Cape Breton Island (redirected from Settlement history of Cape Breton)

Cape Breton Island, island (1991 pop. 161,686), 3,970 sq mi (10,282 sq km), forming the northeastern part of N.S., Canada, and separated from the mainland by the narrow Gut, or Strait, of Canso. The easternmost point is called Cape Breton. The center of the island is occupied by the Bras d'Or salt lakes. Gently sloping in the south, the island rises to rugged hills in the wilder northern part. The inhabitants are mainly of Scottish Highlander descent. There are many summer resorts on the lakes and fishing villages on the coast. In the northeast are steelworks, once fueled by the extensive Sydney coal fields, which were worked from the 1720s to 2001. The Cabot Trail, a scenic road through Cape Breton Highlands National Park, commemorates the discovery of Cape Breton Island in 1497 by John Cabot. The island was a French possession from 1632 to 1763. After the Peace of Utrecht (1713) many Acadians migrated there from mainland Nova Scotia, which was ceded to the English. They renamed the island Île Royale and established the fortress at Louisburg. With the final cession of Canada to the British (1763), Cape Breton was attached to Nova Scotia. It was made a separate colony in 1784, with Sydney as its capital, but was rejoined to Nova Scotia in 1820.

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Cape Breton Island

Island, (pop., 2001: 109,330), eastern part of Nova Scotia, Canada. Separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso, it is 110 mi (175 km) long and up to 75 mi (120 km) wide, with an area of 3,981 sq mi (10,311 sq km). It contains the Bras d'Or salt lakes. Originally called Île Royale as a French colony, it later took the name of its eastern cape, probably the first land visited by John Cabot on his 1497–98 voyage and probably named by Basque fishermen from Cap Breton, France. It was ceded to the British by the 1763 Treaty of Paris and joined to Nova Scotia. In 1784 it became a separate British crown colony, but it was rejoined to Nova Scotia in 1820. In 1955 the island was linked to the mainland by a causeway. Cape Breton Highlands National Park was established in 1936. Tourism is an important industry on the island.

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Cape Breton Island

an island off SE Canada, in NE Nova Scotia, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso: its easternmost point is Cape Breton. Pop.: 120 098 (1991). Area: 10 280 sq. km (3970 sq. miles)