Halifax Explosion - Wartime Halifax

Wartime Halifax

Halifax was founded in 1749 with the arrival of HMS Sphinx and thirteen transport ships that brought 2,500 British settlers to Nova Scotia. The colonization effort was made to counter the French settlement on nearby Cape Breton Island and its fortress of Louisbourg. The British settlers landed on the south shore of a large natural harbour that the native Mi'kmaq people had named "Chebucto", meaning "big harbour". Known today as Halifax Harbour, it is one of the deepest, ice-free natural harbours in the world. The community of Dartmouth was settled on the north shore one year later.

Halifax thrived during times of war. It was one of the Royal Navy's most important harbours in North America, and hosted privateers that harried the British Empire's enemies during the American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. The termination of the Reciprocity Treaty following the American Civil War resulted in new tariffs on American goods and plunged Halifax into economic decline. In 1907, the Canadian Government took over the Halifax Dockyard from the British Royal Navy and made the Dockyard the command centre of the Royal Canadian Navy upon its founding in 1910.

The outbreak of the First World War brought Halifax back to prominence. The city had grown in population to over 50,000 people and Dartmouth was home to over 6,500 residents. The majority of Canada's 400,000 soldiers sent to the European front by the end of 1917 passed through Halifax, as well as hospital ships returning the wounded. All neutral ships bound for North America had to report to Halifax for inspection. A large army garrison protected the city with forts, gun batteries, and anti-submarine nets. These factors drove a major military, industrial and residential expansion of the city. while the weight of goods passing through the harbour increased nearly ninefold. Management of the harbour was haphazardly organized by the British and Canadian militaries, along with civilian authorities. Record traffic in the harbour and antiquated control systems resulted in numerous collisions.

By 1917, the success of German U-boat attacks on ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean led the Allies to institute a convoy system to safely transport goods and soldiers to Europe. Merchant ships gathered at Bedford Basin on the northwestern end of the Harbour, which was protected by two sets of anti-submarine nets and guarded by patrol ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. The convoys departed under the protection of British Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers.