Port-Royal

Historic settlement in the southwest of Nova Scotia. Port-Royal lies on the northern side of the Annapolis Basin, 8 km/5 mi west-southwest of Annapolis Royal. Founded by the noted French explorer Samuel de Champlain and others in the early 17th century, it was the first permanent European presence in North America to be established north of St Augustine, Florida. Preserved and restored after 1938, the Port-Royal National Historic Site is now a popular site for tourism.

In the summer of 1605, following a harsh first winter spent on Dochet (St Croix) Island in the St Croix River (between modern Maine and New Brunswick), French pioneers built a fortified habitation at Port-Royal.. Its inhabitants struggled for many years to establish their ground crops and orchard fruits in this harsh environment. The settlement also had to contend with British raids; it was sacked by an expedition from Virginia in 1613, and was overrun by the British in 1654. The ‘Ordre de Bons Temps’, founded here by Champlain in the winter of 1606, is regarded as the first social organization in the New World, and was responsible for the first theatre production ever staged in North America.