Annapolis Royal is a town in and the county seat of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Originally established by the French as Port Royal in 1605, the community is historically significant as one of the oldest European settlements in North America.[2] Its founding predates the English settlement at Jamestown (1607), the French settlement at Quebec City (1608), and the Pilgrims’ arrival at Plymouth (1620).[3]
Renamed as Annapolis Royal in honour of Queen Anne following the Siege of Port Royal in 1710, the town served as capital of Acadia and subsequently Nova Scotia, until the capital was transferred to Halifax in 1749.[2][4]
While the original 1605 French settlement was centred at the nearby Habitation,[5] the modern town developed around the site of Charles Fort, established by Scottish settlers in 1629.[6] Situated on the boundary between rival French and British colonial empires, the strategic settlement changed hands seven times and withstood thirteen military sieges—more than any other location in North America.[7]
After the American Revolution, more than 30,000 United Empire Loyalists migrated to the maritimes,[26] many of them arriving in Annapolis Royal, severely taxing the resources of the town. Many later moved to found settlements such as Digby and Clementsport.
Some Loyalists, such as Anglican minister Jacob Bailey, remained in Annapolis Royal and became members of the town’s elite. Many escaped slaves who fought for the British known as Black Loyalists were also part of the migration, including Thomas Peters, a member of the Black Pioneers regiment and an important Black Loyalist leader who later took land near Digby. Another notable Black Loyalist, Rose Fortune, founded a freight business and policed the Annapolis Royal waterfront.[27] The Loyalists remaining in Annapolis Royal brought an injection of professions and capital that strengthened the town as a regional centre beyond its status as a military outpost.
