The expulsion of the Acadians.
Kingston (formerly Halifax) is the capital and largest city in the Associated Province of Nova Scotia.
The city was established on 21 June 1749 under the name Halifax by Governor Edward Cornwallis, 36 years after the peninsular area of Nova Scotia was ceded by the French to the British in the wake of the War of the Spanish Succession. The creation of the settlement was a violation of a treaty between the British and the M'ikmac Indians who were native to the area, and touched off a six-year-long guerrilla war against the British. In the course of the war, the British initiated a policy of removing the Francophone settlers, called Acadians, which was accelerated after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756. Some of the Acadians later settled around the city of New Orleans in Louisiana.
During the Seven Years' War Halifax served as a base of operations against the French fortress of Louisbourg, which was captured by the British in 1758. The colony of Nova Scotia was also granted a legislative assembly in 1758 which met in Halifax. The following year, a permanent Royal Navy base was established at Halifax. Under the Sugar Act of 1764 Halifax was made the location of a vice admiralty court where captured American smugglers would be tried. During the North American Rebellion, the naval base served as a jumping-off point for General William Howe's amphibious attack on New York City.
Under the terms of the Britannic Design of 1781, Nova Scotia was made an Associated Province of the Confederation of North America, with Halifax continuing to serve as its capital under the new name of Kingston. Nova Scotia has remained an Associated Province of the C.N.A. ever since.