Orphan Outpost: Cape Breton Colony 1781+-1820 by Robert J. Morgan Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. £U P ^/0 X - ay University of Ottawa June 1972 '"S/ty O* U .^y Robert J. Morgan, Ottawa, 1973, UMI Number: DC53401 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform DC53401 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 GREAT SEAL COLONY OF CAPE BRETON PREFACE Cape Breton has been the least examined of all the British colonies in North America. Yet, a study of the colony's history offers insights into the obstacles confronting a small dependency, and the attitudes of colonial officials during the thirty-five years following the American Revolution. This interlude in the island's history, though not as brilliant as the preceding rise and fall of Louisbourg, witnessed the arrival of the loyalists, the Scots and many of the French- speaking people who still form the bulk of her population. It is also from this period of separation from Nova Scotia that we can trace Cape Breton's famous strong regional loyalties. In order to study all the facets of the colony's history this thesis attempts to trace the internal development of Cape Breton Colony, and to relate these developments to the broader colonial scene. A survey is made of the island's history up to its separation from Nova Scotia in 178U , in order to place the colony in its historical context. The first chapter deals with the political development surrounding the organization of the colony by Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres and William Macarmick. The second chapter deals with economic and social developments during the same period. Thereafter, chapters combine political, economic, and social developments during i ii the terms of an individual or more than one administrator as events warrented: for example, the third chapter covers the terms of three administrators, while the fifth chapter deals with the two administrators whose terms coincided with the period between the passage of the Embargo Act of 1807 and the end of the War of 1812. Such an arrangement was found to be the most comprehensive way to study the closely interwoven factors affecting the colony's history. With the exception of R.W. Brown's sketchy Cape Breton, published in 1869, virtually nothing has been written about the colony. In order to investigate the colony's history and to place Cape Breton in its broader context, this study entailed a thorough examination of primary sources as well as material relating to other British colonies and the Colonial Office. Such a task required the assistance of many individuals and institutions. I wish to thank the staff of the Public Archives of Canada for their usual kind assistance, as well as Miss Phyllis Blakely of the Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Many institutions were most helpful, including the British Museum, the Public Record Office, Surrey Record Office, Kingston- upon-Thames, the Buckinghamshire Record Office, Aylesbury, the Library of All Souls' College, Oxford, the Manuscripts Division of Nottingham University Library, and the Archives of Xavier College, Sydney, Cape Breton. I would particularly like to extend personal thanks to my adviser, Professor C.J. Jaenen and to Professor Julian Gwyn iii of the University of Ottawa, to Mr. M.J. Swift of the Public Archives of Canada, to Mrs. Hilda Day of the Xavier College Archives, to Miss Juliette Bourque, Chief Librarian at the Public Archives of Canada, and to Sister Margaret Beaton, Archivist, Xavier College, without whose tireless help no project dealing with the history of Cape Breton can be accomplished. The Canada Council can only be humbly thanked for its continued support of my studies. It is unnecessary to point out that this thesis owes its completion to their kind material support. Finally, I would like to offer thanks and apologies to my wife, who, though a Cape Bretoner, has had to endure my complaints moods , questions and triumphs during the four years this thesis was researched and written, and to whom I dedicate this story of her island home. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE PREFACE i TABLE OF CONTENTS iv ABBREVIATIONS v INTRODUCTION vi I. THE COLONY' S BACKGROUND 1 II. POLITICAL RIVALRIES, 1785 - 1795 28 III. BLIGHTED HOPES, I785 - 1795 66 IV. UNSALUTARY NEGLECT, 1795 - 1800 101 V. ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ADVANCEMENT, 1801 - 1807 135 VI. THE CHALLENGE OF WAR, 1807 - 1815 173 VII. A COUNTY OF NOVA SCOTIA, l8l6 - 1820 212 CONCLUSION 2Ul APPENDIX 250 BIBLIOGRAPHY 275 LIST OF MAPS THE MARITIME COLONIES , 1785 x CAPE BRETON ISLAND xv THE SYDNEY AREA 67 CAPE BRETON ISLAND, POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1785... 