Isthmus of Chignecto - History

History

The first European settlements on the isthmus were French. Prior to British control of present-day mainland Nova Scotia (after 1713), the isthmus was the location of a growing Acadian farming community called Beaubassin. The isthmus became the location of the historic dividing line between the British colony of Nova Scotia and the French territory. French military forces established Fort Beausejour on the Aulac Ridge in 1749 in response to the British construction of an outpost called Fort Lawrence on the ridge immediately to the east. Between the two ridges was a tidal stream called the Missaquash River which France generally accepted to be the boundary between the territories, although the powers had never determined and agreed to an official boundary. France also constructed Fort Gaspereau on the shores of the Northumberland Strait to effectively control travel on the isthmus.