Peter McNab's Island : Scottish settlement on McNabs Island 1782 to 1847

Abstract

On Christmas Day, 1782, or so the story goes, Peter McNab purchased the largest island in Halifax Harbour, which carries his name to this day. Folk and literary tradition has portrayed Peter McNab, a native of Highland Perthshire, as a Scottish gentleman “playing the laird” and deliberately creating an island community based on Scottish systems of farming, with tenant farmers and shepherds recruited from his homeland to work the land on his behalf. His son, Peter McNab II is said to have followed in his father’s footsteps until his death in 1847. This vision moved further into popular perception through the novel, Hangman’s Beach, by Nova Scotia historian Thomas Raddall. Through the use of historical cartography, archaeological reports, material culture, period artwork, deeds, and other archival materials, I argue that this representation cannot be supported by concrete evidence. I also explore the sources for this romantic historiography, including the influence of tartanism in early 20th century Nova Scotia. The results of the research suggests a more subtle expression of identity and Scottishness on the part of the McNabs, elder and son, as well as a more complex and dynamic community on the island than is expressed in the poetic image of a kilt-wearing Scot and his transplanted clan of shepherds.