93 CAPE BRETON ISLAND, POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1795... 9k SYDNEY , 1795 98 CAPE BRETON ISLAND, POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1810... 196 CAPE BRETON ISLAND, POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, 1820... 2l6 iv ABBREVIATIONS A.C.: Archives des Colonies A.O.: Audit Office B.M.: British Museum C.B. A: Cape Breton A C.B. B-: Cape Breton B CO.: Colonial Office M.G.: Manuscript Group N.S. A: Nova Scotia A N.S. B: Nova Scotia B P.A.C.: Public Archives of Canada P.A.N.S.: Public Archives of Nova Scotia P.C.: Privy Council P.R.O.: Public Record Office R.G.: Record Group S.P.G.: Society for the Propagation of the Gospel T.: Treasury Board W.O.: War Office NOTE: Unless otherwise specified, documents are available at the Public Archives of Canada. v INTRODUCTION Cape Breton Island became a separate colony by royal prerogative in 178^, and in the same manner lost its in­ dependence through annexation to Nova Scotia in 1820. The reasons why the island was made a separate colony, how it developed, and why it was annexed to Nova Scotia have never been examined critically. The study of this large and involved topic therefore required a detailed examination of the economic, social and political developments within the colony. On the other hand, the role of colonial officials, though characterized by dire neglect, is vital. Indeed it is the interplay of local events and official decisions that accounts for eventual annex­ ation. At the root of Cape Breton's problems lay her unimportance to the mother country. She was born at a critical period in the history of the British Empire, when colonial officials were deeply involved in settling relations with the newly independent United States , when peace with France claimed high priority, and the constitutional problems of India were of the greatest concern. In none of these or other important events before 1820 did Cape Breton play a key role; hence she was ignored. Yet, since she was part of the Empire, Britain's foreign and colonial policies influenced her directly. vi vii The last quarter of the eighteenth century witnessed attempts at the reconstruction of the British Empire which affected the fate of Cape Breton. The success of the American Revolution led to a reorganization of colonial machinery; the Board of Trade and Plantations and the Colonial Secretaryship which together had been responsible for the conduct of colonial affairs were abolished during the second Rockingham administration in 1782. The Home Department which had assumed responsibility for the remaining colonies, took over the work of the Board < of Trade from various committees of the Privy Council. The Shelburne ministry (1782 - 1783) appointed a home secretary concerned with domestic as well as colonial affairs, but the Fox-North coalition (1783) had little time to effect more changes. When William Pitt assumed office in December, 1783, his determination to settle trade relations with the United States, to chart a new course for the national economy, and to settle the administration of India led to a more thorough re-organization of colonial affairs. In March 178U, he appointed a Special Committee of the Privy Council to investigate and report on colonial and American trade. Its members included people of significance in Cape Breton's history: Lord Sydney, the home secretary, and his successors, Henry Dundas, and William Wyndham Grenville, Viscount Howe who was formerly in command of the British troops in the Thirteen Colonies, and Charles Jenkinson, secretary of war during the North Administration and a close assistant of Pitt. Jenkinson was a strict viii traditionalist, and though Pitt seemed to favour relaxation of the Navigation Laws, he appeared willing to allow Jenkinson and other conservatives like Sydney to maintain the old trade acts in return for the efficient service which Hawkesbury could deliver. Pitt therefore accepted the Committee's recommenda­ tion that the Navigation Acts be continued toward the United States without modification. The Committee's work did not end there;ran investigation of French and Irish affairs was undertaken, along with a brief discussion of the fate of the Maritime Colonies. By now, the Committee had become so valuable that Pitt reorganized it, and on 23 August 1784, a new, more permanent Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations was commissioned, consisting largely of the members of the original committee.