Halifax... Slackerfax or Slackers.
Halifax (2001 pop.: 119,292 [1],) founded in 1749, is a community and former city in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Halifax was the shire town of Halifax County and the provincial capital.
On April 1, 1996 the provincial government amalgamated all the municipalities within the boundaries of Halifax County into a single-tier regional government named Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). While the City of Halifax and its neighbouring city of Dartmouth, the town of Bedford and the Municipality of the County of Halifax were dissolved at this time, the former city forms part of the urban core of the larger regional municipality and is officially labelled the "capital district" by the HRM government. At the time that the City of Halifax was dissolved, the provincial government altered its status to "Metropolitan Area." with the areas of Bedford and Dartmouth which more commonly known as the "urban core".
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Halifax began as a British garrison town in 1749 to counter the French fortress at Louisbourg (in modern Cape Breton) to the northeast. In 1749, the Hon. Edward Cornwallis landed with some 2,500 settlers on the Chebucto peninsula to establish a permanent fortified settlement. The little community was soon christened 'Halifax' in honour of Lord Halifax, President of the British Board of Trade at that time. In 1750, 'Dartmouth' was founded, named for the town of Dartmouth, England, and in honour of Sir William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, keeper of the privy seal. In 1752 the first ferry between Halifax and Dartmouth was established, now the oldest, continuously running salt water ferry system in North America.
Despite many hardships the community grew and was not long in becoming the site of several Canadian 'firsts". The first newspaper in Canada, the Halifax "Gazette", appeared in 1752 and Canada's first Post Office began operations in Halifax in 1755. The year 1758 saw the first representative assembly meet in Halifax, while in the some year began the community's long association with naval affairs when a dockyard was completed. In 1759 Halifax served as a base for the British operations against the French fort at Louisbourg.
Wars and periods of international unrest contributed a good deal towards the development and prosperity of HRM over the years. The Seven Years' War (of which the siege of Louisbourg was one campaign) was the first such instance. Close on its heels in the 1770's followed the War of American Independence which saw Halifax again a base of military and naval operations. Many Loyalists flocked to the Greater Halifax area during this period. From 1785-1792, Dartmouth was headquarters of a whaling company established when Quaker families moved from the Island of Nantucket - a number of Quaker buildings still stand in Dartmouth.
Large numbers of black loyalists settled in the area, followed by a contingent of Maroons from Jamaica, building a strong and vibrant black heritage.
The rise to power in France of Napoleon Bonaparte caused Britain to keep her Atlantic bastion alert and ready to repulse possible attack. Once again, in 1812, Halifax was brought to the state of readiness to meet assault this time from our good neighbour to the south.
During WWI, Halifax harbour (largest ice-free harbour in Canada) was scene to the largest, non-atomic man-made explosion that devasted large parts of the city when a munition ship collided with another ship and exploded. Large amounts of came north from "the Boston states" and to this day, in thanks, Nova Scotia donates a tree to Boston for the city's Christmas celebration.
