Halifax. A City Destroyed and then Rebuilt #teamcanada #whereimfrom

To kick off the #teamcanada invasion of Steemit today I'm showcasing where I'm from..

This is Halifax Nova Scotia. It was founded in 1749 as a British Commonwealth. A fortress was immediately built to protect the harbour and the newly settled Europeans from the local Acadians and Mic Mac Indians. The fort is called the Citadel.

The British set up the port town for trade and its history is steeped in bloody conflict with the Native Indians and the French Acadians that were here before the takeover.

The fortress sits atop a hill overlooking the city and the port of Halifax in the centre of town

The European settlers spread throughout Nova Scotia setting up towns and the population grew. Many people made their living off of the ocean. The province of Nova Scotia is a Peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic ocean. Ship building was also another major economic driver.

In 1917, a French munitions ship, named the Mount Blanc was steaming into the harbour loaded with munitions, the fog was thick and it collided with a Belgian relief vessel named the Imo. The ships caught fire and there was a massive explosion that completly leveled the city.

Credit: Halifax Herald

11,000 souls were killed or wounded and it was the largest man made explosion up until the development and use of nuclear weapons.

Credit: Halifax Herald

The devestation was so bad people came from all over to help the wounded and rebuild the city. A significant amount of Bostonians came down the eastern seaboard to help in the effort and because of this relations between our two cities is great. Every year Halifax cuts a massive Christmas tree down and trucks it to Boston so they can light and erect it. It's a nice symbol to let them know we haven't forgotten and appreciate their efforts.

Credit: Halifax Herald

Because of Halifax's location it was the port of entry for many immigrants and settlers coming to North America.

There's a building named pier 21 that has a museum documenting such. Its near the cruise ship port so it attracts alot of visitors.

Halifax has the second most bars per capita of anywhere in Canada and also the most universities. It's a university town and in September it's population swells. According to census stats we're around 400 thousand residents.

Because of Halifax's location to the sinking of the Titanic we have a graveyard with many of the dead resting here. There's a museum dovoted to the ship and it's also a popular destination for tourists.

Downtown Halifax is a nice mix of Heritage buildings and cobblestone streets protected from redevelopment. We also have many newer modern buildings.

A popular figure here is a man named Alexander Kieth, he was a brewer. The Kieths brewery is still intact and their beers are very popular across Canada.

It has been since sold to multinational company but they still produce the product here.

Hockey.. like in most of Canada, is extremely important to the people here. Local stars include Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand and Nathan McKinnon to name a few.

Credit: cbc.ca

The television show Trailer Park boys is filmed nearby and its stars still reside in the area. It's common to see Ricky, Bubbles, Julien or Mr Lahey around town.

Credit: vice

One of my favorite things, besides the stunning beauty of this area is its people. We're laid back helpful and very friendly. I love living here and couldn't imagine not being near the water.

I hope you enjoyed a brief history of where from? You can expect a barrage of other Canadians posting pieces detailing where they're from and I hope you all have a spectacular day!

@goldenarms

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