The Historic Properties (also known as

Privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s' Wharf) are warehouses on the Halifax Boardwalk in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

that began to be constructed during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

by Nova Scotian businessmen such as

Enos Collins Enos Collins (5 September 1774 – 18 November 1871) was a merchant, shipowner, banker and privateer from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the founder of the Halifax Banking Company, which eventually was merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce in ...

, a privateer, smuggler and shipper whose vessels defied

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's blockade to bring American supplies to the British commander

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

. These properties helped make Halifax prosperous in Canada's early days by aiding trade and commerce, but they were also frequently used as vehicles for smuggling and privateering. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, two of the most successful Nova Scotian privateer ships during this time period were the

Liverpool Packet ''Liverpool Packet'' was a privateer schooner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, that captured 50 American vessels in the War of 1812. American privateers captured ''Liverpool Packet'' in 1813, but she failed to take any prizes during the four months bef ...

and the Sir John Sherbrooke. Folk singer Stan Rogers made the Privateers Wharf famous in his songs "

Barrett's Privateers "Barrett's Privateers" is a modern folk song in the style of a sea shanty, written and performed by Canadian musician Stan Rogers, having been inspired after a song session with the Friends of Fiddler's Green at the Northern Lights Festival ...

" and "

Bluenose ''Bluenose'' was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, ''Bluenose'' under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and ...

". The Pontac House is named for the renowned Great Pontack (Halifax), which was located there just after the founding of Halifax (1749).

Historical context

The historic properties reflect the time period beginning with the

. The main contribution of Nova Scotia in the

was privateers. Over 35 Nova Scotian Privateers seized more than 200 American merchant ships and their cargo. Merchants and traders bought them at auctions in Halifax and promptly resold them. In many cases, they even resold the Americans their own goods. Privateering was a risky business: almost a quarter of those who sailed from Nova Scotia's ports were captured by Americans, burnt or lost.John Boileau. "Fortunes of War". ''The Nova Scotian''. September 9, 2012, D8-D9 (See the fate of the American Privateer ''

Young Teazer Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American ro ...

'' off Halifax during the war.) Nova Scotia had many successful privateers out of Halifax (Crown, Sir John Sherbrooke, Fly, Weazel and George); Liverpool (

, Retaliation, Wolverine, Rolla, Shannon, Lively,

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US ...

, Minerva, Saucy Jack, Dart and Dove); Annapolis Royal (Matilda and Broke); Windsor (Retrieve) and Lunenburg (Lunenburg).

Buildings

StocksHistoricPropertiesHalifaxNovaScotia

The area has ten of the city's oldest buildings, including seven which have been designated National Historic Sites. The Privateer's Wharf includes: * Pontac House ( Great Pontack (Halifax)) * Privateer Warehouse (c. 1790); * The Red Store (1812) * King’s Warehouse built (1831) - (now The Carpenter Shop) * Wooden Storehouse/Loft

Collins Bank/ Simon’s Warehouse (1854)

Enos Collins Bank, Historic Properties, Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Halifax Banking Company (Collins Bank) was built by Enos (1832) and eventually became the

CIBC The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

. Collins Bank/Simon's Warehouse as evolved from two buildings in its rectangular, three-and-a-half storey massing under a hipped roof with large 'hoistway' dormers vertically aligned with large 'loading' openings on the elevations; regularly placed windows, timber and random-coursed ironstone construction of Collins Bank portion and the timber and granite construction of the Simon's Warehouse portion, with sandstone quoins, lintels, and belt-courses, interior brick fire walls.

Pickford and Black Building (1830)

Collins constructed the building in 1830 and it was later owned by Pickford and Black (1876). The firm of Pickford & Black, a Nova Scotia shipping firm, was established by partners Robert Pickford (1841-1914) and William Anderson Black (1847-1934) in 1876. Pickford & Black were ship chandlers and grocers of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1877, the firm purchased Seeton's Wharf at 51 Water's Street. By 1887, they had expanded into the steamship line, purchasing the Cunard ships Alpha and Beta, and establishing a shipping service between Halifax, Cuba, and Bermuda (1889). Pickford and Kirke also operated steamers in the Atlantic provinces. Pickford & Black acted as agents for several leading marine insurance underwriters, including Lloyd's of London, and for several European steamship lines. Robert Pickford retired in 1911 and the company became Pickford & Black Ltd. Following the death of W.A. Black (1936), the company was involved in several mergers. In 1946, Pickford & Black Ltd. managed the Maritime Stevedoring Company, and the Pickford & Black Agency, a customs brokerage. In 1975 Pickford and Black Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of McLean Kennedy Limited, and in 2002, a branch of F. K. Warren.

References

Reference texts

* John Boileau. Half-Hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia, New England and the War of 1812 * Susan Buggey. Halifax Waterfront Buildings: A Historical Report. Canadian Historical Sites: Occasional Papers on Archeology and History. No. 9 pp. 117-168.

External links

Historic Properties

The Fortunes of War: Commercial Warfare and Maritime Risk in the War of 1812
{{coord, 44.650365, -63.572891, type:landmark_region:CA-NS, display=title Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia Napoleonic Wars Heritage sites in Nova Scotia