Hi, GUEST.

I actually missed the fortress of Halifax on this trip. But I know that it was founded to offset the French power represented by Louisbourg, and only later became a site in the fight against the unruly colonials. In fact, one of the things that pissed the Massachusetts colony off was the founding of Halifax, and the way the Brits handled Louisbourg in general. Massachusetts wanted it to be part of their sphere of influence because it was a major center of both trade and fishing. It would have made Massachusetts easily the most powerful of the colonies. When the British gave Louisbourg back to the French, then destroyed it in a later battle, it really made them mad. In 1745 the British had needed to use Massachusetts troops to take Louisbourg; in 1758 they used British troops based in Halifax. So the existence of Halifax meant that the British army would no longer need to bring in troops from Boston, and Massachusetts was cut out of many lucrative deals. Massachusetts then realized how screwed they were with no representation in Parliament.