On June 21, 1749, Colonel Edward Cornwallis led 13 transport ships packed with 2,500 settlers, and a navy sloop to Halifax Harbour and established a fortified town that would become Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Entrance to Halifax Harbour
From the 1938 Pictorial series
Issued by Canada November 15, 1938
Designer: Herman Herbert Schwartz

The growth of Halifax was directly related to war and threats of war, in conjunction with British, and later Canadian, military and trade policies. The British conquest of the French in North America by 1763 elevated the military status of Halifax. However, it was the American Revolution (1775–83) that positioned Halifax as the military anchor for the remaining British North American colonies after the establishment of the United States. As a result of the conflict, Halifax was the recipient of many loyalists, including black loyalists. Halifax | History, Harbour, Facts, Map, & Tourism | Britannica