renamed Frederick's Town, after the third son of King George III. Fredericton's name was then further changed, with the town being named after Frederick, Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Albany.

Fredericton contains a large percentage of architectural gems, especially within the city's Historic Garrison District, which overlooks the Saint John River. Fredericton is also home to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, New Brunswick's official provincial art museum.

The Acadian population

The Acadians are the descendants of French settlers who came to North America from 1604 onwards. They are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Acadia was a colonial division of New France, covering the Maritimes, as well as parts of Quebec and present-day Maine. It was ethnically, geographically, and administratively different from the other French colonies.

Acadia was routinely a war zone between the French and the English in the 1600s and 1700s, and would often change hands. During the French and Indian War, British colonial officers suspected that the Acadians were aligned with France. Though most Acadians remained neutral during the war, the British, together with New England legislators and militia, carried out the Great Expulsion of the Acadians between 1755 and 1764. They forcefully deported approximately 11,500 Acadians from the maritime region, with about a third perishing from disease and drowning. This has been described as an ethnic cleansing of the Acadians from Maritime Canada.

The Acadians speak a variety of French called Acadian French, with several regional accents. Most can also speak English. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in the North American region of Acadia, where descendants of Acadians who escaped the Expulsion of the Acadians re-settled. Most Acadians in Canada continue to live in majority French-speaking communities, notably in New Brunswick. In some cases, Acadians intermarried with Indigenous Peoples, in particular, the Mi'kmaq.

In the late 1700s, the British began to make efforts to colonise the region, mostly by importing colonists from New England. The British prohibited Acadians from resettling their lands and villages in what became Nova Scotia. A few of the Acadians in this area evaded the British for several years, but eventually surrendered. Some returnees settled in the region of Fort Sainte-Anne, now Fredericton, but were later displaced when the Crown awarded land grants to numerous United Empire Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies after the victory of the United States in the American Revolution. Most of the descendants of Acadian returnees now live primarily on the eastern coast of New Brunswick, Canada.

In 2003, at the request of Acadian representatives, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, issued a Royal Proclamation acknowledging the deportation. She established July 28 as an annual day of commemoration, beginning in 2005. The day is called the "Great Upheaval" on some English-language calendars.

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